Television's evolution: from invention to future transformations

Future of Television

"I hate television. I hate it as much as peanuts. But I can't stop eating peanuts," asserted famed American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter and producer, Orson Welles, who was arguably best known for his role in the film Citizen Kane (Welles). In concurrence with Welles, television is one of things that the world has been revolutionized by- it is captured the attention of talented actors, accountants, elementary school students, among hundreds of other types of people. Television is an addiction, as Welles alluded to, that is hard to pull one away from despite not even truly enjoying what is being eaten, or in this case what is being viewed. Though, "television isn't what it used to be…in 1961, in a famous speech to the National Association of Broadcasters, FCC chairman Newton Minow called the medium a 'vast wasteland'" (Levine). Television, or TV as it commonly referred to, has transformed itself over the years to what society knows it as today, with scientific developments, and growing cultural relevance, the influence of media moguls like Turns and Murdock, the communication value and power of television grew so that the images and sounds that the television wished to convey starting to mean something. The impact that it has had on modern day society since its invention, only begs the question: what next? How can television evolve even further? Test the boundaries of human society even more? Before going forth to answer those questions, it must be understood that television has revolutionized the way the world lives; but, by exploring the components that comprise television and illuminating the current status of what television has evolved to since it's invention, it will provide the foundation to predicting how television will evolve even further into the future.

What is television? What are the different components of television?

This technology that has evolved over the years has come to be, because of the many different components that are involved in its ultimate product- the images and the sound that come from the set. Television, as society knows it today stems from the telegram which was the technology that "suggested the idea of transmitting images and sounds over distances" (Ray, 1332). Television, with the help of social and cultural changes and technological developments, has become a medium for communication of all type- social commentary, information about the world's events, entertainment, amongst other genres.

Though, television as it is today, has come to be because of its many components and parts including: pre-production, production, post-production, distribution, promotion and archives- with each of these parts is a an umbrella business model that helps secure the audience that television has. First, pre-production embodies all the activities that are needed in order for a television show or program to be actually made, including finding a location, having meetings with the necessary individuals to follow through on the concept being produced in the program or show including director, script writers, managers, among others. Finding a location and getting the appropriate staff for the production of the television is a daunting task but an important one in order to put the wheels in motion to actually produce the concept that an individual or a team may be envisioning (Marshall). After these necessary pre-production actions are taken, production takes place. Production entails "camera, lighting, sound, settings and make-up" (Millerson). The "camera movement, placement of subjects, editing, and aural composition, sound pick-up arrangements, lighting, rehearsal procedures, cueing systems and prompting" are also components that make up production for a television program (Millerson). Distribution, as shown by example on the NBC Universal website, is "responsible for the distribution of current and library film and television product, including formats and non-scripted programming, in the pay, free, and basic markets" (PitchCon.org). As asserted, distribution mainly deals with how the television program is going to be distributed to the markets for viewers. Though, in order for viewership of the distributed product, in this case the television program, to be significant, the studio that produced the program need to promote it amongst it's chosen demographics so that the maximum amount will watch the program if they choose to. In modern day society, promotions can be seen in many forms either through commercials, product placement, billboards, magazine or newspaper advertisements, among others; but, all of these different types fall under the larger umbrella of a promotion. Television shows that are successfully promoted often attract a large audience and are able to continue for a while. When shows are archived, they are placed in a "storage unit" of sorts so that each program is archived on a reel or disc for viewing at a later time. Similar to how we archive medical files of the past, television programs are archived in the same manner so if a show wants to be syndicated, clips need to be pulled from it or the like- the program is readily available for that.

