Almost every night for the last few days, I have been glued to the television, particularly CNN, to watch the latest political developments in the USA live all the way from Washington, DC. Yes, that is half a world and 24 hours away if one travels by air. Yet, I could catch every word, every expression of the witnesses in real time, as if I was sitting right there in the inquiry room.
That is the power of television, which means ‘long distance pictures’ (The Sinhala equivalent Rupahavini has the same meaning, as does India’s Doordarshan). It connects you instantly to the rest of the world. News, sports, drama, movies, music, documentaries – you name it, television has it. There is no other medium that can even come close to television in terms of impact and reach. Television continues to be the single largest source of video consumption around the world despite the rise of YouTube and the like.
In recognition of the increasing impact television has on decision-making by bringing world attention to conflicts and threats to peace and security, and its potential role in sharpening the focus on other major issues, including economic and social issues, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed November 21 as World Television Day. This is a day to remind ourselves of the potential of television and the role it plays in our everyday life. World Television Day is not so much a celebration of the tool, but rather the philosophy which it represents. Television represents a symbol for communication and globalization in the contemporary world.
This was done in recognition of the increasing impact television has on the process of decision-making. Television was thus acknowledged as a major tool in informing, channeling and affecting public opinion. Its impact and presence and its influence on world politics could not be denied.
Television as we know it dates back to 1936, when the BBC trialled electronic television – basically a cathode ray tube, a technology that survived until the 2000s. However, John Logie Baird is widely credited with inventing the television, though this was a mechanical contraption.
Public television broadcasting has been with us for nearly 80 years (radio is pushing 100 years), first in black and white and then in colour since the 1950s. Colour television took about two decades to take off and now B&W televisions are no longer available.
Although television – in terms of broadcast technology and TV screen technology – has come a long way since the 1930s, a television set is still basically a screen with speakers. Most of the TVs available today are of the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) variety, which allows manufacturers to make really flat panels that can be hung on a wall.
There is a competing technology called Organic Light Emitting Display (OLED) which does not need a backlight and hence, is much thinner. Other technologies such as Mini LED and Micro LED are coming up.
In terms of broadcast technology, on air broadcasts have mostly gone digital, while millions now get their TV fix via satellite, cable and even the Internet (Internet Protocol Television). High definition and 4K technologies give the viewer a better picture.
Delivering TV content via the Internet is now called Streaming, which has challenged the traditional TV industry with on-demand content. The biggest player in this space is Netflix, which is now available worldwide. In any case, most TV services now allow viewers to time shift programs, a trend that was initially popularized by the Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) in the 1970s.
In fact, you don’t even need a TV set to watch television at all. Your smartphone or tablet can double up as a TV.
On occasions when I can get someone else to drive me home after work, I just take out the smartphone and watch CNN’s live stream. Even though there are various new ways to watch TV content, the number of households with actual television sets around the world continues to rise. The interaction between emerging and traditional forms of broadcast creates a great opportunity to raise awareness about the important issues facing our communities and our planet.
This process, called convergence, means that television, the web, radio, social media are all accessible in one place – your television set, Blu-Ray player, media streaming stick, laptop, smartphone or tablet. One can actually watch any TV station anywhere in the world from anywhere else in the world thanks to the World Wide Web.
News is still the main driver of TV viewership, inclusive of news documentaries and interviews. I hardly watch any local TV now, but I rarely miss the Rupahavini News at 8 p.m. Then I switch on to CNN, BBC or another foreign news channel to get a global outlook. There is a raging debate on violence on television, but there is an argument that censoring violence on television would blot out news broadcasts that mostly feature wars, shootings and conflicts.
Here in Sri Lanka, most TV channels now seemingly depend on a plethora of teledramas as their main revenue stream. These are mostly devoid of any substance or a really meaningful story.
Some have even promoted anti-social ideas such as suicide. Moreover, the language used in most teledramas is rather crude and may unduly influence children. Good educational programs are hardly found on the television menu, which is rather sad.
I practically grew up with television in the early 80s (we were the first generation to experience television as children) and even with just two local channels (Rupahavini and ITN), there were plenty of educational and informative programs to watch.
It is regrettable that the talents of our subtitle translators and dubbing artistes/technicians are wasted on imported teledramas, whereas they can be used to subtitle or dub into Sinhala and Tamil educational programs sourced from channels such as NatGeo and Discovery.
There are tons of educational programs on these channels – my favourite being Plane Crash Investigation on NatGeo.
Will television go the way of the Dodo? Highly unlikely. Television sales are rising around the world and broadcast stations are switching on new technologies as we write.
In the end, what matters is the content – it has managed to break free of the ‘Box’ at home and reach us anywhere in the world 24/7 thanks to the rise of the Internet. Whatever the method of delivery, television will continue to dominate our lives well into the next century.