TV’s False Dawn

TV’s long demise has let off a bit in recent months. Though many looped into the web believe it’s only a matter of time before traditional TV becomes a thing of the past, the medium is still clinging on to life. Primetime TV ratings were up by 4% during the first three months of 2014, which is it’s best performance since 2007; it’s the first time TV has grown at all in a year. It might be a false positive, though: analysts attribute the positive blip to a confluence of big-name events all happening at the same time. In this case, the Olympics, the Oscars, the NFL playoffs and the NCAA tournament all happened in the first quarter of 2014, in addition to the notoriously cold and long winter. The real question is if television can keep the trend going – it’s been trending downwards, and if the data are to be believed, this is just a brief blip on television’s long way out.