Industrial Context;
10th November 1948: First ever reality show Candid Camera goes on air (based on hosts previous show candid microphone) Involved unsuspecting members of the public reacting to pranks.
8th August 1950: First Game Show Beat the clock goes on air involved participants taking part in competitions and challenges.
29th April 1964: The UP series: UKs first reality TV show, followed group of people who were interviewed every 7 years, helped popularise the concept of normal people becoming celebrities.
20th October 1989: Computer based non linear editing system made editing hours of raw footage quicker, more convenient and cheaper.
27th August 1991: Dutch series 1991 introduced idea of filming strangers living in the same environment. As well as heavy use of soundtrack for added dramatic effect and between scene "confessionals" with cast members acting as narration.
21st May 1992: MTVs the real world originally was planned as a soap opera but the studio opted for real people instead to save money.
28th November 1996: Changing rooms was the first reality show to include a makeover theme through the use of couples redecorating each others houses.
28th November 1997: Expedition: Robinson (later re branded as Survivor in other countries) first aired in Sweden. Added a competitive element to the Nummer 28 formula as contestants would compete against each other in challenges until one winner was left. Paved the way for other "survival" type reality shows.
20th July 2000: Reality shows popularity received a massive boost after the success of Big Brother and Survivor in the US.
19th September 2004: VH1 airs a show called "reality TV secrets revealed." This show outlined how reality shows would mix and match different audio and visual footage and reorder it to create a different portrayal of how participants behaved in order to push a narrative.
3rd December 2010: PlayStation made game show "the tester" became the first ever reality show to air exclusively on game consoles.
After production, the show is handed over to the television network, which sends it out to its affiliate stations, which broadcast it in the specified broadcast programming time slot. Some examples of these stations are:
TLC, Channel 4, ITV in addition to that with the rise of digital convergence streaming sites such as Netflix have started to host reality shows such as Love island and the circle as well as producing their own originals such as Queer eye.
Reality TV shows make money primarily through advertisement revenue. Higher ratings make advertising spots on the show more valuable so networks can sell off ad space to brands at a higher price. This can be in the form of adverts that appear during commercial breaks or through product placement in the show e.g the host only driving a certain type of car in the show in order to show it off.
