The Journey of the Television...Has it Reached a Dead End?

Before we begin, take everything you know about your favorite T.V. you spend many lonely nights with and throw it out the window because there is a new television revolution happening right in front of our eyes. For the past 50 years viewers have been under control of the T.V. and cable companies. Many people plan their days around what is going to be on T.V. They submit to what shows each channel has to offer at certain times on certain days. The viewer interacts with the T.V. by allowing its content to fit into the context of the persons needs. We, as viewers, don’t think too much about this television phenomenon that we experience everyday but it has taught us to be under its control.

Enter in that technological masterpiece of internet and the story begins to change. There is now a new way of getting information and being entertained. As it grows and changes we now have the most important sphere of our lives, the internet. The internet has given us an unlimited amount of data that allows us to interact with it more than a T.V. allows. But, none the less, the computer and the T.V. are two different products with two different purposes…but are they?

The video below describe how sites like Hulu are changing the way television is viewed.



Increasingly, the T.V. is transitioning into the computer screen. With websites like Hulu that provide hundreds of cable network shows for free, viewers are wondering why they pay so much for their cable bill. With cable bills raising, the craziness of peoples schedules, and their computer savvy skills, televisions just get in the way. It is not without its disadvantages. Although sites like Hulu are great, it takes time for the episodes to be uploaded on the site. Due to advertising benefits, most sports and premium channels are not available on any website; even if they were, nobody wants to watch the Super Bowl on a 12” computer screen. Social media can also be a problem when the results from last night’s American Idol or the crazy fight the room mates had on the Real World are viral and word travels fast! The solution to these problems is in the works, the temporary solution is to hook up your laptop to your T.V. In essence, you T.V. acts as a giant monitor that you control with your mouse and key board.


The entire focus of the television industry is changing with the online capabilities. The major networks and cable companies are no longer able to limit the viewer on what they can watch, or what they can produce. It is a two sided coin that benefits both the view and the producer and allows for an unlimited selection of content. Spend a minute thinking about television and the journey it has taken from its creation to the place we are now. There are five “C’s” of the Post Network –Era and many of them overlap but are equally important reasons for while the television is changing.

Choice

Past – Since the creation of the television, choice went from one channel, to three, to seven, all the way up to a couple hundred with a satellite dish.
Present – We are seeing an emergence of new and creative viewing options. With an online market, any “show” can be posted and viewed by the masses. It goes beyond the couple hundred via a satellite to a couple thousand via a webpage.
Future – The viewer can determine the who, what, when, where, why and how of their television programming.


Control

Past – There was no remote control because there was only one option. The TV was the one with the control, the viewer had to submit to its authority.
Present – Viewers can choose which shows to watch and which ones to ignore, if they want to watch it live, or on-demand, or DVR it, if they want to watch the commercials or fast forward through them. They can manipulate the shows that are available almost anyway they wish.
Future – Control goes beyond unlimited manipulation of shows that exist to creating the shows that don’t exist. Instead of being forced by cable networks to watch what they have provided, you can search for what you want to watch online and if it doesn’t exist, you can create it!


Convenience

Past – If you were home and free during the time a TV show was on, you could watch it; otherwise you were out of luck.
Present – The number one convenience booster in today’s market is the DVR. The click of a button is much easier than finding a VCR tape, manually putting in the necessary information and then not being able to watch the TV for the next hour. Sometimes you have to wait for the show to be available online, and if you wait too long they take it off.
Future – Going shopping with you iPad propped on the cart watching “The Office” from a streaming online network as your laptop at home is recording “Lost” without commercials.

Customization

Past – Custom television? What is that?
Present – Televisions can do nice things like alert you when your favorite TV show is coming on, give you a show summary, allow you to pause and rewind if you missed anything important, and see your favorite sports teams in high-def.
Future – Viewers want the same search options for their television that they find on the internet. TV’s will have search options for shows and programming that is custom to the viewers specific need. The TV would be replaced by viewer determined content in a customized television experience.


Community

Past – Communities bonded as they discussed the topics or dramas of the hit TV shows.
Present – TV shows have websites, facebook pages, twitter accounts, fan clubs, blogs, and a variety of other online exchange and social media. This creates an opportunity for viewers to participate with the show and with other viewers.
Future – Viewers will participate with television shows in a new way. A family might create a television show about what is happening in their life and out-of-state family and friends can watch their show. TV shows will ask for the input of the views and incorporate the feedback into their next program. Events will be posted, promoted, and broadcasts through social media sites.

This revolution is not taking place alone, the internet has been in the process of changing the world since its creation some 20 years ago. From a customized M&M to a plane ticket across the Atlantic, the internet has its hand in almost every institution, world-wide. The scope of the online world itself has evidence of a long tail. More specifically the long tail can be seen in broadband television by the limitless amount of options that are becoming available to the user. Working along side of that idea is creative commons which provides a way for producers to publish their content so viewers have more specific options. The sheer volume and capability of the internet allows it to be an all encompassing industry of opportunity. It provides an opportunity for the viewer, the producer, the writer, the editor, the actor, and advertiser, the purchaser, the analyst, and the investor to use and share their resources in a way that benefits all parties involved.

Online television can also be used as a tool for democracy. News is a major source of information. News stations from cities and countries all around the world can be accessed through online stations. This allows people to be informed on their special area of interest. Beyond the news, democracy is found in personal interests to advocate change.

Greenovation TV is an excellent example of the push toward a change in democracy that is lacking in the traditional TV network system.

Go. Watch. Live. Don’t let anyone hold you back!


Picturs and videos for post were made possible through google image search, flickr.com and bliptv.com

Other links that were used in the creation of this blog:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/garden/11tvside.html?ref=garden
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/24/business/media/24cooler.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2009-11-13-1Awebtv13_CV_N.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/business/media/04hulu.html?_r=3