REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING TELEVISION IN EUROPE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-01634R000300030090-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 14, 2000
• Sequence Number: 90
• Publication Date: April 11, 1956
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 200/08/27: CIA-RDP78-01634R0003000300fO-7
StC"ET
OPERATIONS COORDINATING BOARD
-
Washin*ton 1
F
April 'lip 1956
REPORT AND REGOAQNS CONCE?~NING
TELEVISION IN "FE
I . INTRODUCTION:
The pro ?1tl: of world-wide television t ,ecater that Shortly it will
.rank with-the.,hewspaper.and radio as a s mdium having these capaT
bilities and limitations:
A.. "Cry abilit ens: (1) Television r+eiches illitee and sohaldr
alike. ( It quicklIV* reaches multitudeis ndifterent to radio, and press.
(3) The co nbin .tion of ' auditory acid visual impact makes it an effective,
way to convey a psychological message; itycan?influence deeply,ihe social
and economic `patterns of Europe. (4) It has` a wi r, of 'leading the le .ders"';
ownership of TV receivers occurs first' leaders and opinion-makers'.
B', Li ons r
() As a U. 8'rch6 logi cal weapon, direct tole-
.
.Vision must be"oonsidexed as primarily for use in the Free World. Except
( ) ;Even,31 long dstance telecasting. were feasible,
1
1 mining, -and control over use of
ci y susceptible '
tnore i xpens ivre than radio pro - -~ '
from other areas.
egg:", Latin America.. European 'statio 1u plement their programs by films
in Great Britain and. Western Europe, A. network,."Eurovision" * connects
Britain', Prance, Italy, Switzerland, West Germany, Denmark, the Nether
lands and Belgium. Austria, Spain and Swoon probably will join this
system. Norway, Finland, Portugal, 4en ugosaavia are potential
participants'. Filmed output of this petwo It tiill find audiences elsewhere;
A. Free World- Co tr a (See Annex ) . Television isy ~e ~tablished
Of special concern to the U.S. are th4 st uations in Helsinki'.. Vienna,
and.Berlin; In Tallin, 35 miles'acrosstb i water from Helsinki, the
Russians are beaming programs in Finnish t He sinks. A similar situation
exists in Bratislava across the border'fx Vienna. In neither instance"
however`, can the programs be received with uta modification being made
;;'See map (1a; ge-) and Annex B
B. USSR and European Satellites (See ex C). The USSR has an.
ambitious program' for the USSR and its ro 4n satellites, as strategic.
locations of stations in areas bordering Western Europe indicate. Some
Soviet stations even now are capable of recteptidn in peripheral areas of
in the receiving set.
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the West.. Exchange agreements with oth
Switzerland) are increasing the Soviet
East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Pole
while Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria ope
r nations (e..g.., Britain,
ti
t
ons.
a
terial used by Free World s
have regular television services,
ate experimental stations.
in Technical Sta ~de. .The technical television
Diff
erence
C.
standa-dsemployyed by the Soviet Bloc ff4r,from those used in other
countries of Europe.' This prevents ,r_ot reception on Western receivers
of Bloc programs, and vice versat witho t 4 change or addition to the
receivers.
Upon the basis of study of techni 1 data pertaining to eight models
of Soviet Bloc TV receivers, it appears,. tee s.no simple method
of completely overcoming the difference ,In frequencies and transmission
The difficulty
ti
V n
ons.
a
standards between East and West Europeala T
varies with the type or model of set.,:.
ets ported by Finland ("Avanguard" and
viet
600 S
s
o
For example the
-ubstitution and addition of
"Tempo" brands) could be modified with "171
parts to receive Western telecasts butto receive both East and West
stations.
mental rticularl7rchanges in the design
lo
i
d
e
p
eve
ng
er
However, engin
J~ -
of Eastern sets, could Change this estmate. Developments will be
followed closely.
new ,available, it appears that the cost
4 or adapting moat ,pee o ~re,~,~ 4,,e u
~ any
telecasts is.tot great < ever,jt_ oes not. now appear likely that
- _ -- -__- . , t be so modified.
e
Eu
b
p
mr o+F . es w
considerable n i
III POSSIBLE COt1RSES OF U.S. ACTION
gu'
A.ftilize overseas TV to
foreign policy ob
` 1. B+r supplying attributed and n-attributed program materials,
including films, scripts, live perfor noes by U.S. traveling cultural
groups, local-programs, and material ar insertion in local programs.
2. By presenting filmed or 11ve.appearanoes of visiting American
officials, educators, scientists, bus nessmen, etc., and similar
materials on foreign visitors to the .S.
~. By cooperation with private industry for introduction of
materials into commercial TV films: provided by NBC, CBS, at al, to
foreign television systems.
B. "s ist and enc age develorime t p ?p E moo Wean-wide TV system -
in consonance with U,S. objectives - bar:
1. Technical advice In creating
2. Professional and technical adce and training in programming
and in station operation*
-2-
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3. FTnattributed program assi.etanc { (for which the heed is great
and for which the U.S, has abundanj resources)$.including films and
cooperatively-produced programs.
The free nations have
l
5. Advice 'to and support bf'
6. Advice concerning methods
licensing, advertising, or a combi
.
and the best way to pr