by Catherine M. Harris

Created on: April 10, 2010   Last Updated: April 11, 2010

There is a revolution in the television industry and it is directly correlated to web access and on-demand viewing.  Tivo and cable channels with time shifting and other methods of recording or watching shows are to a degree answering the requirements of today's busy lifestyle, however there is one generation that is driving the future television program delivery, and that is the demographic between twenty and thirty.

These, and those coming behind them are the connected generation.  They live by the phone, but it's not the traditional land line phone, it's a cellphone.  Instant messaging is making email obsolete for shorter messages, and it also is removing the need for picking up the phone to call.  This is a generation that demands instant access for everything, and with good reason.  They are the first generation that has grown up with computers and cell phones and they truly are the ones for whom these devices are second nature and they expect their media to be available on a click at minimal, or preferably no cost.  They are also the future of television.

If you ask any College student today they'll tell you that they don't wait for their turn on the community payphone, they have a cell phone.  Similarly, they won't argue over which program to watch in the lounge, they'll go to their room and watch the shows available on the Internet, legal or not.

It makes sense, because for people with limited time to watch t.v., they're going to watch what they want when they want, and if they don't have to pay for cable fees and the cost of buying a DVD recorder to hopefully watch something later, either they have the equipment and they are able to record or they simply don't watch. 

Working people who travel have clued into this as well.  Current technology with the Apple iPhone and similar devices like the iTouch and the newer iPad means that programs area available for download to watch later or by WiFi and watched on a network website.  The future is now, as many students will tell you.

The question is, how are the networks and television producers handling this change, and how do they do this and still make money?  Admittedly, it is difficult to wrap your mind around the concept if you aren't of that generation, and for that reason it is very important to survey and find out what this generation expects.  There are good reasons for this, because in their own way they are showing the rest of us how things

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