Exploring the Characteristics of Television

Television: A Unique and Evolving Medium

Television is a form of media that a majority of people in the world cannot live without. Most people are linked to it by their grown liking of programs aired. It is among one of the most popular inventions. There are various types of media including print media, television, movies, video games, and social media. I believe that television is a medium with its own right. It has some characteristics that are unique and independent compared to other forms of media. Television has also been affected by evolving technology. In the past, it was impossible to view a television series unless it had reached the requirement of 100 episodes for syndication. This challenge was overcome by the advent of the TV being on DVD. It gave television the opportunity to air fresh and flowing content.

The Unique Appeal of Television Series

My programme of choice is a television series namely, Money Heist. Money heist is a series that hit the television in 2017. It is a series that shows scenes of a peculiar group of robbers in Spain who assault the Factory of Moneda and Timbre. The carry out the most perfect money heist in the history of Spain which sees them take home a total of 2.4 billion euros. The experience of watching it on television would not be comparable to listening to it via radio or reading the script form a book. Fresh content streaming has led to the innovation of content by producers to air to its viewers via television.

The Characteristics of Television as a Medium

There are various characteristics that depict television as a medium. Television is an audio-visual medium as its content is displayed by both visuals and sound. It gives people the opportunity to watch issues affecting different parts of the world from their houses. This creates vivid impressions which are memorable on the viewer’s minds which lead to emotional involvement. The aspect of creativity is introduced in TV to keep viewers entertained and increase demand for content. Its ability to transmit information in visuals and sound has made it a famous media platform for advertising for numerous companies. TV is preferred, unlike radio which only acts as an audio medium. Television holds a mirror to our daily lives both directly and indirectly. It does directly by helping viewers keep up with current affairs and new. It mirrors our lives indirectly via various shows which help viewers escape personal existence and get engrossed in characters in shows worlds. Money heist is a TV series under various genres, crime, mystery, and action. It gets me to escape my own existence and enter different worlds. It helps us relate with various characters who we would want to emulate their actions in real life. In the series, I relate with the character, Nairobi, she is the responsible character in the series. Regardless of her crime sinful activities, she ensures the team follows instructions to the core and helps resolve conflicts among the team. Characters in the series feel like my extended family that I relate with.

The Domestic and Live Nature of Television

Television also acts as a domestic medium. Television can be watched at the comfort of one’s home. It is a source of information right and entertainment to families which has made it an integral part of people’s lives. Different programs are scheduled to air at scheduled times which contributes to people creating a pattern of their daily activities. Its domestic nature makes television an intimate medium as viewers experience a sense of closeness to its content. It differs from movies as movies require one to live the comfort of their rooms to go to movie theatres and the extra cost of buying tickets.

Another characteristic of television is that it has the ability to be a live medium. Television can transmit information and visuals instantly as they occur. It is, therefore, the best medium of transmitting visuals of occurring news. It gives viewers the opportunity to watch events live as they happen even in a reach of a million miles away. The television is also an intimate medium whereby its domestic nature determines the content aired. Families schedule their dinner times to join and watch their favourite programs. News aired on television, the broadcasters refer to those watching as viewers. It creates a sense of closeness with the anchors.

Television: A Mass Medium and a Platform for Creativity

Television is a mass medium as it reaches a large audience at an instant. It is also a favourable medium to nations with high illiteracy levels as people who cannot read can understand information passed through a TV. TV has opened up a platform for all nations to express their creativity and tell their stories. Money Heist is a TV series produced in Spain to tell the story of the perfected crime story in all of Spain’s history. It owns its movies by producing the characters to speak in Spanish. It does not limit the viewers to only being Spanish but have created English subtitles to reach a broader audience. Unlike TVs, radios lack the opportunity of helping listeners to listen to audios in their preferred language when they are produced in a different language.

Television: A Transitory and Expensive Medium

Television is a transitory medium as it poses a challenge in the recording various programmes aired. It would see TV in danger of forgetting its own past. Due to the frequent creation of new programmes to keep viewers entertained, there is no aspect of repetition. Television focuses on the aspect of airing present content and rarely focuses on the past. Money Heist began airing its first season of episodes in 2017. The second series began airing in 2018. The third series is set to kick off in 2019. Between the airing of the last episode of its second series and the first episode of its third series, money heist series is not aired in the televisions. Only fresh and ongoing programmes are aired. After its season finale, the series will cease being in the television and get replaced by newer profitable shows. Radio media has a different perspective on airing media of the past. For example, music, radios have schedules of airing music produced in the past by legendary musicians. It helps listeners relate with the past.

The Expensive Nature and Storytelling Potential of Television

A large amount of expertise and machinery is required to run television stations which make television an expensive medium. A lot of money and experienced people are used to transmit information on the television. Broadcast media generally involves complex technologies to air information. Its advancement to high quality has led to actors who previously would not have considered being on TV choose it as a writer’s medium to showcase their talents.

Television: A Medium for Elongated and Innovative Storytelling

Television provides a medium to air elongated stories. Money Heist shows a crime plot that is executed from the first day to the last day, weeks later, after the crime is successful. This cannot be achieved in a single film. TV gave producers a platform to blossom their ideas of storytelling. It is less franchise- fixated. It is eager to take up on something new to air to its viewers. TV has the aspect of surprise. Shows have the freeform of veering from one genre to another. Unlike films which need to be marketed by holding a specific genre entirely. For example, money heist doesn’t have these restrictions. One episode can have me thrilled and the next would have a multiple of relationship drama. Every episode is like a rollercoaster uniquely televised. Shows have the opportunity of starting small and evolving to award-winning series. Money heist started small and due to its distribution method and word- of- mouth by its fans who loved it, it evolved to be a juggernaut.

