Television at 100 – still evolving

By Paolo Lazzarini, Chair, Study Group 6 (Radiocommunication broadcasting), Amir Nafez, Chair, Working Party 6A (Terrestrial broadcasting delivery), Paul Gardiner, Chair, Working Party 6B (Broadcast service assembly and access), and Andy Quested, Chair, Working Party 6C (Programme production and quality assessment), International Telecommunication Union

A century of television

John Logie Baird transmitted the first recognizable television images over a century ago. On 2 October 1925, his mechanical televisor system delivered a moving image of one of his laboratory assistants, William Taynton.

Baird held the first public demonstration of this new medium a few months later, in January 1926.

This year’s World Television Day celebrates the centenary of that milestone.

From those modest beginnings to the sophisticated systems we know today, television has transformed beyond recognition. Yet in many ways, it has evolved just as its pioneers envisioned – as a technology that informs, entertains, and connects people across the globe.

AI-driven TV transformation

Today, we are witnessing an extraordinary acceleration of technological change. Artificial intelligence (AI) and other breakthroughs, including 5G private networks, higher spectrum efficiency, cloud computing, and software-defined production systems, have revolutionized the creation and distribution of TV programmes. The integration of virtual and augmented reality technologies is similarly redefining how audiences experience television.

Multiple delivery systems – traditional over-the-air broadcasting, satellite, cable, and Internet-based streaming – now regularly coexist in new TV sets. This reaffirms television as the world’s most extensive and influential audiovisual medium.

Terrestrial television took a major step forward this year when the President of Brazil signed a decree launching TV 3.0, which integrates over-the-air broadcasts with broadband Internet. With other countries expected to follow, this signals a new era in broadcasting.

A medium for content

Increased flexibility brings new challenges. With so many platforms and options, many subscribers struggle to find content they like – even as algorithm-driven recommendations increasingly shape viewing habits.

For any new television service to succeed, it must deliver more than improved sound or picture quality, more channels, or additional on-demand features.

At its heart, television remains a medium for content. The biggest advances, tracked over the decades in radiocommunication standards from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), stem from enabling audiences to enjoy TV programming without needing to understand the technology behind it and how it reaches the screen.

As early as 2006, Ashley Highfield, the Director of New Media at BBC, observed: “Metadata is the information we hold about our programmes; if we want to unlock the archive and enable people to search by programme or theme, then we are going to have to have awesome metadata.”

Two decades ago, creating that “awesome” metadata required extensive manual input, which was costly and time-consuming for broadcasters. The benefits often appeared limited compared to the effort involved.

Today, AI excels at data extraction, aggregation, and intelligent cataloguing, transforming how content is indexed and discovered. It also enhances personalization by generating meaningful recommendations and search results.

TV standards for a new age

The ability of TV broadcasters to share content catalogues and adopt app-based service models mirrors how radio has reinvented itself for the digital age.

Now, Brazil’s TV 3.0 and other standards – ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) standard in the United States and the Republic of Korea, as well as Native IP Broadcasting (DVB-NIP) being piloted in several emerging markets worldwide – are further redefining the medium.

When combined with AI-powered content discovery and curation, these systems promise a richly interconnected, personalized, and intelligent media ecosystem.

Inclusive and engaging

According to United Nations data, approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population lives with some form of disability or has special needs. New technologies offer immense potential to make television more accessible and inclusive.

Measuring the effectiveness of media accessibility features can be complex. But evidence consistently shows that inclusive technologies benefit everyone – not just those they are designed to support – and strengthen overall user engagement.

A recently updated ITU report, Accessibility to broadcasting services for persons with disabilities (ITU-R report BT.2207), highlights pioneering trials conducted by Japan’s national broadcaster, NHK. Using neural network-based sign language systems, NHK has developed computer-graphic generated signing avatars that translate spoken text into sign language, potentially achieving full coverage of signed content.

The report also describes other AI-driven initiatives, including live audio description, captioning, and automated translation, all of which are advancing rapidly thanks to machine learning and language processing technologies.

What comes next

Television continues evolving, offering audiences unprecedented immersion, interactivity, and inclusiveness. Each innovation sparks new opportunities, often leading to unexpected advancements.

Consider the integration of live sign-language algorithms with next-generation delivery systems. This could soon make closed signing (activated only on viewer demand) a standard feature. It could also enable real-time translation, in which actors’ lip movements and authentic voices are seamlessly synchronized with the viewer’s chosen language.

Similarly, AI-enhanced programme guides may move beyond repetitive suggestions to encourage exploration of diverse and unfamiliar content, expanding cultural and creative horizons.

As emerging technologies reshape future TV broadcasting and consumption, the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) remains at the forefront, driving global standards and promoting television’s inclusivity, innovation, and accessibility for all. We take pride in ITU’s leadership in the continuous enhancement of television.

Over the next decade, we anticipate even greater innovation. Television will continue to transform – technically, creatively, and socially. It endures as one of the world’s most powerful, trusted, and widely consumed media. And we trust it will remain true to its essential purpose: to inform, entertain, and unite people everywhere.