Robert Fraser Dies; Pioneer of British TV
LONDON — Sir Robert Fraser, the Australian chosen to run Britain’s first commercial television system, died Jan. 20 in his central London home. He was 80.
Fraser was appointed director general of the Independent Television Authority in 1954 and was charged with creating a commercial alternative to the state-owned British Broadcasting Corp., which is funded by television license fees.
He admitted at the time that he didn’t own a TV set.
Regulations on advertising and the number of television stations in the independent network also came under his domain.
Fraser remained head of the authority until 1970. The authority became the Independent Broadcasting Authority when commercial radio started in the 1970s.
Fraser moved to England at age 23, studied at the London School of Economics and became a newspaper editorial writer. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Parliament from the Labor Party in 1935.
After World War II, he was appointed director general of the Central Office of Information, the government’s public relations arm, and was knighted for his services in 1947.
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