According to Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, they are saving live TV. Costolo said as much in his keynote address at the Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona, Spain recently, adding that Twitter has become a "second screen" alongside television making it a potentially potent weapon for businesses to reach consumers in real time. Another interesting bit of information that came to light was that not only do people tweet during shows, they also watch and comment on the commercials. The opportunities for advertisers are endless. From actually inserting themselves into the conversation (although that might be frowned upon by the viewers) to scraping the conversation for observations about the product to being proactive regarding potential PR disasters. The bottom line is it allows advertisers the opportunity to stay up on the absolute latest regarding what is being said and maybe even stay ahead of the curve.
The social framework that Twitter provides forces people to watch television shows live as they air. There are plenty of shows that will always warrant live viewing, so I don't know if Twitter will be able to "save" live TV, but they certainly have added a layer of complexity from which we will never be able to go back.
Additionally, Twitter has provided a platform for viewers to be part of an event. Moving forward, TV shows aren't the only ones creating experiences, users are creating experiences for each other.
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