Core Response #1 by Anushka Kartha

 Jane Feuer’s exploration into Good Morning America as a case of “liveness overcoming fragmentation” provides a ripe space for analysis; particularly, in looking at the relationship between flow and segmentation, and their larger implications during live programming. Raymond Williams’ definition of flow focuses on immediacy and the experience of television which is combined with another set of sequences (advertising, previews) to create one never-ending flow of television. To this, Feuer introduces the diction of fragmentation and segmentation to holistically describe the TV experience. 

When speaking of the Olympics, Feuer notes that “Only the ideological connotations of live television are exploited in order to overcome the contradiction between flow and fragmentation in television practice” (Feuer, 16) - a much changed practice today. Focusing notably here on the sport of cricket and one of its most successful tournaments, the Indian Premier League (IPL) which runs for approximately 3 months during which one has little to no room to escape its presence.

With the shortest format of the game lasting about 3.5-4 hours, cricket is tasked with the unique obstacle of viewer retention, not often seen in other sports. To accommodate for dull moments of play or simply boring games, the tournament depends on layers of liveness. This is not only seen through methods briefly mentioned by Feuer of instant replays, and technology guiding moments of ‘embedded liveness’ to encourage remote, televised interactivity with the audience. From taking the viewer into the privacy of the commentary box (where they can submit questions to be answered by the experts), to the studios with the pundits (for debates with fans who can tweet out their opinions to them), to the streets outside the stadium, there is a distinctive urgency with their use of ‘live’ interactivity. At home enthusiasts are offered a far more comfortable - and arguably more immersive - experience when consuming “The Big Game” from their homes, while being given exclusive access into areas impossible in person. 

This persistence of liveness combined with the need for interactivity offers an almost all encompassing milieu which prioritizes programming (and trickles into moments of fragmentation). During IPL season, broadcasters and advertisers turn regularly scheduled programming into an extension of the cricket field. Previews point to the tournament, L Bands pop up during games with advertisers cleverly (?) marketing their products along with a cheesy cricket reference, and cricketers traipse onto sets of talk shows on sister channels. The discussion of liveness, then, turns to how to retain attention and offer relevant interactivity despite the layers of (live) noise crowding onto our screens.