He emphasized that flow is "the defining characteristic of broadcasting, simultaneously as a technology and as a cultural form.
"[3] Since the 1990s, the concept of flow has been transformed by new technologies and programming strategies that free the viewer from the old television model.
VCRs, DVDs, DVRs (such as TiVo), Video-on-Demand, and online video sources all allow the viewer to construct their own flow.
[citation needed] Williams claims that flow is determined by television's "stage of development," but Rick Altman, Professor of Cinemas and Comparative Literature at the University of Iowa, argues that the culture of the medium produces and determines its flow.
[4] He notes that the soundtrack is unique to American culture and is one of the techniques that shapes the viewer's flow or his or her experience watching television.