Assignment #7 - The Future of Television

Awesome! It was amazing when cable became available to me when I returned to Michigan from the rural unincorporated town of Joshua Tree, California in 1993. I could watch channels other than 2, 4, 7, 9, and maybe a couple of others when I lived in JT. I saw M*A*S*H* regularly on TV and later it became more common for me to just pop a video in the VCR. I spent a lot more time on my studies and my clay sculptures back then. As time goes on I have had to learn to prioritize and sometimes A&E or a documentary like “Frida” from Netflix, wins over dragging out my Laguna Beach clay and setting up to mold a new head. Now I get really involved in watching amateur videographers work on YouTube or how to roll a sushi roll direct from an internet food website. I like the idea that I will be able to view anything I want from anywhere on the planet at anytime, through broadband internet.

Lately I’ve been watching Intervention, Celebrity Rehab and Sober House on a regular basis. At the end of these shows the television network tells the viewers how they can log onto the website to see more of the show that was not released to the television viewers. If a viewer is interested in finding out if one of the participants of Intervention is still sober, since the taping of the show they can go to the website and find out. I haven’t tried it but the television network advertises the feature. It is probably the same for The Biggest Loser, Lost, and others. Entire episodes of some programs can be watched on the web.

As Amanda Lotz states in The Television Will Be Revolutionized, after the original run on a network, “producers sell episodes in international markets, to independent stations, and to broadcast affiliates to recoup the costs of deficit financing. These opportunities to sell content after and even during the original network run are called “distribution windows.” These windows of distribution are changing as the post network era comes into being. After the original run the locations that these programs can be viewed and means of being distributed into the home are many. Cable and satellite, VCR tapes, DVD’s, VOD services and more recently episodes are downloaded or streamed via Internet sites. We’ve come along way baby!



Retrieved from Creative Commons

“Repurposing” is another term Amanda Lotz shared to explain how a “series can earn additional revenue during its original run either by airing multiple times on the broadcast network licensing the series (more than a typical rerun) or by airing concurrently on a cable network.” We see repurposing in action when we watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) within a very short time span showing on two different broadcast networks. We see double runs of Charmed and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as well as others. We are finding that we can now or we at least are told that in the very near future we will be able to watch Rifleman and Eight is Enough via the Internet through our television. I can think of quite a few old tv shows that I would love to see again and guess what? I might be able to, someday very soon. “The Television Will Be Revolutionized.” Amanda D. Lotz is the author. This book was published by the New York University Press in 2007. All of the information previously discussed comes from this book. http://www.amazon.com/Television-Will-be-Revolutionized/dp/0814752195
 
Check this out just for fun . . . http://www.youtube.com/xl


I watched The Life of Riley, a 1953 sitcom – on YouTube. I watched Shindig on YouTube. I watched Peyton Place on YouTube. I watched Dark Shadows on YouTube. They were only a few minutes long though. I know that full-length episodes will become available soon and some already are. None of these are too popular with the youth of today but reminiscing folk like me enjoyed the three minutes available for viewing.







“Successes (and Some growing Pains) at Hulu” is an article in The New York Times that introduced me to Hulu.com. “Hulu, the popular and free online video hub . . .” I went to Hulu.com to check it out. Even though the article points out that some are dissatisfied with Hulu I found it pretty cool, since it is new to me, as most of these internet entities I am learning about are. As it turns out though the Hulu as I see it today may not be the Hulu of tomorrow. The content suppliers want things to be done differently than they are now doing at Hulu, for instance, Hulu needs to earn more advertising dollars. The suppliers just don’t feel that they are earning their share of the revenue that is generated by Hulu. The subscription services that we see here and there is something that the suppliers would like Hulu to begin offering, monthly fees paid by the consumer would bring more revenue and is something being considered, even if only for “at least some of the shows on the site.” Free for now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/technology/01hulu.html?sq=internet_television&st=nyt



www.hulu.com

I pay a subscription service fee monthly to Netflix. I have access to literally millions of movies, documentaries and independent films. I don’t have to pay an awful lot for the convenience of streaming some great flicks into my computer. It’s wonderful! Being able to stream from there into my big tv will be so cool.

