Will Peer Content Production Really Eclipse Traditional TV Broadcasting?

Henry Jenkin’s book, Convergence Culture, persistently analyzes the clashing of media between traditional “hub and spoke” television distribution and the peer content production arising from the internet. He draws on a bestselling book by Nicholas Negroponte known as Being Digital (published in 1990) that predicts “the collapse of broadcast networks in favor of an era of narrowcasting and niche media on demand.” Jenkins builds on this by saying that in the 1990’s the view of an upcoming digital revolution revolved around a mindset that new media would overthrow old media; specifically that the Internet would eclipse broadcasting. He goes on to say that this replacement would “enable consumers to more easily access media content that was personally meaningful to them.” Yet, what factors into the degree to which media content is meaningful to someone?
On May 24, 2006 there were 42.94 million viewers tuning in to the season finale of American Idol. Throughout the season, millions of votes had been cast weekly by an enormous fan-base. American Idol is a broadcast television show, yet its popularity among consumers is incredible. This directly contradicts the viewpoint held by Negroponte and the general mindset of the 20th century towards shifts in media. The internet is growing and becoming increasingly popular by the day, yet traditional broadcasting is hardly suffering. The reasoning for this is that the older forms of media are not being destroyed, they are simply evolving. People tend to more often find personal meaning in media which encourages participation from the masses, as the internet does so well. Therefore, by integrating a form of participation into traditional television broadcasting, it gives it a twist that allows it to morph into a type of media that suggests internet-like properties.
Why has peer content production become so successful? What drives people to engage in mass-media production, such as Wikipedia? The prevalent underlying motive is the ideology that they, the individual spokes amongst the many, have a voice that can influence the hub. This is no different than the current case with American Idol; thus making it clear to see why both media items, though very different in style, are unique in nature. This same central theme is observed in web forums, blogs, and the core essences of the internet itself.
This does not go to say that the physical television set is here to stay. Hardware is an entirely different matter, which should not be related to the aforementioned media content. As I quote from Jenkins, “…history teaches us that old media never die--and they don’t even necessarily fade away. What dies are simply the tools we use to access media content.”
Traditional television broadcasting is not being eclipsed, but rather expanded and morphed to allow for user participation that gives it the properties necessary to mesh well with peer content production. Our society does not revolve around a complete overthrowing of old media by the uprising of newer forms of media; this is only true of physical hardware. The media itself simply molds to fit into ever-changing societal demands.