Television, History and Economics of

Television, born during the first years of the 20th century, is a preeminent mass medium, providing entertainment and information to millions of people all over the world, despite its age and continuous technological changes. In the United States, for example, in 2017, people aged 15 years and older spent an average of 277 minutes per day watching television and those aged 65 years and older spent on average 437 minutes per day watching television. Thus, watching television is one of the most common leisure activities in the United States.

Nowadays, however, the broadcasters, the content producers, and the traditional television set in front of the sofa compete with telecom operators, with new players coming from the web (e.g., Google, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu), and with new screens ...