“Customer Satisfaction:

More than 90% of Netflix members say they are so satisfied with the Netflix service that they recommend the service to family and friends”

Taken from Netflix Press Release

The article “Changing Channels, From Cable to the Web”, also from The New York Times tells us the social media can be a problem for people without cable. The reason is because the shows they may be hearing about, they cannot see on the Web or DVD right away, they usually aren’t available until after the showed has aired on TV and the social sites like Facebook sometimes give it all away. Everybody is talking. Spoil sports. Many people are not going to want to give up cable and their TV, the way they have always watched movies – and they won’t unless they are forced to – at some point in the future. ...


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/garden/11tv.html?sq=web_televisiont=cse&scp=14&p

I don’t think that in 10 years that force will come into play. Hopefully force will never happen. Force – a vision that includes force is not what I envision. I think it will be more like the 5 C’s of the concluding chapter of “The Television Will Be Revolutionized.” 1) Choice –we will have so many choices about the way we watch movies and television programs that it could be difficult to make a decision, but we will have 2) Control – and our choices will be made in our ability to pay for the format we wish to view whatever it is we want to view. VOD, Netflix, Free viewing with Hulu or is there a movie I want to see that even streaming into my TV from Hulu, that I want to pay to see? So many options and lots of control. As part of the niche audience I may want to watch “Shindig” episodes rather than the “Grounded for Life” sitcom of my partners choice. I can control this by streaming from Hulu to my TV while he watches the network shows from his. 3) Convenience aplenty. Aside from my television set not being as big as his, I can watch whatever I want and if I want, I can buy a new bigger television for my pleasure of viewing my 4) Customized entertainment. TiVo is another way to customize scheduling when I watch what I want to watch and with what 5) Community. Communities to share the experience are available online. When there was a online broadcast of the characters of Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” recently, just before the release of the movie with Johnny Depp, I joined in the conversations online while watching the interviews with the characters and previews of the movie. I also was able to make comments about Metro Station and the other live musical entertainment during the event which took place somewhere in Hollywood.

Credit goes to Walt Disney Studios

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=103225062


Alice in Wonderland - Tea Party

Trailer Park Movies
MySpace Video

Retrieved from MySpace Video

Broadband TV relates to issues we learned about in the Long Tail because we can view the things that are out there that may not be listed in the TV Guide. The Internet offers us so many ways to democratize and does appeal to the common people. As common people we must remember to give credit where it belongs and not to use it as our own when it is not.

Much of this post has been borrowed and I have hopefully given accurate and appropriate credit to the rightful owners of the works herein.

What will TV look like in 10 years? Your guess is as good as mine – maybe better. I think we will be able to see and learn whatever we want by many different methods. I think that my post involves what is to come in 10 years – afterall 10 years really isn’t that long. I don’t have a vision beyond what I’ve included as what is either now, or will be in the very near future. Prior to this term I could not have told you half of the things that I have been able to talk about because of the experience of this class and the research I have had the pleasure of doing.

Someone else’s vision includes from this website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/4566704/Televisions-to-be-fitted-in-contact-lenses-within-ten-years.html

The idea that television may be viewed from contact lenses comes from some analysts. Powered by the body heat of the viewer. If you want to read more about this vision check out the link above.

For years I have had the idea that it would be awesome to record our dreams and fantasies. Is it possible? Maybe in ten years I can attach a new device that will record my dreams while I sleep and make an instant movie. Wouldn’t that be cool? Scary too. Some of my dreams would be bestselling nightmares.
 
 

Photo taken by Kathie Norfleet

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.


Someone is having a similar thought – check out this website http://dreamrecorded.com/

But it isn’t exactly what I am thinking. Not quite as sophisticated. Almost stealing. Almost?