Queen Elizabeth II

"The golden age of radio had been the 1940s, when programmes like ITMA and Family Favourites attracted enormous audiences. But it was already becoming apparent that television was the medium of the future. In 1946 there were only fifteen thousand television licence-holders in Britain, most of them in London. A decade later there were five million, and 98 per cent of the population was in reach of a television signal.'° The BBC’s huge investment in television was reinforced by its coverage of major events, notably Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation in June 1953. In much the same way as Rupert Murdoch would use sport to attract viewers to his Sky satellite channels forty years later, the BBC was using the big events of the 1950s to cultivate public interest in television. It succeeded to such an extent that demand for television receivers far exceeded supply."

"Tisch eventually became one of a group that joined Buffett every two years on a one-week trip for business leaders and investors. Oth- ers included the likes of Tom Murphy of newspaper publisher Capital Cities, Katharine Graham of The Washington Post, and William Ruane, whose investment fund focused on media stocks; they met in places such as Aspen, Colorado, or en route to Britain via the Queen Elizabeth II. “Half the time we discuss the media and media stocks and investments,” Tisch said of these trips. “Certain things in the investor world when you don’t have a working knowledge, you sort of shy away. When you get a familiarity with the subject, it makes it easier to take a position.”"