Focus 3 Unit 7 Reading

Read what three people say about the future of television. For questions 1–5, choose from the people (A–C). You can choose each person more than once.

THE FUTURE OF TELEVISION

A Gina Fallon  

When my parents were young, there were only two or three channels to choose from. I think people at that time were happy with that because there was nothing else. Then satellite and cable TV came along. These companies offered hundreds of channels for a monthly fee. But everyone agrees that a lot of these programmes were poorly made and people spent more time changing channels trying to find something interesting to watch than actually watching something. I think television will change a lot in the future. Firstly, more and more people are now buying smart TVs which are linked to the Internet. This has lots of possibilities. One idea is for the television to remember what you have watched and, when you next switch on, it will tell you about programmes that you might be interested in. We will also be able to link our televisions to our friends’ televisions and find out what they are watching so we can watch the same. That will be cool!

B Leon Adams

A lot of people assume that television will continue to work in the future as it does now, with programmes appearing at a certain time each week. However, most companies now offer a catch-up service where you can watch programmes from the previous week that you have missed. There are also online television providers who allow you to watch what you like, when you like, so you can watch a whole series in one night. This is great for people like me who hate waiting to find out what is going to happen next. One big advantage of not having specific times for programmes is that no-one can complain that ‘there’s nothing worth watching this evening’. It also means that television companies can show programmes for everyone, from popular series to documentaries that only a handful of people will be interested in. So, there will always be something to watch, whoever you are.

C Dana Jones

I think that in the past there were a lot of good programmes, although people always seemed to complain that there was nothing worth watching. I worry that in the future we won’t get the same quality of programmes. In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of free video channels on the Internet. Why should people pay to watch television when they can spend their evenings watching almost anything for free? Television companies have to charge their viewers for their service, of course. But if the service is too expensive, no-one will sign up for it. On the other hand, if the service is too cheap, the company won’t be able to afford to buy or make enough programmes. This creates a huge dilemma for television companies. I think it’s a bigger problem for them than keeping up with the latest technological advances. It isn’t clear to me how they will manage to find a solution.

1 Which person thinks that in the future your TV will get to know your tastes? 

2 Which person talks about the importance of price? 

3 Which person believes that in the future there will be more choice for people with minority tastes? 

4 Which person enjoys watching their favourite programmes at any time? 

5 Which person mentions a time when there were a lot of programmes but nothing worth watching? 

6 Which person thinks that in the future there will be more programmes for people with specific interests?