Saturday, January 24, 2015

The future of television

People want choices. They want to decide when, where, and how they will eat, sleep, or watch something. We like freedom, and we like choosing what we'll watch. 

This accounts, in part, for why television is declining in popularity. Time Magazine reported that fewer people than ever are watching TV, which is likely because TV doesn't allow viewers to select their programming. TV is still the most popular source of entertainment for Americans, but it's quickly being overrun by online streaming websites and devices like Netflix, Apple TV and Chromecast. And more people can't watch TV live, without the convenience of DVR to zip commercials. We'll delay watching a show one or two hours just to escape the commercials. 

Still, television is the only way people can watch sports, reality shows and some television dramas,  (Bravo comes to mind as being especially TV exclusive--it's nearly impossible to watch the Housewives outside of the boobtube) so the television set continues as a central fixture in 97.6 percent of American homes. 

But as the media landscape continues to evolve, the most successful platforms will let the audience select the show.  


No comments:

Post a Comment