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Will the internet replace TV?

Will the internet replace TV?

The entertainment industry became the multi-billion network we know today because of TV and the invention of the cinemas. Movies and TV shows helped build careers of pop stars, movie idols, and entertainment icons. Fashion was already a growing area of fanaticism with a strong following among women in the early 20th century. It wasn’t until the invention of TV that it exploded into the popular culture most of us would recognize it today.

The question now is, with the coming of new forms of getting entertainment content on the internet, is the television set in danger of getting extinct? This is a possibility, but most people would agree that this will most likely not be the case. One example of medium resiliency in the face of change are magazines and newspapers. Even in today’s age where you can access the news through your smartphone and other devices, the printing press continues to flourish and not to mention rake billions of dollars of revenue year after year. Whether or not television will experience the same success is still an area for debate.

The coming of YouTube and Netflix removed TV as the lone source of movies and motion picture entertainment. Today, many of the shows that are critically acclaimed are hosted and broadcasted on the internet. You no longer need to have a TV network to get a TV show aired. With an online platform and an effective marketing scheme, you can make a video the next viral sensation talked about on the internet.

Everything becomes famous and marketable when the online community is talking about it. The ability of the internet to allow a medium for users to interact and provide their reaction, to a movie or a performance they have watched makes it superior to television. TV has been accused many times of manipulating the news and public opinion, and this is large because it is a unidirectional means of providing information. In the 80s people would easily believe what the news anchor is telling them with very few taking the effort to dig into the details. If a fake news surfaces on the internet, the person that release the information can easily lose credibility with just one comment from a user or a tweet from a celebrity.

The internet has made it easier for users to express their opinion which is something TV has deprived its viewers for many years. Before the internet, the viewers are only able to express their like or dislike for something within their social network, unlike now where anyone can have the worlds ears and eyes to listen and see.

Despite the many advantages of the internet over television, the fact remains that television is not bound to go extinct soon. This is for a very specific and smart strategy that television networks employed. Instead of treating the internet as a threat to their existence, they made it into a partner. This is the same key strategy that allowed the printing press to continue thriving. Television shows now have their sites hosted on the internet where users can interact, discuss, and provide feedback. Many of the television networks also hosted their shows online and represented themselves in social media.

One key example of how effective this method is is the HBO original series Game of Thrones. The show is the most watched in recent years and is exclusively premiered on TV. What made it so popular was the hype it brought online. HBO used the internet to create a build up for the show by combining marketing tactics with technical expertise. The effort was a risk, but it worked. Though the internet is a more superior medium, television will be here to stay for many more years.

Yet another example of the outstanding ability to get the material you want with ease on the Internet is an outlet like Hulu, providing what a glorious age we are in right now.