The live television transmission of Apollo 11's Moon walk on 20 July 1969, relayed through tracking stations in Australia and California and watched by an estimated audience of some 600 million people, the largest to that date. It remains the defining case of broadcasting as shared planetary experience.
Facts
Milestone Year When20 July 1969; audience figures are estimates 1 LocationThe lunar TV signal was received simultaneously by ground stations at Goldstone, California; Honeysuckle Creek; and Parkes in New South Wales, Australia, and relayed to NASA Mission Control in Houston, Texas, for worldwide broadcast. 2 LocationThree dishes received the lunar television signal simultaneously: the 64 metre antenna at Goldstone in California, the 26 metre antenna at Honeysuckle Creek near Canberra, and the 64 metre dish at Parkes in New South Wales. 2 FAQs
How large was the real television audience for the Moon Landing broadcast?
An estimated 600 million people, the largest audience to that date, but the figure is a period estimate, not a verified count.
Contemporary press and broadcasters cited an estimated worldwide audience of roughly 600 million people for the live television transmission of the Apollo 11 Moon walk on 20 July 1969, which would have made it the largest television audience to that date. No contemporary system could actually count a live global audience watching across many separate national broadcast systems at once, so the figure is best read as a widely repeated period estimate rather than a verified count. This entitys own record states plainly that audience figures for it are estimates.
Connections
Associated With
The signal reached world audiences through the satellite and ground station network.
Source Encyclopedia Britannica
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source MTV (Wikipedia)MTV, Launch
Credited To
Source Walter Cronkite - Wikipedia
In Medium
Sources
1. Encyclopedia Britannica
2. The Conversation
The Conversation Media GroupNot one but two Aussie dishes were used to get the TV signals back from the Apollo 11 moonwalkQuote, Not one but two Aussie dishes were used to get the TV signals back from the Apollo 11 moonwalk
The 64m antenna at Goldstone, the 26m antenna at Honeysuckle Creek and the 64m dish at Parkes all received the signal simultaneously.
Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia: Apollo 11, moonwalk television broadcast sectionQuote, Wikipedia: Apollo 11, moonwalk television broadcast section
Armstrong's moonwalk was broadcast live to an estimated 600 million viewers, roughly one-fifth of the world's population, making it among the most-watched television events in history.
Walter Cronkite - Wikipedia
Credited To: Walter Cronkite, Walter Cronkite, Apollo missions sectionQuote, Credited To: Walter Cronkite, Walter Cronkite, Apollo missions section
In 1969, during the Apollo 11 (with co-host and former astronaut Wally Schirra) and Apollo 13 Moon missions, Cronkite received the best ratings and made CBS the most-watched television network for the missions.
MTV (Wikipedia)
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.