Since the arrival of the television in households across the world the importance of the radio has seemingly dwindled and dwindled, with more and more people tuning out in favour of more visual medium of TV.
The days of families gathering around the wireless for the latest installment of a serial drama are seemingly long gone, with home entertainment these days being more likely to feature family members in separate rooms viewing the programming of their choice.
But does this mean that radio as a spoken medium no longer has a role to play in the evolution of light entertainment?
In short, the answer is no, radio continues to play an important role in the development of talents and personalities that provide us with distractions during our downtime.
For example, many of the stars of the screen whose faces are familiar to us would never have made it into the public consciousness without the existence of radio. For presenters, radio is often the first port of call in a career plan, allowing them to hone their on air skills before attempting to make the transition to television.
And some of the most popular television shows have some roots in radio programming, where writers and producers have tried out ideas on audiences, helping them to weed out the ones that work and latter translate them into a visual medium.
Television audiences may be disregarding of the radio as an entertainment tool, but most are unaware of what their favorite shows owe to this understated medium.