Talking Television

Tom Brook looks at the very latest news in global television from the perspective of viewers around the world. Some media critics think television is a dying medium, soon to be replaced by online streaming - but in many ways old-fashioned TV viewing is more popular than ever. He also looks at how social media has put a new premium to 'live' TV broadcasts, why young people today have come to embrace certain TV programmes with such fanatical passion, and why it may actually be a badge of honour for a series like Game of Thrones to be pirated. And we see how TV worldwide has become more diverse than ever - and how the medium has been at the vanguard of promoting gay rights. The reports will examine whether reality TV can ever be socially redeeming and explore why tales of sordid Washington politics like House of Cards have become incredibly popular in places as unlikely as China. This is a portrait of a medium not in decline but in dynamic transformation - and yielding works of storytelling art like never before.