The Light From The TV

Next week, I move to France to live for a year, following my wife's posting to Google's SEMEA division. I will also be launching our company, TV Everywhere,  anew - but more of that to come.

We sort of lived in Paris before, and have since been in San Francisco and New York, but leaving London at this time is a bit of a wrench. The Olympics and Paralympics have shown what the British - the Scots, the Welsh, the English and those Irish who are inclined, can achieve. Much more than fifty American states or certainly an European Union.

Most international team sports originated in the UK, we exported bureaucracy internationally and are still the pre-eminent trading nation for our size in the world, even if the City of London's star is waning thanks to the crooks and charlatans that have been allowed to flourish there.

But, as I pack my suitcase, I reflect that no country on earth could have delivered a better Olympics and Paralympics (where my wife volunteered and has had the time of her life) - from the ceremonies through to the cultural events (which our company was peripherally involved in), to the sports themselves.

The Olympics may only be the second best show on earth, the Paralympics may remain ignored by international broadcasters, but these have been the best six televisual weeks of my life. TV can reach, inspire, make you laugh, cry and go out and do things. As a medium, nothing else has as much effect on our world. Twitter and Facebook are still sideshows, YouTube is still a cesspit.

It has been an extraordinary summer, but now I must turn out the light and move on. We need to invent the next chapter in this medium's incredible journey.