The business model for television channels and programs is fairly straightforward in that they rely on advertisers to help subsidize the costs of post-production, production, distribution and promotion (Mitra). Advertising dollars are worth more if the program that is being viewed on television will reach a broad range of viewers. For example, in the 2011 United States football Super bowl, a thirty second television commercial was three million dollars (Smith). Though, the CNN article goes on to explain that the 3 million dollars is worth it because approximately "50% of the viewers of the Super bowl tune in for the commercials" (Smith). Because "television channels are not reaching more viewers than ever before" advertisements are reaching the masses (Levine). Exposure for certain products and brands to this broad of an audience is worth every penny of their ad dollars, but this in turn, helps sustain a program or a channel that is hosting the program. Advertisements are an the crux of the business model in television programs- it is absolutely integral part of sustaining the programming and keep the production costs covered, while also turning a profit.

These different components are absolutely essential to understanding how television and its programming work. Knowing this background will help establish a strong foundation of understanding what the current status of television is in society and the implications and impact that it has on society as a whole.

What is the current status of television? What is the impact and influence that television has on society? What's next?

Television's status in society is incredible- it has changed the way that society functions, becomes informed and entertains itself. Scholars have asserted that "television functions as a social context, providing sensory communion and social congregation; it also functions as a center of meaning, helping a society define 'us' and 'them', conferring value on persons and objects, and possibly supporting hegemonic social control" (Adams). Television is responsible for this? It is incredible that the images and the sounds coming from a box are not attributed to contributing and influencing so much over the society that we live in. There have been a myriad of studies that have attempted to illuminate the impact that television has on individuals including one that studied about one million students and the "relationship between amount of television viewing and educational achievement" and it seems that "for small amounts of viewing, achievement increased with viewing, but as viewing increased beyond a certain point, achievement decreased" (Razel). This study of the relationship between educational performance and television serves as a macrocosm for the influence of that television has on society- it has enough of an impact to influence the educational performance of children. This speaks to the importance and influence on the way that television has become a stronghold on individuals lives.

Television is a strong medium to inform and entertain currently- there are twenty-four hour news channels and reality television channels that seek to influence the way we dress, the way we act, the knowledge we are aware of, among other things. Television is a powerful medium that cannot be escaped- it is at bars, in waiting rooms of doctor's offices, in the airplane headrest, everywhere. With an omnipresence of television in our daily functioning life, it is almost impossible to escape its influence over us. How are we not to see the images that it chooses to show or hear the sound that comes out with it?

Television has gained such popularity and notoriety that it is now popular that the Chinese government has taken steps to try to control it, specifically when it came to a talent show where people could vote for the best act based on their preference, the voting seemed to trigger the Chinese government in this situation ("No Voting Please, We're Chinese"). Could it be that if individuals started voting here that they would also want to do that in real life? The Chinese government did not want to take that chance. Similar to the study about the relationship between educational performance and television viewership, television is also seen as an important influence on people's behavior as well. The governments of China clearly believe that if they do not ban shows where the premise is based on the voting then it could lead their citizens to want the right to vote in the government on their own opinions. The influence that television has, in this case by indirectly helping Chinese citizens move in the direction of being slightly more "democratic," is seen as a threat- it is hard to believe that television could threaten the national security of a world super power.

The current influence that television has on individual's lives is only growing stronger as technology continues to develop. Recent developments have shown that television will now be in "three-dimensions," so that individuals who view TV can be full immersed in the movie or show they are watching ("Who Needs It"). But is that even necessary when nine out of ten homes have televisions in their homes that have a multi-channel TV? ("Here, There and Everywhere").

Though, as television is evolving, it now using the Internet to capture audiences and even transferring its video capabilities to online. It seems that shows like "Isa," the Hispanic version of "Hannah Montana" fostered a following on Facebook and MySpace pages ("Here, There and Everywhere"). Furthermore, it is reported that "newspapers are filled with tales of Facebook stalkers, Craigslist killers, cyber-bullying, sexting and screen addiction. E-mail, blogs and YouTube, not television, are held responsible for the degradation of politics…as the internet grabs attention, television has become more pitied than feared" ("An Interactive Feature"). Using this as macrocosm for the direction that television is headed, The Economist article goes onto explain that one "can hardly watch a TV show without being invited to visit a website" ("Here, There and Everywhere"). It seems as though the Internet and other media is gradually replacing the influence that television once had on society, and evidence to support this has come to the public in the form of YouTube and other video streaming sites.

