The Future of TV Doesn’t Involve Television At All
The popularity of streaming services such as Hulu, Netflix and YouTube makes sitting down to watch a show with others increasingly uncommmon
Picture this: one remote, three channels and a family feud. The situation is not one we are familiar with today, but it is one our parents experienced.
When one family member was watching Saturday cartoons, suddenly the whole family was as well.
Now we live in a time where any movie, TV show, or other type of entertainment is available at any time, across all of our devices.
While someone’s watching TV, you stream your show on Netflix on your laptop, your sister watches it on YouTube on the iPad and your parents watch it on Hulu on their phone.
The world is now so focused on “On Demand” entertainment, we will probably never have the same situation as our parents.
Some channels – such as HGTV and Food Network – moved to TV streaming services, including Netflix and Google’s Chromecast.
“We want our viewers to have the ability to watch our shows wherever and whenever they want,” General Manager and Senior Vice President of Food Network Bob Tuschman said.
Senior Kyle Boyle enjoys the ease of streaming. “You just pay one price per month, but also there’s no commercials and you can kind of just binge watch it for hours and get really caught up in your show,” she said.
Freshman Michael McGinnis enjoys any type of On Demand TV. “On Demand is the best. They have the best tv shows and the best movies,” he said.
Freshman Funisha Pendleton agrees that On Demand makes entertainment more accessible. “You can just type what you want to watch, and you can just go to different things to see what you like because they’ve got horror movies, drama, historic movies, etc,” she said.
Shaker parent Rachel Browner recalls when shows were on one time. “We definitely watched movies with friends on VHS, but basically you watched tv at night with your family when your favorite shows were on,” she said.
Before the age of streaming, Netflix used to mail movies and TV shows to customers.
Although it still offers this option, many of its users stream now stream Netflix to their TV, computer, tablet, or smartphone. Other popular services like Hulu and YouTube use streaming as well.
Browner has followed the rest of the TV audience, now watching most of her television on Netflix.
“I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I almost solely watch Netflix series–either by myself when I’m exercising or relaxing,” said Browner.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings explains the popularity of the system in an interview with Business Insider. “The consumers can watch when they want, on what type of device they want, and the content has just got better and better,” he said.
Shaker parent Liz Montenegro thinks streaming brings a whole new flexibility to TV. “Streaming TV has made watching TV very flexible – I no longer have to be sure to be at home, in front of the TV at a certain time and day to catch my favorite show,” she said. “Now, if I miss it – or the whole season – I can catch up with On Demand, Netflix, or Amazon Prime.”
Most TVs, however, cannot stream Netflix and other services alone. So companies such as Amazon, Roku, Google and even Apple have made streaming boxes that stream exclusive channels.
The Apple TV, while priced much higher at $70, can stream media from any iOS device as well as services like Netflix and Hulu. With Apple’s newest announcement, however, streaming is taken to the next level. The new Apple TV is expensive at $150, but it has many new functions. With Siri and a touchpad remote, one can talk to their TV to see any show or movie they want from Apple’s large library of media.
The new Apple TV, released Oct. 30, allows the user to access apps, iTunes movies and TV shows, streaming services and a feature called AirPlay that allows everything on your iPad, iPhone, or Mac screen to projected onto your TV. It also includes integration for Siri, so you can talk to your TV to find a show or movie.
“A lot of people are replacing their cable with it, because you can watch what you want to watch, whenever you want to watch it,” an employee of the Apple store said about the new Apple TV.
There are even apps for the TV box, so shopping, sports, gaming and more can be brought to the TV, further expanding our definition of “On Demand.”
Is this needed? Adults and some teens just want to watch TV the “old-fashioned” way.
“While streaming is definitely making big inroads, for now at least the overwhelming majority still watch TV as they always have. But the winds of change are blowing,” Tuschman said.
Sophomore Andrew Frye thinks that live TV will last. “I think it’ll stay around because especially with sports, it’s such a big market,” he said.
Some believe that the death of programmed TV for teens means less family bonding.
Freshman Ema Umuosen reaffirms these beliefs. “Sometimes [my family] watches tv in small groups but not together,” she said.
Montenegro disagrees, saying that streaming offers more bonding in today’s day and age. “Having access to entire seasons of shows has actually given [my daughter] and me something to bond over – and laugh about when we’ve been glued to the couch for hours catching up on 30 Rock or Parks and Recreation,” she said. “Because we can watch it when we want to watch it we’re able to watch it together when we’re both not busy.”
“Streaming has drastically changed the way we watch TV,” said Browner. “Having anything you want on demand when you want it has made things a lot more convenient, but also less social.”
Journalism I Reporter Astrid Braun contributed reporting.
