This might seem like a strange question to ask, but definitions are incredibly important in analyzing a medium, particularly when it comes to edge cases and the introduction of new information or technologies that fundamentally change our understanding of the original definition.
I know this is cliche, but bear with me. Merriam-Webster defines “Television” as:
“an electronic system of transmitting transient images of fixed or moving objects together with sound over a wire or through space by apparatus that converts light and sound into electrical waves and reconverts them into visible light rays and audible sound”
With that working definition, our understanding of “television” is quite broad. Netflix fits the bill, but so does Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram. However, we don’t generally consider Snapchat TikTok or Instagram to be “television” which leaves us searching for a more cultural definition / understanding of the medium. I’ll shelve Netflix for now, but we’ll get back to that.
While this rigid technical definition of “Television” exists, it is certainly not the metric most people use to describe their viewing habits and media engagement. For now at least, most people still consider “television” to involve a TV set, a cable box, a viewing guide, etc. Just like the rigid textual definition, the more nuanced cultural definition of television revolves around the technology that enables such viewing. For a while, the technological evolution was in step with the cultural understanding of the medium. Yes, increasing access and new technologies like DVR changed our interaction with the content, but the form remained largely unchanged. Television was still premised on the presence of a TV, and the cultural experience – our cultural understanding of “television” – was still rooted in vestigial viewing patterns from the early days of the medium. Recently, however, technology has uncoupled itself from these vestigial patterns and understandings, allowing us to consume much the same content in an entirely different form.
This finally brings us to the question: Is Netflix Television? From the technical definition, it certainly is, however we need to look at the cultural elements, the nuanced empirical understanding of the medium. For starters, Netflix has a large technological overlap with traditional television – many people still watch Netflix on a smart TV or a Roku-like device that piggybacks on the traditional form. It’s very much still an “event,” friends still have “watch parties” and look forward to new releases on the platform. Finally, the content is largely identical to the content of “traditional” television, which begs the question “what’s really so different?” Is it possible to be consuming TV shows, without “watching television?”
Netflix is fundamentally different from traditional television in three respects. Firstly, Agency on the platform is unparalleled in comparison to any other medium. Not only can you search for a specific show and watch it any time you like, you also get to enjoy it uninterrupted by ads. Second, while primarily a consumption platform, Netflix has also begun producing original content in a way that questions the longstanding roles established in the industry. It’s the equivalent of a Samsung starting a studio, or Kitchen-Aide starting a meal prep service. Even writing these examples, they seem frankly quite probable, where even 10 years ago it would be absurd. You see this breakdown of established roles in the music industry as well, where another streaming platform – Spotify – is also beginning to produce original work and alter the content → consumption pipeline. Finally, the last major difference between traditional TV and Netflix can be found in temporal limitations. Despite all these notable achievements of the platform, it does lack one thing that traditional television still provides: live coverage.
News coverage and sporting events are two niches that Netflix – for now at least – can’t accommodate. There are other streaming platforms, largely network-provided, that do provide these services, but network news and sporting events are the final holdouts for traditional television as we understand it. However, as more streaming platforms emerge, it will only be a matter of time before these content niches are absorbed in a similar fashion as network television. We’re still in a state of flux, navigating much of the same content through an entirely new form, but using perhaps antiquated terminology from that historic form to describe our experience. With the rate of technological innovation, it won’t be long before Television refers simply to the technology – a physical TV screen – rather than the experience of the medium.
