How Television Works. There have been countless inventions that have forever changed the world just by their existence. Many of these have been related to communications, such as a radio, phone, and more specifically the television. Soon after it's release, millions of families across the nation had their own television set, adding something new and exciting to the list of American pastimes. But what is inside a television, and how do they work? Who invented them and how? Television receives pictures and sounds from electro magnetic waves sent out from broadcasts. That is a simple and broad explanation. But many years were spent perfecting the television, and learning more about it.