Networks of Television

N E T W O R K S O F T E L E V I S I O N

H I S T O R Y O F N E T W O R K M E D I A # 7

L U K E VA N R Y N P H D C A N D I D AT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M E L B O U R N E @ M Y S PA C E G H O S T U N I M E L B . A C A D E M I A . E D U / L U K E VA N R Y N

D E C E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 3

W H AT I S T V ?

Technology (Kittler)

Text (Buffy Studies)

Device (Morley)

Protocol (Cubitt)

Industry (Mayer)

N O D E S

origins of television

the box in the corner

it’s not TV, it’s HBO

streams, torrents and clouds

researching network(ed) television

O R I G I N S O F T E L E V I S I O N

O N E

– PA U L VA L E R Y

“Just as water, gas and electricity are brought into our houses … so we shall be supplied with visual or auditory

images, which will appear and disappear at a simple movement of the hand, hardly more than a sign.”

W I L L I A M S O N T E L E V I S I O N

supply precedes demand

medium precedes content

“mobile privatisation”

F R I E D R I C H K I T T L E R

Optical Media (2010/2002)

Gramophone, Film, Typewriter (1999/1986)

Discourse Networks 1800/1900 (1990/1985)

PA U L A R M I N : P O R T R A I T O F F R I E D R I C H K I T T L E R , 2 0 0 5 ,

P E N C I L , 1 9 0 C M X 9 0 C M

A J O K ED A V I D F O S T E R W A L L A C E : “ T H I S I S W A T E R ”

specific messages

to specific people

!

then

!

variety of messages

to a general public

– F R I E D R I C H K I T T L E R

“Television was and is not a desire of so-called humans, but rather it is largely a civilian byproduct

of military electronics”

– E D W A R D R . M U R R O W

“This instrument can teach … but it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it's nothing but wires and

lights in a box.”

T H E ( B L A C K ) B O X I N T H E C O R N E R

T W O

T E L E V I S I O N ( S E T ) S T U D I E S

materiality of television at the foreground (Morley)

television as public-private threshold (Spigel)

architectures of television (Cromley)

“ambient television” (McCarthy)

inner workings remain opaque (cf. Cubitt)

– D AV I D M O R L E Y

“not so much a visual medium, more a visual object”

M A K E R O O M F O R T. V.

Suburbs

Leisure time

Entertainment technology

LY N N S P I G E L , 1 9 9 2

A M B I E N T T E L E V I S I O N

Public space

Waiting

Spectacle

A N N A M C C A R T H Y, 2 0 0 1

I T ’ S N O T T. V. , I T ’ S H . B . O .

T H R E E

content: niche, ‘quality’

economy: subscription, DVD

audience: elite

C A B L E S

Q U A L I T Y T E L E V I S I O NE M M Y N O M I N A T I O N S B Y C H A N N E L

D V D B O X S E T S

E C O N O M I E S O F T E L E V I S I O N

S T R E A M S , T O R R E N T S , C L O U D S

F O U R

O N D E M A N D

S T R E A M S

T E L E V I S I O N A F T E R T V

T O R R E N T S

A LT E R N AT I V E E C O N O M I E S

C L O U D S

C H A N G I N G P R O T O C O L S

Codecs

Bandwidth

Latency

C H A N G I N G P R A C T I C E S

B I N G I N G B R E A K I N G B A D

C H A N G I N G T E X T SC O M E D I A N S I N C A R S G E T T I N G C O F F E E

R E S E A R C H I N G N E T W O R K E D T E L E V I S I O N

F I V E

E N T E R I N G T H E G R AV E YA R D S H I F T

Tracing:

Humans

Devices

Institutions

Enrolments

M E E S E , W I L K E N , N A N S E N , A R N O L D ( 2 0 1 3 )

S O C I A L M E T R I C S

I N S E A R C H O F A U D I E N C E S

T E L E M E T R I C S

D A R R Y L W O O D F O R D Q . U . T.

D P W O O D F O R D . N E T

W H AT I S T V ?

Distributed Technology

Fractured Texts

Myriad Devices

Changing Protocols

Evolving Industry

L U K E VA N R Y N P H D C A N D I D AT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M E L B O U R N E @ M Y S PA C E G H O S T U N I M E L B . A C A D E M I A . E D U / L U K E VA N R Y N

H I S T O R Y O F N E T W O R K E D M E D I A # 7 N E T W O R K S O F T E L E V I S I O N