The medium known as television would see many changes since John Logie Baird’s first demonstration of a working television. Even today, television continues to change in its nature and usage, as shown by the popularization of high-definition television sets, and as shown by the advent of Internet television. I believe that cable and satellite television will eventually shift to, or become wholly integrated to, the medium of the Internet, as it will prove to be the better investment on the part of advertisers.
It should be noted that my argument is not about the television sets themselves. Many people would prefer the experience of the couch and high-definition, widescreen television to the experience of a small chair and smaller screen. Says Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu “Yes, television is changing," said Kilar, "but I don't think TV is dying, because the television experience in the living room is a very good one -- and it's not going away.”
As I’ve stated before, I believe that the next incarnation of television will one dependent on the Internet. This is because I believe the Internet television model will prove to be more profitable for corporations and advertisers, attracted by the shift in television watching demographic to the Internet. And I believe this demographic shift will occur because of all the advantages Internet television has to offer. One such advantage is the freedom of choice. As a writer from the New York Post states in reference to his new AppleTV product with Boxee software added on: “On my 42-inch TV, without having to get up from my couch, I have watched music videos by Jay-Z, old episodes of "Miami Vice," viral videos from the UK, "Ghostbusters," the latest "24," Warner Bros. cartoons, a special on the origins of the universe; the list goes on and on. It's enough to quit my job and gain 50 pounds.” One is no longer limited by what they have to view at any given point in the day, and the selection is larger. Though it is true that cable and satellite providers do have “on demand” services, they often cost a fee, and are limited to recent programs and movies1. That is not to say AppleTV is free, as many of the shows and movies on it have to be rented or bought. It is to say, however, once a streaming Internet television program like Boxee is set up, there are no extra costs outside of the standard Internet service, and watching less then recent programming is not a problem. For example, a defunct show like Joss Whedon’s Firefly, can still be found on the Hulu website, and viewed in 480p high definition quality2. Another advantage is the freedom from scheduling conflicts. As USATODAY’s Andrew Kantor states, “For the past 50 or 60 years, we've watched TV on the schedule of other people. The Dick Van Dyke show aired at such-and-such a time, and that's when you watched it. If you were out, too bad.” Some critics can argue that the advent of record-able video cassettes allowed one freedom. Instead of watching the show in its entirety, one to could just be there at the very beginning to record and re record with a video cassette. Then with the creation of things such as Tivo, even more freedom from scheduling would be attained, one could simply set the cable box to record a show during such and such times3, maximizing the efficiency of recordings, which may not have been always possible with video cassettes. However both those things are not the same as the liberation from scheduling that the Internet provides. To use ABC’s Internet television model as an example, one simply has to wait for the time and day for an episode of Lost to air, and once it does, it can be found at any time on the website there after, and for free4. This removes the entire process of recording, and does not take up any virtual memory on the viewer’s end, as recording with a service like Tivo does. And finally there the advantage of simplicity. There are methods available to watch movies and television shows on the Internet without advertising,as the entire pirating culture of the Internet uses. However f rot the average person, such methods are not worth utilizing, be it because of laziness or the lack of knowledge. As Micheal Agger of Slate.com states, “Hulu is about putting TV on the Web for the so-called "silver surfers" (aka old people), the lazy, the clueless, and the lunchtime prime-time crowd. Both the site's content and presentation are resolutely mainstream. The "price" you pay is that Hulu's offerings are limited to Fox, NBC, and their partners, and that the site sneaks commercials into and around the shows in a modest way.”5 With more freedom being offered by television on line, I believe that the future of television will be defined by the Internet.
On the corporate end of the spectrum, both the studios and advertising agencies have much to gain from using the Internet as well. For example, the distribution method is really as simple as it is for cable and satellite television. Both mediums virtually receive the same information sent by broadcasters, and for both, wires have remained a necessity. However the advantage lies with the Internet, with the advent of mobile networking technologies such as Wi-Fi and 3G, Internet television will not require wires, and nearly no installation will be needed on the part of the providers, as it may for cable and satellite television. In fact, broadcasters may have already shifted over to the Internet entirely were it not for profit and critical mass factor. It is true that the amount of people actively using the Internet for television has risen. As one site states, 43 percent of the entire American viewing population has used the Internet for television within 2007, a notable increase from the 25 percent viewing population within 2006.6 At the same time, this has not proven to be enough to capture the critical mass point necessary for studios to completely adopt Internet television. In addition, television advertising remains much more profitable for corporations, in comparison to Internet advertising. Says Bill Bradford, senior vice president and chief product officer for Fox Digital Media , “TV advertising is still healthy and strong, but we’re at an interesting point. Content is now being consumed on many different platforms. We haven’t hit critical mass yet on all these platforms, but it does have people asking what is going to happen when we hit that tipping point.”7 Although Internet television provides distinct advantages to programming studios, it must also over come distinct disadvantages in order to become completely mainstream.
In my personal opinion, the advantages of television on the Internet will lead to the integration of cable and satellite television providers, as both consumers and producers stand to benefit from this technology. If cable and satellite television companies do not integrate, it is very possible that they may cease to exist. All that is left now, in the current day, is to wait and watch.
1 http://www.nypost.com/seven/02082009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/the_future_of_television_154045.htm
2 http://www.hulu.com/videos/search?query=Firefly
3 http://www.tivo.com/
4 http://abc.go.com/
5http://www.slate.com/id/2187501/
6http://www.fierceiptv.com/story/u-s-internet-tv-usage-soars/2008-02-05
7http://www.psfk.com/2009/04/the-perilous-future-of-television.html
