Imagine the future of television in thirty years. That was the brief provided by the Radio Times for a team of academic researchers to run focus groups. It is notoriously difficult to predict the future of technologies, but when asked to imagine the future of television, viewers tended to have different views, depending on their age.

The Radio Times was the first listings magazine in the world, providing details of radio and later television programming for audiences since 1923, when it began publishing as “The Official Organ of the BBC”. Over a century later, the magazine wanted to think about what television might be like in thirty years.

Radio Times marketing and University of Nottingham students recruited focus groups of adults and children and asked them about how they imagined watching television in the future.

The result was a series of findings published in a report last year on TV2054: Imagining the Future of Television.

Adults saw the future of television as a mix of the old and the new, with certain characteristics that are not only valuable now but will continue to be in the future.

1. TV will be valued as a source of information…
2. … But TV will primarily be used for entertainment and escapism
3. TV will be communal and create social cohesion
4. TV sets will be both domestic and portable but ideally ‘invisible’
5. The definition of what ‘television’ is will broaden
6. Content discovery practices will be multiple but trusted

Children tended to see the television set as the defining feature of television, rather than it’s the mode of distribution or the formats of programmes.

1. The concept of television is becoming increasingly blurred
2. Television’s value remains social and communal
3. Children have concerns about the future of television…
4. … So they seek control over their experience
5. Children relate to the immersive and emotive potential of television

The report concludes that the concept of ‘television’ is changing. While older viewers demonstrate a clear understanding of the differences between broadcasting and streaming, often with a preference for the former, younger adults and children are less likely to know or value the difference.

However, across all age groups, television is often a shared activity. Live and new programming was privileged as a means of creating shared moments. Television is seen as important for relaxation and providing escapism.

The educational function of television is changing. Despite its value amongst adults, there was little acknowledgement from children of the value of news or other educational programming.

While adult viewers often based their viewing decisions on trusted sources and social influences, this was less common amongst children, perhaps because of their lack of control over their television viewing at this life stage. Social media as a source for recommendations was only mentioned by younger adults and did not appear in discussions with older adults or children.

Overall, the report suggests, attitudes and values amongst varied age groups are not tremendously different. While the way people access television programmes are changing, as are understandings of its cultural role, many core values still endure. Television remains an integral part of the social and cultural fabric of the everyday lives of viewers, with its capacity for liveness and improving wellbeing as distinct factors in its appeal.

Despite ongoing threats to the broadcast schedule, television will continue to play a primary role across all ages in connecting us to each other, teaching us about the world, and contributing to positive emotional wellbeing.

TV2054: Imagining the Future of Television, led by Prof Elizabeth Evans and Dr Cassie Brummitt, is available for download from the Institute for Screen Industries Research on the University of Nottingham web site.