At the dawn of the TV era Americans could choose between one of three channels. Even cornball programs like “My Mother the Car” could command a percentage of viewership that would dwarf today’s juggernauts on streaming video. Is America losing some of its unity as families quit watching the same Friday night lineups?”
“I think that’s a lot of crap,” says Glenn Garvin, a Miami Herald columnist and Reason‘s resident television critic. “…the explosion of television material that started with cable in the 1980s has been a grand thing. What if you don’t want to watch “My Mother The Car,” “The Rifleman,” “The Beverly Hillbillies?”
Reason‘s Nick Gillespie spoke with Garvin about the future of television, and why we’re living in its golden age. As viewership continues to fragment, the behemoth models of old are dying out, replaced by higher quality, bespoke programs. The future is long-tail.
Audio production by Ian Keyser.
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