Introduction Digital Television Learning outcome 1: Demonstrate an understanding of debates and key issues in relation to television Digital television changing traditional television Watching online Live television Liveness and online television Barbara Mitra 1
Digital Television Digital systems are shaping television New companies online Experimentation and continuation Reception across various sites and screens Existential crises for television Post-television era Changes to technology, audience, industry, content, culture Barbara Mitra 2
Television and Video Difficult to differentiate video, film and television Global audiences moving online Bookstores investing in television programming Audiences produce video content Barbara Mitra 3
Netflix 31.3 Million subscribers in the U.S. and 8.3 Million elsewhere Began as DVD mail-order subscription service 1999 Streaming online film service Subscription (what is it) Tends to have older titles May view content on computers, mobile phones, ipads etc. Netflix has hurt rating of children s programmes. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theswitch/wp/2016/03/28/netflix-is-coming-for-yourkids/?utm_term=.f1d37aea7159 Barbara Mitra 4
Netflix is growing Barbara Mitra 5
Netflix interest by Country Barbara Mitra 6
Impact Encourages more television consumption Older drama episodes (e.g. Mad Men) increased audiences for new episodes 31 Emmy nominations in 2014 No pilots All new episodes available at once Gets pitches from A list scriptwriters Enables you to return to the show at the same point Privileges individualised consumption Barbara Mitra 7
Content Content from Paramount, MGM, 20 th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Time Warner, Produces its own premium content e.g. House of Cards Built own set in Baltimore More content available through services such as Netflix Criticisms: Poor quality of programming Old films rather than new ones Barbara Mitra 8
Amazon Prime and Hulu 40 Million U.S. Subscribers and 10 Million Worldwide 2013-2014 Prime Instant Video tripled its videos 2014 entered arrangement with HBO Hulu free streaming service (2007) Owned by Disney, NBC Universal, 21 st Century Fox Hulu Plus subscription service Advertising embedded into video streams 2013: 5 million subscribers (U.S. and Japan) Barbara Mitra 9
Apple and itunes itunes dominates electronic sell-through Paying for one time free to download and own a product 2011; Sales exceeded those of DVDs 2013 800,000 television episodes and 350,000 films a day Apple TV but tied into Apple products Rumoured to be working on television that incorporates voice and face recognition Assumptions: people want to do everything on one screen may not be true Online television, though, fulfils multiple media experiences Barbara Mitra 10
YouTube Google staking claim in television market via YouTube Launched 1000 channels of niche programming by Madonna, Disney, Wall Street Journal etc. Emulates how television networks market programmes Reorganised to function like television Joint venture with 20 th Century Fox to rent and sell films Thus the television industry itself is changing YouTube competes for audiences with on-demand subscriptions, partners and original channels Barbara Mitra 11
Homecasting Homecasting users upload audiovisual messages caters to specific audiences or wide audiences. Television broadcasts open up a window on the world. Homecasting stares back into the living room. Tweets, Facebook etc. have video content Snippets of video content challenging the definitions of programmes. Barbara Mitra 12
Freedom online Key theme is freedom Of legitimate and illegitimate online viewing More choice available Freedom from advertising Creation of post-television generation https://youtu.be/l8li2rtkvoa (digital era and television) Barbara Mitra 13
Zero Crowd TV Term used for those who don t watch traditional television A television on the internet (internet television) Watching on computers may enable more multi-tasking. Television is still watched Live events e.g. Red Nose Day, Sports, Eurovision. Bullet curtain. Barbara Mitra 14
Bullet curtain on Twitter Barbara Mitra 15
Liveness Broadcasting live direct Historically all programmes were live Real events Connecting oneself with others/world events https://youtu.be/xvd_3yrhqde (live moments on TV) Watching at the same time as others Barbara Mitra 16
Types of Live Fully live Major media events The belief something is live Edited, fiction, continuity, fiction Genres news and liveness Direct address The voice over Acousmatic voice Barbara Mitra 17
Online liveness Online liveness overlaps with other categories of liveness Live commentary creates illusion of live television Most news reports are made of edited visual material/recorded (BBC news channel/24 hour news channels Online Liveness Digitisation does not change WHAT we do but the WAYS in which we do it Programmes promoted as live or advertised as live events e.g. Red Nose Day, Eurovision May use content from audiences for free. Liveness as part of multi-platform mediascape. Barbara Mitra 18
Summary Digital television changing traditional television Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube and post-television era Watching online/traditional television doing more More content available More devices on which to watch Live television definitions have changed Watching live/live broadcasts/events Online liveness Complexities of multiplatforms what is television? Barbara Mitra 19
References Caldwell, J. (2003) Convergence Television: Aggregating Form and Repurposing Content in the Culture of Conglomeration. In L. Spiegel and J. Olsson (Eds.) Television After TV. Essays on a medium in Transition. Durham, Duke University Press. Meikle, G. and Young, S. (2012) Media Convergence. Networked Digital Media in Everyday Life. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. Miller, T. (2010) Television Studies. The Basics. Oxon, Routledge. Strangelove, M. (2015) Post-TG. Piracy, Cord-Cutting and the Future of television. Toronto, University of Toronto Press Barbara Mitra 20