The Future of Television

Book excerpt: The book is divided into two sections: one focusing on the phenomenon of television and the other on audiences. It argues that television is changing from a singular object, fixed in a particular place, to a social phenomenon distributed across many devices and platforms. It also argues that audiences are increasingly demanding an ‘open relationship’ with television, as their attention is often distributed across multiple devices and platforms simultaneously. In addition to these aspects, we analyse the evolution of television since its inception, the need for a renewed public service 2.0 in tune with our times, the increasing dominance of talk shows and infotainment, and the new power of television combined with artificial intelligence. These and many other topics are covered in this book, which will be of interest to television professionals, academics in sociology, media studies, and various other fields.