What do you think the future holds for television?

[PhoenixAngel429]

Quote:
It's not even realistic. Never was. Why do they call it reality TV

 

[funkybabeone]

I think TV will be same but new features will be added in future and more ads...

 

[TedJan92_in_Idaho]

When direct TV's bill became $100+ a month I gave it up. I have a laptop hooked up to the big screen and still only watch it 5 hours a month. Not much that interest me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know how it will evolve but evolve it will. I'm sure it will take some totally unexpected directions.

I think it will continue to get more diversified, not so that we will be seeing more diversity when we look at it, but so we can all wrap ourselves in our own individual cocoon of what we watch and grow even further apart. I think the trend is already in place that we watch less of the "standard" network shows which unified us even when we did not agree with what they said and we will watch more specialized shows. Is TV as it is contributing to the polarization of America and will it help it get worse since we can now avoid seeing someone who has an opinion different than we want to hear? I think so already and it will get worse.

The old models of how it was paid for (commercials) will not work as well any more except for the things like the Superbowl where a lot of people watch. They won't make enough money off of one or two shows to pay for a season as hard as they try. The way we pay for it will change. Exactly how, I don't know. But I think this will contribute to us having less diversity in what we watch. If we are paying for it, we'll want to watch what we want to watch.

I think the regulatory climate will change. Not so much to protect our children from seeing things, though there will be a lot of demogoguery about that. With the state of the art as it is, you cannot control what is broadcst outside the US, let alone what the state of the art will be. And there is that little thing called Freedom of Speech that a lot of us support, even when some of that speech is so disgusting. I think the regulatory changes will be more toward protecting the revenue source than what is actually broadcast.

I agree that channels like History and Discovery have changed. I used to trust what I saw on them a lot more. But when you start a show with a premise like "If a Yeti were living in your attic, would that explain the noises you here at night when the wind is blowing", I just don't trust what follows. I'm specifically thinking of the space aliens ones or the end of the world ones, but this is becoming way too common. And with those ? Versus Wild shows, a person in that situation would have to be nuts to do what some of them do. But obviously it is what people want to watch.

Interesting question.

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

I think the future will hold more and more celebrity worship on every channel including our pathetic corporate news stations, with more sports shows and spin offs about celebrity news like TMZ and EXTRA. Personally I feel like TV is going to reflect exactly how uneducated and unintelligent the majority of our society gets. I think its going to directly covey what society holds most important-because thats what they want to hear about and watch.

About commercials, I don't know if they'll become more or less-or just morph into another form (split screen ads or shows directly advertising products/services within their programming). In any event, I don't plan on allowing my children to watch TV without me in the room due to the nature of commercials-especially those with similarities to carl's Jr. "god of hamburger" type of overtly sexual imagery.

I think all the big cable providers like verizon fios, direct tv time warner and at&t will merge until there are less than 3 because the mass consumer market will be looking for shows immediately (and commercial free) from providers like hulu and netflix and they'll get their news from the internet from whatever source agrees with their veiws.

I'm 26 and I didn't grow up with anything but basic programming--well, more like the 4 channels that could come through without too much static. I'm married now and I convinced my husband who grew up with the most elaborate cable type tv channels to save $ and try out basic programming. It works out well, we have at least 40 channels, of course some are in spanish and korean, but those I enjoy most are PBS, KCET and other similar public broadcasting stations. I only trust news from those sources too.

I bring that up because the only reason I even use television is for news (and emberrassingly, the simpsons), I can't really depend upon the internet due to the fact there is just so much information that I find unreliable. PBS has the best news, they often host guests with totally different opinions and give everyone equal air time. They don't spin anything because they don't have such a huge agenda to promote like CNN or FOX does.

ANyways... TV, interesting topic...

 

[mom'sfolly]

I really like TV, and see it for what it is, entertainment.

It is not the degradation of society or the end of the world.

I think TV will change in the ways the Ridgerunner has mentioned. I think at some point you will be able to pick and choose channels rather than having to buy some bundled product. This will lead to more niche markets and a more diversified TV. There will be no more water cooler talk about MASH, Friends, CSI, or Seinfield; because there will be no programs with that kind of universal appeal. I think that with TV and internet news, soon people will never be exposed to a differing point of view unless they seek it out. They will never see a program designed to provoke thought or dissenting views.

TV will become more interactive, reality TV already allows viewer to text their votes. It will also become more mixed media. Several programs offer "additional content" via the internet Some have huge tie-ins to these other media. Advertising is also changing and will continue to do so. I suspect that "additional content" will come with ads that cannot be bypasses. Many people do not watch live TV, but use DVR technology to watch. This makes it very hard for advertisers. I think we will see more product placement, and more subtle advertising. I also expect TV executives to figure out how to get around the whole DVR thing.