Okay, so I've been noticing more and more websites popping up that host TV shows and/or movies. They keep screaming the same messages at us: "Miss a show last night? Come to our site and watch it whenever you want!", "Have to leave home? Use our app to watch your favorite shows from your tablet!", and so on. It all says the same thing in essence: quit paying for cable or satellite, and just watch it on your computer.

So it seems to me that Television is slowly on it's way out, but what do you think? I think if things rock on this way for another fifty years, TV will be gone, and all shows will air online. Honestly, I think that would be good, as having shows online means you never miss an episode, and you don't have to waste fifteen of the thirty minutes that your show is on, watching commercials. Think of it! A fifteen minute sitcom only taking fifteen minutes to watch, or your favorite hour long program only taking thirty to forty-five minutes to watch.

Add to all of this that you can watch any show you want at any time that you want, so if a carrier (say Disney for example) picks up a show that you don't like, it doesn't affect your viewership of their "channel", as it never comes on unless you click on it.

I think it will happen eventually, and I think the entertainment industry will be much better for it.

Eirinn : No i dont believe that it will be soon. I believe it will be AT LEAST 300 years before people stop using it. 

The bottom line is that someone has to pay for the production costs of those television shows. Right now it's the networks that shows air on that cover the cost. They can do this because of advertisements and cable provider revenues. Television may someday go away but there will always be a cost associated with watching your favorite shows. That is either more advertisements Online or higher Internet bills.

I really don't like the idea of those changes.

I think it could happen eventually actually.. Tv programs will be around longer after I'm gone though, but maybe some day..

On a side note.. I've been TV-less for a while now and I'm doing fine. I just watch Netflix and torrent stuff. The only thing that sucks is I can watch sports.. but its been working for me.

I don't think so, actually. One thing about watching shows on your computer is that it makes it something you mostly only do by yourself. One thing about watching something on the television screen is that you can watch it as a group activity or social thing. Now, there is the argument that you can hook your laptop to the TV screen. Yes, you can do that. But it isn't very convenient. For cable to be obsolete, they would have to start making devices that basically turn your TV into an Internet viewing tool. It might get to that, but it will take a while. It took quite a while for digital to completely take over. It is, by no means, a quick transition to something like that. If they don't make something like this, it makes televisions themselves less purposeful. It is just a lot of tape to cut through to officially happen, and it isn't something that is going to happen soon.

thephantombrain : Right, but currently they use pop ups and even a short commercial trailer before the show starts online. The costs could be covered by that or even by scrolling adds at the side of the screen during the program.


rcarter2 : Those are good points, but then TV's do have ports that allow you to use your TV as a PC monitor already, so that really isn't too far fetched. And there is the "Rabbit" that lets you watch cable on your PC. If they combined those two technologies into one item, we would have the technology that you mentioned.

I think it is a possibility in the distant future, but I don't think it is going anywhere anytime soon, there are pros and cons to watching tv programs on netflix and other cable networks on your laptop like rcarter pointed out, and there are also some advantages as well. I think it would be quite convenient though if you could watch your favorite program in the actual amount of time it actually takes to air, A harry potter movie could be like 2 hours long, but on tv they will jam pack so many commercials so it is like an all day thing that lasts like 5 hours. 


Coming from someone who doesn't really watch tv all that much, I think it wouldn't affect me since the only thing I use my tv for is to play video games. But I think it will be quite some time before tv is out for good. 

I do not think so soon. I mean if many people are still watching it and some people have not caught on to to computers and the new technology yet. So it will be around for at least another 30 years.

I don't think so. Sure, commercials are bad for us, but it's the only way the shows make money. If they go on computers,the sites will make the money, not the channel. I don't think this will happen because tons of money would be lost for the shows and channels.

I like to be able to sit on the couch watch TV on the television!! I am a bit of an old fashion, why else did I came to vizzed to play these retro games!!

