TV on the internet

As our lives become more and more dependent on the internet, television has gradually began to make the transition to its new home.  At this moment, as I write I have an episode of Rescue Me playing in the next tab from Netflix's "Watch Instantly" section.  With our hectic schedules it has become increasingly difficult to find the time to watch our favorite programs during their initial broadcast.  This used to be a horrible situation, as the only way to ever see the missed episode would be to see a rerun or by the DVD.  Then tv stations began posting the episodes on their website.  It became a perfectly good substitute that, when I happened to miss an episode of my favorite show, I could watch it the next day on the website; I practice I regularly utilized during the LOST years.  At first the internet became a contingency plan used only when I missed the initial broadcast on television.  The internet provided not only the opportunity to catch-up on episodes missed, but entire shows I never knew existed.

Using websites like fancast.com, I was able to watch the entire series of Deadwood four years after the series finale, and as HBO is hardly prone to airing reruns, chances are I would have never known the show existed.  If you have never seen Deadwood, watch it!  There are only 3 seasons and it is, in my opinion, HBO's best program to date.  But back to my initial point, the internet has become an environment that has become a staple of television viewing.  Our On-Demand culture has rendered us unwilling to abide by the schedules created by different channels, instead deciding where and when we wish to experience our favorite programs.  It its first day as a publiclly traded company, the Chinese online television channel Youku nearly tripled in value, clearly demonstrating the marketability and popularity of online television.

No longer are we as viewers confined to the decisions of the producers, but instead we are able to watch what we want, when we want.  The television has been replaced by the computer monitor, and the TV Guide has been replaced by the Netflix Queue.  Current TV sets are essentially larger computer screens, therefore I believe that as time progresses, the interactive capabilities of the internet will continue to play and greater role in the television industry.