Explanation of the Topic of the Article
The article ‘Free TV: File-Sharing and the Value of Television’ focuses on the popular culture of sharing television files among peers in online platforms. Over the recent past, people have been sharing music and movies through media platforms and the experience has become very popular, a fact that has reduced the number of people going to buy these products from stores. They can now have these products for free as long as they are connected to the internet.
However, the sharing of television files is a relatively new concept that is increasing in popularity. People have come to realize that they can share these files in a way that is different from conventional television experience. The television stations earn their revenues through advertisements made when presenting various popular shows. As the audiences enjoy their shows, they are forced to watch the disruptive commercials that come in between their popular programs, and this reduces the pleasure of watching these programs. Using special software such as BitTorrent, peers are able to remove the commercials from these popular television shows and share it in various online platforms in a way that creates high value to the audience. This topic clearly captures what the entire article is all about.
Outline of the Author’s Thesis
The author argues that the new concept of sharing television files challenges historical low-valuation of TV by reinventing it and presenting it in a new approach that is more appropriate to the audience. The author contends that for a long time, television programs have always been confined to a given geographical area, especially within a given state, and the viewers could only watch their shows when they were in front of their television sets at the time of broadcasting.
However, this is changing with the new technology as these programs can now be downloaded and watched at any time and without necessarily tuning in to the television station that broadcasts the show. This new concept has transformed television programs from a local to a global phenomenon. People can now share television files all over the world. Using special software, they can translate the language into other popular languages to increase geographic coverage. The author feels that inasmuch as this new concept is disruptive and may affect the normal revenue stream of television stations, it is an invention that has improved the experience of watching popular television programs among peers.
Summary of the Main Arguments and Evidence Used In Support of the Thesis
This article has a number of arguments that it clearly presents to explain the new phenomenon of sharing television files among peers in online platforms. One of the main arguments that come out clearly in this article is that the new concept of repackaging and sharing of television programs is a popular culture that cannot be ignored by the stakeholders in this field. It is not something that is likely to disappear despite the expected legal battles about copyright issues.
If the sharing of music and movies in the online platforms did not stop, then the scholar feels that this new phenomenon will not stop. The author also argues that the new phenomenon has changed television viewing from being geographically-confined to being a global issue, especially with the new capabilities to translate popular programs from one language to another.
The article also argues that file-sharing has transformed the status of television from public to private status. A person will repackage the program in a given way that he or she considers appropriate to a given segment of the audience, and this gives him or her the ability to determine how to share such material with the audience. To support these arguments, the author has provided a number of scholarly articles and books that also focus on the same topic. These arguments strongly support the thesis of the article. They reaffirm that watching television shows has been transformed and the experience is more enjoyable. The audience can now decide on what to watch at a given time without having to follow the schedules of the broadcasters.
Assessment of the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Article
As the author noted in his arguments, the sharing of television files is an emerging culture that the scholars are yet to give proper academic attention. The main strength of this article is that the author was able to collect information from a variety of sources despite the scarcity of research in this field. The paper is also objective in nature and avoids any wild and unsubstantiated allegations when presenting the arguments. By basing most of the arguments about sharing television files on the existing literature about the sharing of music and movies in the online platform, the author is able to validate most of the claims made. However, the biggest weakness in this paper is the limited collection of primary data. The paper also lacks a clear focus on how validity and reliability were assured during the research process.