Has the Internet Killed the TV Star?

TV has been a dominant source of popular entertainment for decades, with mass audiences and mass advertising revenues.  But has the Internet made it obsolete?  The fragmentation and divergence of the media at the same time as convergence of electronic devices are two of the defining features of the 21st century so far.  So, has the Internet killed the TV star? Or is there still some life in the old box yet?

Well, let's take a look at those two defining features in turn.  Firstly, the fragmentation of the media.  More choice, more channels, more information; the volume of content being generated and made available to us seems to be growing exponentially.  We are all publishers now.  I write a blog, I post it, and it becomes part of that huge pile of content out there that is doing what exactly?  Instead of the old problems of not being able to get enough information, the problem now is in finding the right information, the credible, useful information, amongst the stacks of rehashed and regurgitated trash.

This creates new challenges for society in managing that information, and it's no wonder that those organisations that help us do this (e.g. Google, Facebook)  have been some of the greatest success stories of our generation.

How does all of this affect TV?  Well, it gives us other options, other ways to find entertainment and particularly in the case of the Internet, the flexibility to take what TV does and enrich the experience further by making video just one part of the entertainment experience.  The Internet enables us to watch an entertaining piece of video (e.g. a TV programme), and discuss it with people around the world while we watch.  It enables us to comment on it, rate it, find out more about the creators, actors, issues, all while we continue to enjoy the content itself.  For a generation that has grown up doing four or five things at once this is the norm, and right now your average TV experience doesn't even come close.

So, does this mean the end of traditional TV programming and viewing?  Well, not necessarily.  The way I see it, the lines between the TV and the Internet are becoming blurred.  Interactive TV (or Internet TV) is starting to reach the stage where it can offer us the sort of rich experience we get online, but on our TV screen.  Imagine watching your favourite TV programme and seeing a band you like playing a song from their new album.  What if you could click on that band on your TV screen, opening a panel or pop-up where you could see more information about them, compare prices and buy their album with a single click (or press of your remote button).  What if you could download the album right then and play it straight away on a single machine? 

You might say, well I can do all that on the Internet.  Yes, but what I'm talking about here is a seamless, single screen, single device experience, which brings us to the hardware in question.  Right now we're at a time of transition when it comes to the devices we use to access the Internet and to store our information.  Tablets (like the iPad) have attempted to bridge the gap between the laptop computer and the mobile phone, and PC TVs are starting to appear in our homes.  The screens we use, their locations, and how we physically interact with them have never been more important.  The company that predicts correctly how we'll be interacting with screens in-home, out of home, and in the workplace will win big.  I don't know how it will go, but right now there are opportunities to transform the way we use technology. 

Who says we have to have a separate screen for our TV consumption, Internet consumption and for interacting by voice?  Who says TVs have to be operated by a 'remote control' (see the X-Box Kinect).  Our lives have become cluttered with too many screens and too many devices (I regularly sit at home with a TV screen, two PC screens and a mobile screen all on, all in use - too much!). Working out the ergonomics and aesthetics are as important as the technology right now. I  for one don't want to be carrying a mobile, a tablet, an e-reader, and a laptop around with me forever.

So, is the TV dead?  Well, maybe the rigid, scheduled programming and switching channels with a remote control is, but the screen itself, at the heart of the home, but doing more and integrating our experience, is very much alive...