About the Book

Millions of people now probably have more drama available to them in a single weekend than they would once have been able to see in a year or even in the course of a lifetime.
An evening's entertainment is no longer a single outing, but the potential consumption of a succession of comedy, drama, game show, reportage, sport, late night movie...
Such observations are almost truisms today. And yet, in many ways, we are only beginning to realize their implications. Raymond Williams' classic study, first published in 1974, was ahead of its time, introducing ideas such as these about the medium whose presence we take for granted. It is now reissued with additional updating material by his son Ederyn Williams.
Beginning with a brief history of television, Professor Williams goes on to survey its institutions, and to analyse programmes and scheduling practices in critical detail. The final part of the book looks at technological developments, and includes an overview of technological change in the intervening years by Ederyn Williams. The book's conclusions, questioning notions of competition and choice, are as telling today as when Professor Williams first reached them.