The Changing Landscape of Television

Television has changed a lot in recent years. The rise in DVR technology and the ability to watch all your favorite shows through the internet with websites like Hulu and Netflix has led to more people watching TV than ever before.  However, audience numbers of popular shows do not always reflect this accurately, because of the outdated Nielsen rating system. Many networks are reluctant to include streaming numbers in their ratings because advertisers are pushing against it. They believe that when people stream television shows they do not watch ads, and they are probably right. Nonetheless, these new ways of watching television are only going to increase in popularity as time goes on and the current, younger generation grows up with them. So what can be done to fix this antiquated system?

           

The biggest problem with the way television is currently marketed and viewed is the Nielsen rating system.  Developed originally for radio in the 1920s, the system gathers information about what certain demographics and their viewing habits in order to provide better targeted advertisements and to know what types of shows people watch.  It does this by monitoring specific televisions in targeted households, and reporting viewing habits of key demographics back to cable companies and advertisers.  In 2005, Nielsen ratings began to incorporate TiVo and other DVR technology into its monitoring, but it is still a long way from being up to date with technology. In 2006 they announced plans to incorporate internet streaming and other forms of watching into their statistics, but there is still no word on when or how this will be implemented.

This means television networks, cable companies, and advertisers are still receiving false information about who watches their shows. The problem with this is that many popular TV shows with devoted fanbases are being underrepresented, because the majority of their audience is younger and watch online. This leads to them having a lower budget or being cancelled prematurely, because networks think that no one is watching them and advertisers do not want to support them. It is a shame, as many great TV shows have been treated like this, NBC’s cult hits Community and Parks and Recreation being great examples.

The system needs to drastically change if television wants to stay relevant. People are turning away from live television more and more, and content providers like Netflix are even starting to develop original content now. Live television is outdated; people want to be able to watch whenever they have time, or even watch episodes in large chunks (binge watching) rather than getting one new episode per week. The current system is letting viewers down, and when there are alternative options, why would anyone bother with live television? If television does not learn to adapt, it will soon be left in the dust.