In a post broadcast world, we as users are now able to make conscious decisions about our own television consumption. Some would say scheduled TV is slowly becoming redundant as we progress into a post-broadcast era in which we are able to use services such as Foxtel IQ, Stan and Netflix and YouTube which allow us to watch content as and when we please, in accordance with our own schedules. With the increasing popularity of these new services, we must also identify and acknowledge the transitional changes that come alongside the move from the Broadcast into Post-Broadcast era.BUT, for some programs that we do try and watch at a scheduled time (i.e. reality tv competitions which involve voting- SYTYCD, The Voice, X Factor, Australia’s Got Talent), we as viewers try our best to find time during the allocated time slot to sit down (with a second screen) and watch while we browse the web or use social media simultaneously! The way we watch scheduled TV now, has evolved from the television being the sole stimuli in the room; where families used to gather in the living room after dinner and sit together to watch a show with no distractions, we now have multiple platforms which allow us to interact with a show in different ways, with different stimuli allowing us to multitask. Now, the television is competing with other screens during broadcast. Whether it be a phone, a laptop or a tablet, it is now extremely common for viewers to use second screens while watching television.

In order to maintain the flow of a 26 minute production in a 30 minute time slot, networks cleverly introduce interactivity to keep viewers participating or on the channel while commercial breaks play. Shows such as ‘The Voice’ urge viewers to jump on to the website during the ad-breaks (featuring a website on a tablet, thus encouraging second screen use) to interact in the show, and to also participate through the second screen while the program is running! Many programs acknowledge the use of Second Screens by suggesting hashtags during key moments of programs, for example, Suits uses hashtags such as #LittUp and #SaveDonna during relevant moments throughout the broadcast to encourage viewers to take to social media and share their views. With the introduction of social media as yet another avenue to discuss our favourite TV shows, viewers have become active members of the public sphere, creating communities through fandom and engaging in discussion with other viewers.

Convergence Culture was another concept addressed in the lecture, which refers to the ability of the consumer to make our own decisions about consumption, and the ability to do lots of different things with the same technology. With smart phones, tablets and new generation TVs now we are able not only to watch content, but also use the internet to follow up on the internet and see the content on the network or show’s websites, as well as follow social media fan-bases and contribute to the fandom via Facebook, or Twitter, amongst many other platforms. Second screens allows us to do this while simultaneously watching content, or in the case of broadcast tv, during ads to maintain content flow!

In today’s transitional era between Broadcast to Post-Broadcast, Second Screens have become quite a regular occurrence in modern households; while watching a program on television, we have our phones, laptops or tablets out as well. We use social media while watching TV, allowing us as consumers to be more active in our viewing process. This transition from simple broadcast television to a post-broadcast era with second screens and multiple platforms for discussion encourages consumers to be more active in their viewing and allows a shift in power and control. Consumers are now given the power and the ability to choose what we watch, when we watch, how we watch it and how we interact with fellow viewers.