Eirinn : I think it will always be around simple because TV networks wouldn't want to work for things like netflixs and yes things like netflixs have their own tv shows now and some are ok or good am sure. but the fact is TV was replaced back when FF7 happen because video games became movies and movies had to try harder and everyone forgot about tv then with your red box and netflix and hulu and well as you said come to this website and watch every show of that serious that has played on tv for free because why the hell not? But lets be honest if tv just ended tomorrow morning (as in tv shows so like if you had music or movie channels they would still work) would it really change your life that much? I have trouble finding time to sit and watch tv for the purpose of sitting and watching tv I have it on in the background when baby sitting or if my gf is over we'll watch some dro who (on netflix) and every serious we watch is on netflix and even then it takes us a month to get threw a season xD life is getting more and more busy so until everyone has Google eye and it has live TV and think TV will remain where it is at the bottom of the list of meaningful media entertainment. Where do you get your stuff? Cuz when I lay down to go to sleep (and I don't sleep lol) I watch something on you tube tv is all reruns of things we seen and breaks we don't care about we can't ad block our cable XD and how much are you just channel surfing anyways not really sitting watching something good and for me if I stop its because I found a movie which doesn't really count as tv besides USA that plays the same 3 shows I like 12hours back to back a day I can't find anything I like outside of luck as where netflix I can go bang out a season in afternoon or watch just what I wanted to on you tube or a site like that. Or just go play a story driving game like gears of war or tales games. If you asking if TV will just be gone 100% never not till the world it self just ends but if it will be in last place and play 2nd fiddle to things well it already is.

koraza : True, it's a rare thing for me to get to watch something on TV anymore as well, and when I do it's mostly reruns, plus the same problem you mentioned with playing the same two or three shows over and over. Maybe we need fewer channels, and more shows on each one instead? lol

I can see it your way as well, but I for one am tired of almost all television. Only one channel even holds my attention anymore (Cartoon Network ), so I only watch a select few shows. As a result, I find watching from a pc to be far more entertaining.

Eirinn : true...but the shows we like would have to still have comercails if comercails stoped then we wouldn't be able to watch any new episodes o anything they are the profit comercals are the things that fund the shows and keep them on air sure you can find a site and watch an episode you missed but eventually all tv shows wouldn't be funded and thus ending them

Eirinn : yea same and i never was a big tv guy i was a movie guy my mom ran movie business before things like blockbuster existed so we have like over 1000 vhs and stuff in my house so i'd just grab one at random and do that so like big shows like Dr who to new ones like lost girl or psyic i haven't seen any of them xD so its all new to me when i watch it on netflix i still prefer to watch gameing stuff on youtube

Never thought of the future with television replaced. In my own opinion, it will not.

It seems like it. I spend less than an hour a week watching TV. And it's mostly just to check the weather or see what's happening on the news. But I can use my computer for that too now.

kirbmanboggle : True, but like I said to thephantombrain, when viewing online, they already show ads and commercials before a program starts, as well as pop ups on the side. For an example, check out Disney.com. And most (if not all) channels now have websites, so the transition wouldn't put them out of business, though it might cost some money at the first due to the loss of TV ads. They could easily stay in business, I think.

Ever since TV was invented, people have always deemed it as a passing fad that will soon be replaced. It's been a good...... 90 years since TV was invented, and it's still rolling. With this pattern, we can expect TV to last at least another century.

Television lrograms as we know it, on their respective channels at specific shedules is sure to disappear as time passes. In a world where everybody moves at different paces, its harder and harder for shows to keep that viewership they had before, and only big smashes of shows prevail.

Should we be in a world of primary streaming I wouldnt think it would be much of an issue, so netflix is and will be the way kf the future for television programs.

No, TV is here to stay, FOR EVER. Well maybe not that long but you know what I mean. I do think the way people watch TV is changing. Cable and Dish is going away, they might not like it or want to accept it but its happening. Youtube and Netflix is really changing the way people watch their intertainment. Youtube is going downhill but still, it has made a huge impact.