Future of Television \"I Hate

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.

What about the future of television?

"New technologies are deeply transforming the broadcasting industry…what we have seen so far is only the beginning of a long story. Inevitable, industry regulations must adapt, which means that a wide-ranging rethink of current practices is required" (Motta, and Polo 293-334).The technologies that are rapidly developing in our modern day society are slowly becoming the new standard of living- broadcasting is changing and the industry need to become increasingly aware and adapt to the new technological environment. It is something that scholars have followed for a while, and is something that individuals are bearing witness too- but it begs us to ask the question: what is the future of television in this rapidly changing modern day?

With the rapid evolution of technology in the modern age, it seems as though like magazines and newspapers, television will take a back-seat to the Internet. Forbes reporter discussed with the CEO of the on-demand video service Zillion TV about the future of television and he asserted that, "there is a critical ecosystem and convergence…of content providers, advertisers, and ISPs that still needs to occur…sitting about those three at the top of the ladder are consumers" (Mitra). This convergence is happening to make consumers have more access to the things at the tips of their fingers- by combining several different components into one; it makes the product more desirable as ease of use for consumers.

Aside from Zillion TV, the mega-giant Google has also become involved in the television industry. By merging its mega-internet presence, the ease of use of their recently released Google phone, it seemed to make business sense for Google to become involved in the television industry. The major companies media streamers are "basically trying to imitate what they think you would do if you had a computer plugged into your TV: Stream video, view photos, rent/watch TV and movies and listen to music" (Chen). Google is bringing to the competition something that no one else has yet- asking the all important question, is this even further ahead of the YouTube's and iPhone's that our society is familiar with? "Google is going a step further and bringing the rest of the computer experience- a browser and apps- into the package…it's a glimpse into the near future, where there will be very little difference between what you can on a desktop and what you can do on that set-top box sitting in front of your TV" (Chen). Zillion TV's CEO and Google are clearly on the same page of where the future of television is heading- it is what consumers want, things that are easy to use and accessible.

Though, with Google TV there are has been some backlash including the fact that broadcasters like ABC, NBC, CBS among others have banned the Google TV devices from accessing their content online, because of the "$80 billion" that would have been lost in TV advertisements (Lawler). Though, Google has seemingly evolved with the changing market demands it seems that there is still money being lost by the broadcasters, leading to the block. The business model that television is built on is delicate in that it is completely reliant on advertisements- with the loss of that seemingly sole source of revenue, it leaves broadcasters in jeopardy of losing even more money by giving products like Google TV. The future of television may be in the Google TV but the future is being slightly delayed by the 'old school' broadcasters that will be losing money as technology changes rapidly.

Furthermore, to reinforce the ideas that the Zillion TV CEO has, CNN has also reported that "major studios, including Fox, NBC Universal and Warner Brothers are moving quickly to establish Websites for their premium video titles, in hopes of grabbing a growing audience of online video viewers" (Patterson). Major studios do need to stay afloat and with major studios employing this strategy means that there is a new medium to fight over amongst the big studios, but also indicates that the way the medium is movement is here to stay and will become a way of the future. It costs significant amounts of money for studios to invest in website streaming; an investment that these studios do believe is going to pay off.

Some are even saying that Google TV is behind the mark and that the new future of television will be in Facebook, a social networking site that has revolutionized the way that people around the world connect with each other. The critics of current television say that television can be a "social thing" after all, so why wouldn't the largest social networking company in the world become involved in this potential opportunity? (Gobry). The potential to always be moving forward with technology is omnipresent and it is important to realize that the materials and technologies that society views as progressive and "new" might already be an old things in some circles. This particular article does not concentrate on the next steps beyond Google and Zillion TV, which is absolutely relevant in a fast moving field. Facebook TV could potentially be the next thing that becomes our standard- instead of watching TV in our friend's living room, what is stopping us from watching online in our own homes while chatting with them online? The ease and the convenience of not having to drive to your friends home to watch TV with them might be appealing to some- will online chat living rooms replace the real physical thing for some people? Perhaps. This same concept was applied via email- when email came to be a communication stronghold the written letter became virtually obsolete sending the United States Postal Service into a tailspin, with talks of bankruptcy and cutting service as a result. With new developments, other things become obsolete- it seems to be the crux of the idea of moving forward and progressing into a new and more developed time, with new advancements and new things to look forward too.

"According to a survey of more than 50 television experts surveys in advance of the Over-The-Top Conference to be held this week in San Jose….many of the conventions users are used to in the living room- channels, remote controls, and well, even the "living room" are going away" (Hachman). Television, as alluded to earlier, is very much a central part of our lives- the importance and the influence of television on our current society is clearly seen. With a majority of convention attendants believing that there will be no future of television and no "living room" so to speak, the way of our family unit and the way we spend time with family members may be altered.

Blockbuster was built on the foundation on individuals being able to drive to a store and pay to rent movies for a set price for a certain amount of days. But, Blockbuster is "yet another casualty of the fast moving world of technology and the bigger and more convenient movie providers" (Blockbuster Bankruptcy). Blockbuster was a way that people entertained themselves- renting movies was something that people did on the regular but with more conveniences like YouTube, Netflix and OnDemand movies on cable, renting movies became obsolete and hence, the reason why Blockbuster had become obsolete and bankrupt. It may seem inane when one asks themselves the question- is getting in one's car and driving to the store to rent a movie that difficult? But when pondering the question a bit longer, does it make sense to take time out of the day, stand in line for the movie and waste gas on getting there when one can have it at the click of a button sitting in their pajamas without getting into their car at all? Convenience and ease of use are staples of the new technological era, something that television does not seem to be offering anymore to consumers.

Television is shifting away from the standard way that we used to know it, and is now slowly converting to being a medium that is embedded online. At its essence, as illuminated by the YouTube Channel's and those who can make a living off of the streaming video website. The same business model is in play on a smaller and more individualized scale, while still fueling the channel so to speak, with the advertisements that are on the website. As illuminated above, the Internet is playing a growing role in society and is something that we now demand as Americans to be a part of mainstream culture. It is able to give us the information that we need at our finger prints instead of waiting for the information or the entertainment to show up at a scheduled time- we decide where we watch shows or where we can get our information, not the television. With access to a plethora of different sites, different videos, and different mediums, it is safe to say the options are boundless- something that television does not have.