In the late 1940s, two-thirds of the population had never seen a television. By 1960 72% had access to ITV or BBC. People immediately identified with TV and it quickly moved from being a luxury to a necessity. Some of the most popular shows of the time were game shows, soaps, and American crime dramas. In the 1950s Opportunity Knocks, an older version of X Factor, pulled in 20 million viewers. Coronation Street, which premiered on the 9th of December 1960, was popular among the working class. By October 1961 it also had 20 million viewers. Still on the air, it is Britain's most popular programme.
BBC viewers were more middle class than ITV viewers. BBC became worried by ITV and added chat shows and comedies to their schedule but their programming still remained more serious than ITV's. The Wednesday Play, a show with serious topics, was BBC's response to Coronation Street.
Television became worthy of serious critical attention. The left was very hostile toward television as they thought it created "doped" people. For a long time people stopped going out to cinemas, theatres, etc. and preferred staying home to watch television for entertainment.
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