Television Popularity Continues to Soar in the Age of the Internet

From ABC news, this photo represents
coverage of the 9/11 attacks on ABC

          Since the distribution of televisions in the U.S. began in the late 1940’s, this medium of mass communication has grown to be the most popular, surpassing film, music, and radio. From the beginning, television sales steadily began to skyrocket. Television was so popular in its early years that by 1960 it were estimated that 87.1 percent of households in the U.S. had at least one television. Today, that number has jumped to 98 percent. This means that more people have a television in their home than a phone.

As time went on, TV grew to take the place of radio as the most popular medium of mass communication. 

This is partly related to the idea that it allowed for a vast amount of people to find out about the same information at once. Television surpassed radio because of its mass accessibility, which helped in turn to generate its popularity. It can also be argued that television encompassed all of the aspects of the existing mediums into one. Movies now could be viewed on TV, the news was broadcasted on a daily basis (much like radio), and entertainment shows featured popular musicians of the day. Essentially, the public had its first all in one device. It is no wonder that television remains the greatest medium.

With the popularity of television so high, it is not hard to believe that it provides a variety of functions as a medium of mass communication. 
The major functions that it serves are surveillance, correlation, entertainment, and cultural transmission. Of these, the most important function is surveillance. This is so because television serves as the primary source of news and information for many people. Television allows for frequently updated news to be conveyed to a mass audience. For example, on events such as 9/11 the entire country was able to know new revelations that were occurring all morning through watching their TVs.

Television also serves as the primary source for entertainment. 
This has continued to grow over the years with the development of cable TV. Although broadcast television provides some forms of entertainment through primetime shows, cable TV has a vast array of shows that can cater to any taste. These shows in turn help to create a transmission of culture as well. A prime example of this is the E! Network, which features a variety of reality shows as well as shows that revolve around pop culture. These shows teach the viewers about the latest fashion trends, as well as convey a variety of tastes. 

As one looks to the future, television still seems to be maintaining a strong following from the public.
Even with the introduction of the Internet, TV still manages to stay the most popular medium. TV broadcasting companies are even using the Internet to their advantage. One recent change that has been seen in TV viewing is the use of DVR and VOD (Video on Demand). These inventions allowed the audience to watch a show on their own times. In turn, broadcast stations use the Internet as a form of VOD. One prime example is CBS, which has been deemed “America’s Most Watched Network”. CBS’s online broadcasting allows viewers to watch their favorite shows such as How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory at their leisure. So, for the time being, the Internet seems to be a positive addition to the realm of television broadcasting. As time goes on, one can expect television to slightly lose popularity to the Internet. However, as one can see from the past, the television became the most popular medium for mass communication quickly and it does not look like that will change anytime soon.