Discuss the extent to which the distribution and consumption of media have been transformed by the internet

Discuss the extent to which the distribution and consumption of media have been transformed by the internet

TV has been hugely changed since its start in 1920. In the beginning it was a very passive viewing for the people watching as they would not be involved directly in anything they were seeing on their TV screen and they would not interact with the actors that are performing as they would not be able to comment or like the program. This all changed when the internet started happening and became closely connected to the TV. This made TV more active for viewers as the introduction of YouTube allowed people to like and comment on videos they are interested in.

 

The BBC is an example of a traditional TV company attempting to use the internet and in particular YouTube, to wider their audience and allow viewers to be involved with the channel and their favorite shows. One example of a program they promote on the internet is Peaky Blinders. The BBC offer teaser trailers and special behind the scenes interviews to reach out to new and exciting viewers and to ensure that people are watching the next program. Although a lot of the interviews and behind the scenes interviews are on the BBC website a lot of the teaser trailers are on YouTube, this is to allow people to comment on the video and get people excited for the latest program being released.  By doing this the BBC increase the number of viewers on the next episode on a program as people know what they are getting and they can already build an idea as to whether they will like the show or not. Furthermore, by using YouTube and the internet, the BBC allow viewers to be involved in the show and can feel as if they understand the characters that are in the show and therefore are more connected to the program and therefore, are more likely to watch it.

 

Another example of a traditional company attempting to use YouTube to gain audience attention is ITV. The channel uploads behind-the-scenes interviews similar to the BBC as it helps them grow and reach out to more people who may not usually watch ITV or any of their shows. ITV promote most if not all of their programs by using YouTube and social media by uploading sneak-peaks and behind the scenes and there is not a set one that they focus solely on. ITV mainly use Ant and Dec as their main way of attracting audiences by putting their faces on the front of their website and forcing lots of promotion on their shows. This increases the audience as millions of people know who the two are and recognize them as they have been on the TV screen such a long time. This means that more and more people are wanting to watch the program if they know Ant and Dec are hosting it as they know what they are going to watch is most likely going to be top quality and worth their time. ITV also use their YouTube channel to post ‘The Story so Far’. This is so people who may have only just heard about the show or have missed an episode can stay caught up or get to grips with what has happened so far, this results in more and more people watching the next show as they know what happened in the last episode.