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The Evolution of Television format Content in the last 70years
Since the dawn of the first electron- ic television in 1927, Video and as a collective film, has captivated mankind. It is with this background that Femi Bamgbetan looks at the Evolution of Television and Video Content.
70 years ago, in the 1940s not too long after the first television sets appearing
in homes, television stations began to concentrate on content for viewing. Story telling was different than it is now. The way narrative was delivered was arguably more basic and less com-
plex. TV was a very good alternative to cinema which was the most popular content viewing platform at the time. Cinema was invented in the 1890s and for about 30 years was the only means of experiencing motion pictures (movies) until the advent of television. Over the next decades, engineers worked hard
to make the television platform better in terms of resolution, colors and clarity. It was also easily accessible and cheaper to consume.
Television content witnessed a drastic evolution around the world with the increase in spread all the way to Africa where programming was limited to just
a few hours a day and was dominated by news and less of lifestyle content. Many homes in Africa were able to enjoy a television broadcast from 1959. The Western Nigeria Television Service (WNTS) based in Ibadan Nigeria was the first ter- restrial broadcast signal in Africa. In the next decade over 400 television stations would spring up.
In the early 90s ABC started the phenom- enon of Online Television. This led to the development of LiveTV, Video on De- mand (VoD) and Interactive TV (iTV) and created an explosion of several online platform some of which are YahooTV, Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, ABC World News etc. These platforms
BY FEMI BAMIGBETAN
have benefited from smart televisions and computer devices connected to the internet which provides the tools to watch them.
There is a prediction that by 2020, 75% of mobile traffic will be video content. The future of content, marketing and televi- sion is online video platforms.
It is evident that the last 70 years has been great for television and its con- tent and this evolution will continue to progress quickly as content consumers demand for easier ways to enjoy televi- sion content.
UBA is not being left out of this revolution and its online content network REDTV, is a fast-paced lifestyle channel that puts the best of Africa on the global stage. REDTV was conceived primarily to entertain and inform with content cutting across, fash- ion, news, music, sports, drama, comedy, travel and so much more. The vision is to contribute to the development of talent across the African continent: Producers, actors, script writers, sound engineers and directors, all showcasing the available skills that remain largely unexploited.
Follow REDTV on social media and sub- scribe on YouTube so that you never miss any of the excitement.
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