Television Program

A television program is a single audio visual broadcast that is watched on a television.  A program can either be a one off show or part of a series of shows, in which case it is referred to as an episode.  Television programs are watched by millions of people worldwide and can become very influential in the shaping of a culture.  Particular television programs can help to define whole generations and sub cultures of people, and can also influence the political landscape of a nation.  Television is absolutely everywhere in western society today that it is hard to imagine a time when it did not exist. 

Television or TV has been commercially available since the late 1930s and has become more and more common ever since.  The 1970s saw another evolution in TV as recording systems were designed so that people could archive and watch recordings as well as broadcasts.  These broadcasts that make up the content of television programs may be factual in nature or they can be completely fictional as well.  They may either be broadcast for educational or for entertainment purposes, and often as a combination of both.  There are many different types of programs with new genres and twists on established genres happening all the time.

Common TV programs include news broadcasts and current affairs programs, TV series in drama and comedy variations and documentaries about various subjects.  There are many other genres of programs as well including game shows, music programs and the fairly recent invention of reality television.  A modern television schedule will include all of these different types of shows, with the same genre type shows generally shown in similar time slots across multiple stations. 

Television is big business and the right producer or actor can make a huge impact and demand a big price as well.  The executive producer is often the shows' creator and is basically in charge of the general running of the show.  They have ultimate control and make all of the important decisions regarding casting, plot lines and they sometimes even direct an episode or two.  It is worth noting that this is different from the role of a producer on a movie set who is more of a business partner than a direct creative influence.  The role of the director in TV is different as well, and a TV director does not have the same authority and control that a film director does.

Television is a pervasive force that has an extremely large influence on cultures all over the world.  Television programs are the main content that is run by TV networks and stations and are the driving forces of the entire television industry and the advertising that supports it.  TV is also a major factor in globalisation as certain networks and programs manage to make a big impression in lots of different cultures simultaneously.  The infrastructures of TV networks and the programs that are shown will continue to have a marked effect on global culture both in the near future and for a long time to come.