Many
proclaimed the “end of television” in the early years of the twenty-first
century, as capabilities and features of the boxes that occupied a central
space in American living rooms for the preceding fifty years were radically
remade. In this revised, second edition
of her definitive book, Amanda D. Lotz proves that rumors of the death of
television were greatly exaggerated and explores how new distribution and
viewing technologies have resurrected the medium. Shifts in the basic practices
of making and distributing television have not been hastening its demise, but
are redefining what we can do with television, what we expect from it, how we
use it—in short, revolutionizing it.

 

Television,
as both a technology and a tool for cultural storytelling, remains as important
today as ever, but it has changed in fundamental ways. The Television Will Be Revolutionized provides a sophisticated
history of the present, examining television in what Lotz terms the
“post-network” era while providing frameworks for understanding the continued
change in the medium. The second edition addresses adjustments throughout the
industry wrought by broadband delivered television such as Netflix, YouTube,
and cross-platform initiatives like TV Everywhere, as well as how technologies
such as tablets and smartphones have changed how and where we view. Lotz begins
to deconstruct the future of different kinds of television—exploring how
“prized content,” live television sports and contests, and linear viewing may
all be “television,” but very different types of television for both viewers
and producers.

 

Through
interviews with those working in the industry, surveys of trade publications,
and consideration of an extensive array of popular shows, Lotz takes us behind
the screen to explore what is changing, why it is changing, and why the changes
matter.