The death of TV
Ranjan Srivastava
Chief of Bureau, Prabhat Khabar, New Delhi
The death of TV! What an absurd idea? When the world of television is evolving before Indians in a big way, when every month we get some new channels, when Cable TV is entering in the lives of millions of small town people and things like DTH are still a very recent experience for metros, one can say that the idea of the death of television is quite absurd and unimaginable. But technology is all about making unimaginable and impossible things possible. In the more developed Western world, the quest for alternatives to television is picking up. A small box, which remained the darling of living rooms for more than six decades, is becoming obsolete. With less than 100 channels, We Indians remain hooked up to the TV set, while with more than 600 channels in western world people are opting for alternatives.
So, what does this mean? Is it the end of visual media? Not at all. Rather, visual media is becoming more important. But broadcast and TV sets are becoming obsolete.
In 1946, when TV was a new technological development, there were some people who called it a vast wasteland. But TV worked successfully in the domain of information and entertainment. Now after 60 years it seems that TV as a device and broadcast as a technology are giving way to new devices and technologies. Why is this happening? It¿s because of the emergence of digital communication, which has changed the whole world of information and communication.
Digital communication technology is based on a simple idea that like every other digital data, video is also a data and it can be sent anywhere in the world in tiny packets either by telephones (through copper wire) or by broadband or Wi-Fi. This single idea has changed the whole world of television. It has threatened the entire existence of TV sets. New experiments with digital entertainment are on a boom. IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is emerging before our eyes. In Japan, it is one of the most popular technologies. BT, the largest Telephone Company of Britain is entering the field of TV broadcasting. Google and Yahoo have brought their video search facilities. U-tube, a new video search website, has all user fed content and you can see more than 60 million video clips there.
With the emergence of digital communication technology, no one is restricted to TV to watch anything. TV is everywhere. It is on your mobile, on your PC, on your Laptop and on many other devices. TV has lost its prime position, it once had. Confronting the dangers, the TV set is changing. The most popular development is of Interactive Television. High definition TV sets are the new buzz. With this, you can watch more than one programmes at one time, you can participate in an online quiz or game show or purchase a particular product while sitting in your living room. Similarly, Digital video recorders are also changing the way we have watched programmes till yet. DVR is becoming very popular in the developed world. With this tiny equipment you can record all your favourite programmes and see them whenever you want. You can fast forward unwanted advertisements or scenes, and if you like something, you can freeze or record it in a CD.
Implications of digital entertainment are amazing. Fundamentally, it has given us two things the broadcast could never - one is personalisation and another is empowerment.
First, talk about empowerment. Digital entertainment has changed the whole idea of prime time. There is no prime time in the digital entertainment era. This is the biggest challenge for TV channels, Advertisement companies and the corporate sector. They are trying hard to cope with this situation. The concept of new prime time is emerging. It is your breakfast time, your travel time, your lunch time and your dinner time. It has given the viewer immense power and made him supreme. What the viewer wants, he can do.
However, the process of empowerment doesn¿t stop here. Digital and wireless technologies have written the script of death of TV. Entertainment is not limited only to your living room. We are now in an era where the mantra of entertainment is anything you want to see, anywhere, any time on any device. TV is now in our hand (in the form of mobile or other personal devices) and we can watch anything, anywhere and anytime we want.
Companies are changing themselves for this new situation. TU TV1 of Korea has brought two channels on mobile. ESPN too, has brought ESPN mobile2 for its mobile viewers. Fox TV is also preparing a special service for mobile viewers. The new era of digital communication technology makes viewer so powerful that he can do whatever he wants. He can record programmes, edit them, delete all the advertisements and even send them by internet or mobile to other people who want to share. Probably, that day is not far when one will ask a friend or relative to send a specific news bulletin or certain episode of a serial to watch.
But, this is not the limit of the powers a viewer has. Digital communication and entertainment has made the viewer the supreme power. With personal devices in his hand, he is able not only to view whatever he wants anytime, anywhere, but he is also able to create and distribute any content at the same moment. This changed situation of a viewer is making him more powerful than ever. Tsunami and the London blasts are examples, when the initial visuals were captured and sent not by a journalist, but by an ordinary viewer. This technological development has brought a new phenomenon before us, that of Citizen Journalism. This is another topic to be discussed in a separate article.
Traditional broadcast and TV sets have a basic problem. You can¿t watch them anywhere and anytime. Neither you can watch things of your choice. Digital entertainment has changed this scenario. This fundamental problem of TV and traditional broadcast is making them obsolete.
New devices are taking their place. 3-G mobile is one of them. Another is IPTV. Bill Gates calls it the ¿Future of Entertainment.¿ He has invested 400 million US dollars to develop this project 3. Sooner rather than later, world of Television will shift from cable and satellite to Internet, from broadcast to broadband and this will bring more changes. Then we will be able to watch unlimited number of channels. With this shift, the TV set will naturally transform itself. It will not remain a box only to watch. It will become an interactive medium, where you will be able to paying your bills, answering your calls also. IPTV will make it possible to watch more than one programme on our screen. Not only this, we will be capable of customize our screen as we want. So, one can customize his screen in such a way that on one corner a serial is running, on other a match, a ticker of a news channel is on the bottom and caller id of his landline number on top. This is just an example. When the user will be empowered with this technology, how he will use, it will be a matter to be studied.
Similar is the case of personalisation. Video-on-demand (VOD) and DVRs are changing the situation when people will cease to follow programmer¿s schedule. Only few programmes will be watched on schedule and others will wail till the viewer wants. With VOD you will not be forced to watch what programmers want, but you will be free to watch what you want. There are efforts to develop a video library on the Internet. It will make possible to get any video with a click of mouse.
Last but not the least, two major efforts in digital entertainment are worth mentioning here. One is TU TV of South Korea. It has developed two dozen audio and video channels for mobile users. Its programmes are made for small screen of a mobile set. Its news bulletins and other programmes are of just five minutes, and it is very popular in South Korea. It was started in last May and till December 2005 it had 1 million subscribers.
The other effort is of Sling Media. It puts hardware in your TV set, which enables you to watch the same programme running on your TV from any corner of the world.
A new era of broadcast is before us. This is changing the whole perception of media. Citizen Journalism is one thing; it has given to us. In India, it is in early stages. But very soon we will see these all developments here too. Devices and technologies are available, and it is just a matter of time when we will be able to watch anything, anywhere, any time on any device.
1 Visit Tu4u.com
1 Visit mobile.espn.go.com
3 See Newsweek, May 23, 2005.
Writer can be contacted at ranjan1174@gmail.com