Sunday, March 1, 2015
Television in the 1960s and today
In the 1960s television was the hot new thing, every household had to have one. While TV was a huge leap forward from radio which until then had been the dominant news and entertainment medium, TV in the 1960s was quite primitive when compared with television in the 21st century. 3 network channels compared with hundreds of channels on cable. Programming with relatively low production value and in black and white compared with full color broadcasts in HD. In terms of variety, choice and quality, it is simply no contest; modern TV is far superior to what TV was in the 1960s. However, TV in the 1960s also had certain advantages over television today: it was the dominant medium with no competition; current affairs and entertainment had to be seen on TV which is why every household had to have one. Nowadays, the internet has become a viable alternative to television and is increasingly causing almost insurmountable competitive pressure on TV. The cable cutting movement is increasingly in the news - people opting to forego television altogether in favor of streaming the content they want over the internet. Everything that TV has to offer can now be accessed over the internet - news, sports, movies . . . and increasingly television channels are forced to offer their content for streaming as well. The monopoly which TV enjoyed in the 60s may well have been broken for good.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is a very interesting analysis. While I agree that the internet is becoming more and more popular and people are shifting to streaming content to a degree, TV is still a very important mode of communication. Firstly, much of the content streamed online is aired on television first. Also, many people still rely on TV for news and entertainment. This is especially true of the older generation, many of which do not know how to work computers.
ReplyDeleteI like your analysis of TV then and now, especially your point that in some ways TV was more important in the '60s, although it has much more viewership today. The internet is definitely causing TV to become slightly less popular, but TV is certainly still very prevalent.
ReplyDeleteThis was really well put together in explaining the change in popularity with media. I thought it could maybe be shortened a little since It got a little repetitive towards the end.
ReplyDeleteThis was really well put together in explaining the change in popularity with media. I thought it could maybe be shortened a little since It got a little repetitive towards the end.
ReplyDeleteI like this analysis, the point about TV having more importance in the 60's than it does now resonates with me because I hardly watch TV. I look more to my phone and the resources that come with it, but I also think the idea of TV taking a backseat has to do with a new wave of technology. After all before the TV was the radio and now we have the internet taking over many streams of media.
ReplyDeleteI like your analysis between the tv back then in the 60's to the modern day tv. I liked that you compared and contrast a lot of the physical aspects of the TV. I like that you also talked about new features of today's TV that is far more different than the 60's, like being able to have internet and being able to stream. Athough the TV today entails so many advances in technology, many people don't even watch tv as much as families did back in the 60's anymore. Today, we have computers and laptops where people can pull up a show they missed, or stream, simply because it's easier and more convenient
ReplyDelete