Not Yet the Post-TV Era: Network and MVPD Adaptation to Emergent Distribution Technologies

Television as a medium is in transition. From DVRs, to Netflix, to HBO Now, consumers have never before had such control over how they consume televisual content. The rapid changes to the medium have led to rhetoric heralding the impending “post-TV era.” Looking at the ways that legacy television co...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mike Van Esler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cogitatio 2016-07-01
Series:Media and Communication
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/548
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author Mike Van Esler
author_facet Mike Van Esler
author_sort Mike Van Esler
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description Television as a medium is in transition. From DVRs, to Netflix, to HBO Now, consumers have never before had such control over how they consume televisual content. The rapid changes to the medium have led to rhetoric heralding the impending “post-TV era.” Looking at the ways that legacy television companies have adapted to new technologies and cultural practices suggests that rather than traditional television going the way of radio, television as a medium is actually not terribly different, at least not enough to conclude that we have entered a new era. Press releases, discursive practices by the news media, corporate structures and investments, and audience research all point to the rhetoric of post-TV as being overblown. By thinking about contemporary television as being in transition, greater emphasis and attention can be placed on the role that major media conglomerates play in developing, funding, and legitimizing new forms of television distribution, in addition to co-opting disruptive technologies and business models while hindering others.
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spelling doaj.art-561d026fd81545bcaef597a23e93df5b2022-12-22T02:06:04ZengCogitatioMedia and Communication2183-24392016-07-014313114110.17645/mac.v4i3.548348Not Yet the Post-TV Era: Network and MVPD Adaptation to Emergent Distribution TechnologiesMike Van Esler0Department of Film and Media Studies, University of Kansas, USATelevision as a medium is in transition. From DVRs, to Netflix, to HBO Now, consumers have never before had such control over how they consume televisual content. The rapid changes to the medium have led to rhetoric heralding the impending “post-TV era.” Looking at the ways that legacy television companies have adapted to new technologies and cultural practices suggests that rather than traditional television going the way of radio, television as a medium is actually not terribly different, at least not enough to conclude that we have entered a new era. Press releases, discursive practices by the news media, corporate structures and investments, and audience research all point to the rhetoric of post-TV as being overblown. By thinking about contemporary television as being in transition, greater emphasis and attention can be placed on the role that major media conglomerates play in developing, funding, and legitimizing new forms of television distribution, in addition to co-opting disruptive technologies and business models while hindering others.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/548convergencehuluNetflixnetworksover-the-topstreamingtelevision
spellingShingle Mike Van Esler
Not Yet the Post-TV Era: Network and MVPD Adaptation to Emergent Distribution Technologies
Media and Communication
convergence
hulu
Netflix
networks
over-the-top
streaming
television
title Not Yet the Post-TV Era: Network and MVPD Adaptation to Emergent Distribution Technologies
title_full Not Yet the Post-TV Era: Network and MVPD Adaptation to Emergent Distribution Technologies
title_fullStr Not Yet the Post-TV Era: Network and MVPD Adaptation to Emergent Distribution Technologies
title_full_unstemmed Not Yet the Post-TV Era: Network and MVPD Adaptation to Emergent Distribution Technologies
title_short Not Yet the Post-TV Era: Network and MVPD Adaptation to Emergent Distribution Technologies
title_sort not yet the post tv era network and mvpd adaptation to emergent distribution technologies
topic convergence
hulu
Netflix
networks
over-the-top
streaming
television
url https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/548
work_keys_str_mv AT mikevanesler notyettheposttveranetworkandmvpdadaptationtoemergentdistributiontechnologies