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The Future: Our findings & significance

 

All in all, it is not overly difficult to determine that TV is changing and that streaming will most likely be the way of the future - it’s happening all around us and is plain to see. What becomes more difficult is predicting exactly how Australian television will fit within the wider Western world of content.

 

For starters, the idea of reincarnation, especially in terms of something intangible, like the notion of TV, is immediately loaded and subjective - it’s difficult to determine whether or not something has achieved new life in an evolutionary sense - especially when it’s a concept as fundamentally ambiguous as TV, or television is, by definition.

 

The second major issue when trying to determine whether TV is reincarnated comes with the fact that we are still well and truly in the midst of TV’s transformation. It could be argued that things all started to change around 2007 in the US, but probably closer to 2011 in Australia, with the arrival and initiation of streaming services such as Netflix. Now, the market of content streaming in Australia is dominated by Netflix, Stan and Presto - all premium, subscriber based services with enormous libraries available to stream at the press of a button. These differ from other previously introduced services such as ABC iView, TenPlay and the respective 7 and 9 network catch-up services, but still provide what is traditionally known as ‘televisual’ content to their audiences, when they so desire, through streaming. As we’re still coming to terms with the exact place of streaming services within Australia, it becomes difficult to determine exactly what is happening now and how things will stand in the future, without the benefit of future hindsight.

 

Another problematic aspect of our response is the uncertainty as to whether or not the content being consumed through the streaming services can still be considered television content. Does the fact that it’s being watched on mobile phones, computers and tablets mean that it is less ‘television’ than the broadcast content of yesteryear?...

 

Perhaps more than any other factor, the issue that we’re researching is something that hasn’t entirely unfolded yet also means that we will be predicting the future in one sense. However, as long as we can minimise the amount of guesswork that goes into our report, we should be able to have a fairly accurate response as to whether or not work within the TV industry will be viable in the future, within Australia.

 

An enormously comprehensive report published by Google in December, 2014 entitled: ‘The Evolution of TV: 7 Dynamics Transforming TV’ offers a number of predictions about the TV industry in the US, based on in-depth research. The writers, Greg Philpott and Anish Kattukaran, recognise the ‘massive shift’ currently reshaping the television industry and begin to delve into how these changes can best be adopted by the industry. Whilst the research that has gone into this report is based in the US, it is widely accepted that the US television model has been, and remains, a good gauge for the future of the Australian industry - as they typically have access to and utilise new technologies a few years in advance. Therefore it can be said that Australia is likely to continue to expand in terms of its’ use of streaming and internet TV, as opposed to reverting back into traditional broadcast means - it will be up to Australian content producers to have their programs noticed and available for ready and waiting Australian audiences.


Conclusion

What is the overall finding we have identified: Is traditional Western broadcast television dying as we know it, or is it simply being reborn via modern platforms?

 

Throughout the body of this work, it has become apparent that there are no easy answers when it comes to questions about the Television landscape. It is certainly clear, from the analysis we have undertaken, that traditional broadcast television is no longer the primary form of TV distribution. As technology advances and viable streaming methods have come to Australia it is also clear that broadcast television is no longer the primary form of TV content consumed.

 

The Broadcast television of the Network Era, defined by industry control of content, schedules, mass national audiences and viewing methods is no longer with us. Yet it has not been entirely replaced. The predicted Post-Network Era, where major networks bow out to the younger, fresher technologies has not come to fruition.

 

Instead we are left in a half-state. Major networks have morphed into Media Conglomerates, extending their arms vertically, not horizontally, to maintain their broadcast practices whilst also entering the streaming/ on-demand game. And they exist alongside the new technologies, each carving out their own space and niches.

 

Since the digital switchover, (2010-13), some have argued that broadcast television no longer exists; that the living room monitor is just a facade for the on-demand services we are accessing on every other device. But broadcast television is defined as much by its methods of distribution, as by its as by its content construction, (rating, audience, format) and our defined social practices surrounding its use. Traditional Western Broadcast Television is dying as we know it. But it is a long death. A death that will span many years. A death, that in other words is called the natural erosion of life. The practices and points of interaction surrounding Traditional broadcast television are not being reborn in modern platforms. We are forming new ways of interacting and engaging with our content. But as always the history of the medium heavily influences its future. TV is being remediated for a ‘new media’ world.

 

The significance of our findings:

For us as media practitioners the future is uncertain but bright. As noted by Noni Hawley earlier, (Production Manager at Dreampool Productions 2015),  there is a large, talented workforce of Australian television professionals with skills ready and waiting to be used. As long as these professionals can adapt their talents to work with advancing technologies and shifting methods of production and distribution, they will find a market for their skills. Traditional broadcast television may be on its, (slow), way out, but it is only one aspect of a large and varied, multi-faceted TV landscape where there is opportunity for every polite, skilled, television professional or soon-to-be professional to make their mark.

 

For the ‘watching’ public, TV is halfway through a transformation, power shifting from the broadcaster to the consumer. All current signs point towards its ultimate iteration being one that better caters to audience needs and desires. Faster, better, higher quality and more accessible. Yes, content is king; and content is what TV does best. It is also what is being prioritised in this decade. We look forward to seeing, hearing and ‘watching’ the iterations to come.

 

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