In this article, the author discusses the possible changes in the medium of television by the year 2020. He predicts that the viewers of the future will each have a simple gadget that will enable them to select exactly what they want to view--at their own choice of time. Nobody will sit through the end of a programme they do not want to watch in order to see the start of the next programme, and nobody will miss the start of a programme because they are on the phone or stuck in traffic. Instead of choosing from a series of television channels and programs, the new system will be more like choosing from a bookshop. An initiative for a state-financed television channel known as "Teacher's TV" is also discussed. (Contains 1 endnote.)