Differences between Television and Other Forms of Media

TV differs significantly from other forms of media. Print media requires physical distribution and is limited. Television reaches a mass medium at an instant and is not limited. For example, the newspaper is an example of print media which to acquire one, one needs to go and purchase at a store or have it delivered by mail. If the demand for print media is too high, they would run out and not be enough for everyone who would need it. For television, they only thing one needs to have unlimited access is the Television set box. High demand for information aired on TV does not affect the availability of the information. A mass population can watch the information at a go. The difference between a movie and television is that a movie theatre, tickets to watch a movie would get sold out and hinder one from watching the movie. The only requirement I need to follow my favourite program is be seated watching at the time scheduled for airing. Television characteristic of airing live recording has an advantage of print media which delays accessibility of information. For example, events happening at night would be aired live on television but be only be on print media the next day.

The Multifaceted Appeal of Television

Different media are popular for different forms of programs. Radio is an aural medium. Print relies on visual content. Television incorporates both aural and visual content. It promotes realism in the content aired and has emotional involvement of its viewers. The aural nature of radio makes it the appropriate media to listen to music and speech. Television, on the other hand, is preferred for transmitting documentary information. This is because the visual content is more appealing to viewers compared to listening on the radio.

The Demands and Competitors of Television

Television experiences a setback with the fact that it demands undivided attention of its viewers, unlike radio where one can drive or do house chores while listening to the radio. It is also possible to watch television while doing chores but it would to missing some action. It has led to radios to include more music in their programs to attract more consumers for the advantage.

Television is getting a lot of competition from new media, internet. The Internet has opened up a whole new platform for communication. Television viewers face delayed feedback from television producers on concerns regarding content they air. There is no set mechanism by the producers to rate whether all their viewers enjoy the content that is aired. However, new media is an interactive medium which allows for instant feedback. Consumers of new media are able to instantly write comments about the content they watch to give opinions and rate. New media also give people a platform to create their personal content and share with others.

Television has the limitation of only producers creating the content. It makes television viewers inactive spectators unlike on new media where spectators are active. New media also gives its viewers an opportunity to learn how to do various things in detail. While television is a domestic media, new media is more an individual medium. It allows an individual to connect with other people around the world by just one click on the mouse. Another difference of television and new media is that television allows viewers to watch what is happening around the world while new media allows one to participate in the various events happening around the world by posting comments on the various websites. Television programmes create a sense of community. When discussing the various episodes happening in the Money Heist with my friends who also love it, it gives a sense of community. However, new media takes it on another level where one can create communities and have fans of similar interests. It allows one to create and join fan clubs where people share the same sentiments.

The Impact and Influences of Television

Television has given a challenge to the improvement of other forms of media, for example, print media. Before the arrival of television, the visual content on print media was very minimal. Introduction of television brought the magic of visual content to its viewers which made the print industry reinvent itself. Currently, more print media has adopted the use of more visual contents in its papers. The emergence of new media coaxes the old media to reinvent themselves. Before the arrival of television, most newspapers printed a majority of fiction content. After its arrival and winning the hearts of many as a source of entertainment, print media reduced most of its fictional content to non- fiction content. For example, when television offers the latest events headlines, newspapers are keen on more analysis of the content shared on television.

Television has also reinvented itself after the introduction of new media. It has included an element of interactivity by having audience backed shows. Voters have the platform of deciding the outcome of various shows. Some channels have also introduced channels to send reports that are recorded by personal phones and cameras. It gives viewers the feeling of participatory in aiding with content aired. Print media also encourages people to send visuals which are published in various print media. Many researchers foresaw the introduction of television wiping out the existence of newspapers, but that has not been the case. There are debates on whether new media will wipe out the existence of television. Television programmes also serve the purpose of being educational. Money Heist shed light to me on my field of interest of investigative techniques. The thrill of watching senior investigative officers working day and night to solve and negotiate with the criminals is educative. It also educates on how to handle situations when there are hostages held captive by a terrorist pact to save human lives.

The Positive and Negative Effects of Television

Television can also be used to demonstrate various physical skills and processes. It is essential for people who lack reading skills. Due to its educational nature, it helps people learn via visual and audio content shared compared to gaining the same knowledge by reading. It makes learning more dynamic and attractive. It also makes distance learning feel personalized to individuals. Television media also has limitations in its educative nature. It is a one- way form of communication which does not make personalized clarifications on areas that are not well understood. It cannot perform practical constraints. The main function of television media is to be a source of entertainment.

Television has a positive and negative impact on its viewers. Some people end up being addicts of watching and end up not doing what is expected of them. Some people always look down upon themselves by being intimidated by the lives and wealth of the characters they emulate. They live in a world of fantasy that is not in real life. Long TV hours are linked to the demand for high material aspirations and may cause anxiety. It, however, helps motivate others to get from their comfort zones and work towards their goals. Research shows that the more television one watches, the more one sees people who seem richer than themselves. It then makes one overestimate income of real people and underestimate their personal values. Research also states that the more television one watches, the more dissatisfied one becomes. It also makes one spend more money by paying for viewership. Themes expressed in various programmes for example drama, infidelity, violence, and generally immoral behaviour can make one end up overestimating the frequency of those behaviours in real life. Different people have different opinions regarding the impacts of televisions on human life. Some researchers also claim that television is primarily an advertising medium and not an art nor entertainment medium.