The Great Rewrite: Coming Soon To A Device Near You

The evolving world of all-access media

 

- Leonard Brody

The most challenging thing about watching television used to be getting the TV set to pick up the few programs that were on the air. In the 1950s, Popular Science published a do-it-yourself consumer manual called “How to Adjust and Service Your TV Set.” Sections included “How to Correct a Jumpy Picture” and “What to Do If You Notice a Burning Odor Coming from Your Set.”

Watching whatever you want is the easy part now. Programming from around the world, from the archives of history, from media conglomerates and little-known individuals, is available instantly. Phones, tablets, laptops and HDTVs stream digital content with few glitches and are rarely beyond our line of sight. Today’s viewer challenge is knowing what’s out there and where to get it. The media landscape is undergoing a massive rewrite on every level, from the formats that content is taking to how it is distributed and consumed.

Changes in how content is distributed can ripple out to affect the entire media landscape. When cable TV upended the dominance of broadcasters in delivering programs to viewers, it gave birth to creative new formats for entertainment, news and advertising. Cable operators also took over as the gatekeepers of content discovery, their grid-like guides leading viewers toward desired programs.