An excerpt from my story in the 11/11/13 edition of The New York Times:
When Eric Nelson’s 6-year-old daughter, Charlotte, and 10-year-old son, Asa, discover that they cannot rewind or fast-forward a TV show, they are perplexed — and their father is, too. It is hard to explain the limitations of live television to children who have grown up in an on-demand world.
“They say ‘live TV’ the way I say ‘doing my taxes’ — with resignation,” said Mr. Nelson, a literary agent in Manhattan.
Charlotte and Asa, like many children, perceive all of television to be more Netflix than Nickelodeon: on demand and on their schedule, not the networks’. Their expectations — that every episode of every show is available anytime — give a glimpse into the future of entertainment, and are already shaping the decisions of media executives who are their grandparents’ ages.