Weekly News Column Opinion and Laughs on The Record

“Television, a scientists dream ever since the telephone was
invented half a century ago, became an actuality today when
Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover spoke over the telephone
in Washington and was seen as well as heard in New Jersey.”
This is the leed of an April 8, 1927 Associated Press article.
The first television sets had a small engine and a neon lamp.
The screens were about the size of a business card and emitted
an orange hue. The first mass produced picture tubes worked like
a radio with a spinning disk, a lamp and some pin holes to
produce a rudimentary image.
    Almost 80 years later, Hoover’s television industry is poised for
big changes that will affect couch potatoes from across the world.
    All of this will drastically change the way we watch 1992 episodes
of Seinfeld, clearly the most popular programming on television.
What are some of the changes predicted for the future of
television? The first is called Video-on-Demand. VOD has been
available as “pay-per-view” for some time but experts predict a
proliferation of the service. Instead of just ordering newish movies,
VOD will offer television programs anytime and anyplace.
    Many of Comcast Cable’s 74 million subscribers already have
access to free VOD programs through their cable plan. Still others
have TiVo or DVR (Digital Video Recorder) to record their favorite
programs. This allows viewers to breeze through commercials
and changes the advertising climate of television. Once a viewer
gets a taste of TiVo or DVR, they never return to normal TV. But
how did we get to this point in TV history?
    Well, you see, after Hoover departed, film star Ronald Reagan
became President of the United States and television was ruled by
the networks. But then Monica Lewinski and a couple George
Bush’s came along and Cable TV niched up the market. Now,
newer technology continues to alter the industry more and more.
    With commercials easily side-tracked, product placement and
sponsorship of programs is becoming more popular. And product
placement is not just flashing a product briefly on screen. The
sponsors are intricately wrapped into the plot. For example, a
recent 30-minute network sitcom was set entirely in an Olive
Garden restaurant last week.
    But the ad-free on-demand future is not here yet. When Bush took
to the airwaves last week for a prime-time news conference, he
was cut short by network television executives. He even told the
reporters grilling him on social security and the war in Iraq that he
had to wrap it up quickly so the TV channels could air their ads “for
the sake of the economy.”
    In an on-demand world, the Bush press conference would be
available to anyone anytime and Secretary of Commerce Herbert
Hoover and his descendants could yammer forever free of fear.
    But its not just how we get TV that will change over the next
decade. Where TV’s are located could change as well. Many
schools have long broadcast educational television in homeroom.
    Now, Cadillac has inked a deal to offer Satellite television in their
cars. Along with the antenna for the radio, another car antenna will
beam satellite TV inside the vehicle. Some Cadillac dealers have
already begun to offer the option to their customers. So, next time
you are driving around and watching TV, pause to think of the great
progress made over the last eighty years. Then, turn off the TV and
watch the road instead.

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