There are individuals like Ray William Johnson, a comedian who posts all of his videos on YouTube and makes his living exclusively from the video hosting site. But how can this be if the video hosting is free? Business insider tried to best estimate how Ray William Johnson, the individual with the highest subscribers to his channel on YouTube, makes his money from the banners ads that are served near the content and that "2.59% of viewers click away before an ad loads" (Wei).

With people mirroring what a network channel does on TV, by using their videos and making their money off of the advertising that it is around them- it seems that video streaming is the new TV as it follows roughly the same business model, but seem to eliminate other costly variables at the same time. Is this the new way that video will be streamed? What is in store for the future of television if the trends continue this way?

Currently, "advertisers are experimenting with a wide array of solutions, many of which have been around since the advent of television broadcasting, to address their concerns over the dwindling commercial audience" (Kimmel). Advertisers, as one of the most important factors that are currently involved in television, have also caught on to the changing dynamic of television. In order for the advertisers to still have a stronghold on the commercial audience, is absolutely imperative that the strategy of product and companies also change with the times.

Conclusion

Keeping in mind what television has come to be with its many components, how it has influenced and impacted our society and ultimately where it is going next, television is a truly revolutionary and interesting concept but is only going to be phased out by the next big then. The influence that television has and the perceived influence of television has on current society, including in China and on American youth, is certainly a powerful one. The stronghold that television has had on the world community is certainly significant and a force to be reckoned with; but, as society is propelled forward by technology, people are moving away from the television and more towards the using the Internet for its ease of use, accessibility and convenience. The impact that the development of the Internet has had on the future of the television is mind-blowing; but, should not be a surprise. At one point in history, for several mediums, that medium was the IT thing only to be gradually replaced by other more modern, sleeker, more user friendly mediums. Using Netflix, OnDemand, YouTube or even Google TV will become a standard of the future, making the future of television look rather dim. At this point in time, it is important to watch and to observe what will happen to the future of television. The gradual transition that society is making away from television and to YouTube and other online TV and movie watching sites is fascinating.

It is fascinating to think that something that has been a part of individual's daily lives for so long, might eventually become obsolete. How about "when chisels and quill pens are no longer in such demand, each new advances tends to pile up on top of the last, leaving at least come relic of what went before" (Edgecliffe-Johnson). Though upon taking a step back from this issue and looking at this issue from afar, is it possible that this was exactly the way people felt when the iPod came out? There was surely a period of time where it society thought the tape player would ever be obsolete, and then the CDs? Society has now reached a point where it is a "common sight to see the student population plugged into their life support machines: the iPod and the phone" (Nortcliffe). The changes that our society has experienced in light of the iPod being developed are something that seems similar to the transition that television is making in our society currently. Reflecting on certain changes in society, including the way that we travel, communicate or even go to work, has changed- changes that have gradually been accepted over time as they are more convenient and eases many of the stresses of our daily life. No longer does it seem will individual have to be sitting in front of their television in their home to have access to their television programming, much like we no longer have to sit in front of our desktops when we have to do work. Laptops have taken over, iPods for music, and now televisions online will make the living room an obsolete concept in its entirety. With the changes that are occurring, it's important to realize that our society has been there, done that and has clearly come out on the other side. There is always something that is going to be newer, faster and sleeker coming out that makes our lives a little bit easier- hence, the transformation of television.

Television has been such a stronghold on society for so long and has become a staple of most homes in the world as a way to bring the family together and help individuals stay informed, bringing information from one part of the globe to another; but, it is now being replaced. The world is changing rapidly and television is changing with it so, in the not so distant future, it may be another famous actor that is commenting on the state of society and saying that they hate online programming as much as they eat peanuts, but they cannot stop watching and society will wait for that day with baited breath.