Say Yes To VHS, Ep 4: Pause - How Cinema and Television Fought Back Against Home Video

In the fourth episode of Say Yes to VHS, Brian and Sam press pause to discuss how cinema owners and television broadcasters responded to the rapid rise of home video in the 1980s.

Before the arrival of the VCR, film choices were limited to the three television channels or the ever dwindling number of cinemas in Northern Ireland. Video shops offered people a wider range of choice and there were no longer any restrictions on when you could watch a film. The blank video cassette meant that people could also now record content directly from television and watch at their own leisure. A VCR timer meant you could even leave the house and not miss your favourite programme or movie.

Home video forced television broadcasters to expand and diversify their content. When Channel 4 arrived in 1982, it aimed to reach new audiences and its series of 'red triangle' films reached millions of viewers. Programmes such as BBC's Moviedrome became curators of cult cinema. Cinemas were forced to up their game by splitting into several screens and offering more choice, paving the way for the arrival of the multiplex to Northern Ireland in the 1990s.

Links

The Northern Ireland Screen Digital Film Archive, '80s Tech!' collection

Send us a message

Written and presented by Dr Sam Manning and Brian Henry Martin
Music by Score Draw Music
https://thewondercinema.buzzsprout.com