Is traditional TV dying?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. Television has been a huge part of society for many, many decades now; it's been around for far longer than I have, and many aspects of popular culture as we know it revolve around and/or were started by TV. A TV is viewed by many as an essential within the home these days, and at a guess, I'd say that the vast majority of people in the developed world at very least own a television.

However, I've noticed a vast change in people's TV viewing habits within the last few years. The more traditional scheduled approach to TV watching seems to be decreasing in popularity, with streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime amongst others increasing in popularity, and almost becoming the norm nowadays. So my question to you today is; is traditional TV dying? In 20 years' time, will we still be watching TV channels and looking at TV schedules to see "what's on"? Or will that become a relic of the past within a few years, with the new on-demand approach having taken over completely? And more generally, what are your thoughts on on-demand TV and its rise in popularity?

Personally, my answer is yes; I do feel that traditional TV is dying, and I do feel that on-demand could have rendered it obsolete before too long. Within the last few years, I've noticed quite a drastic and abrupt change in how both my family and people I know more widely view TV. When I was a young child, the TV world revolved around terrestrial TV, and even when I was in my early teens, it seemed like everyone watched terrestrial television, and while on-demand streaming services existed, it seemed like they were something that very few people had access to or used. From my perspective, the likes of Netflix didn't properly blow up until I was getting on for my mid teens (I was maybe 13 or 14, at a guess? For reference, I was born in 2003.), but a few years ago, it felt like TV viewing habits shifted rapidly and drastically towards on-demand services, and that shift has only gotten more drastic since. While most people I know watched terrestrial TV a fair amount a few years ago, their viewing of terrestrial TV has decreased substantially in recent years in favour of streaming services, particularly in the case of younger demographics.

While we as a family watched a fair amount of terrestrial TV when I was a child, we watch very little nowadays; almost everything I watch with my parents now is on Netflix. And although I'm not a huge TV viewer in general, practically everything I do watch is on demand nowadays. I know that plenty of people do still watch terrestrial television (older demographics in particular still seem quite reliant on traditional TV), but the amount does seem to be rapidly decreasing, particularly among younger demographics; this may just be who I know, but I know very few people below the age of 40 or 50 who still regularly watch terrestrial TV (or at least, watch more terrestrial TV than streamed TV). More and more things seem to be moving towards streaming services; while they mostly used to have old films and TV shows on them, the popularity and prevalence of "Original" series has increased exponentially in recent years, and things like reality TV shows and even live sport, which would traditionally be more suited to terrestrial TV, are moving towards primarily being on streaming services. Even traditional TV channels and services are moving towards an on-demand model; for instance, Sky has introduced on-demand services, and BBC3 recently moved to primarily become an on-demand streaming service.

A good case study of this shift for me is the topical TV of the current period; Christmas TV. I felt that TV was quite a topical subject to bring up right now what with it being Christmas time; Christmas TV & film has become a surprisingly large part of the festive period. My dad was telling me yesterday that when he was young, the Christmas period seemed to revolve around the TV schedule and what Christmas TV was on and when, and even when I was a younger child, I seem to remember the Christmas schedule and what programmes and specials were on over Christmas being a big thing. However, within the last few years... the discussion has shifted from "what's on TV this Christmas?" to "what's being put on Netflix this Christmas?" or "What's good to watch on Netflix this Christmas?". It's really interesting to see, and the Christmas TV schedule doesn't seem anywhere near as relevant as it used to be, from my perspective.

Perhaps controversially, I'm personally quite happy with things moving towards on-demand. I think streaming services are a brilliant invention, and ensure maximum flexibility for TV watchers. Gone are the days where families would fight about what to watch on TV, or the days where your TV watching habits would be solely determined by the whims and timings of a schedule. I'd argue that on-demand satisfies everyone; each TV watcher can watch whatever they want at whatever time they want to (within reason), and I think that's absolutely superb, personally!

But what are your thoughts? Do you think that terrestrial TV is dying, and are you happy about the rise of on-demand services?

 

[Jonathan]

I'm inclined to agree with you, Matt. I don't watch very much live TV these days, but do make exceptions for some things when I can. I stream most stuff now, as it's easier for me to watch in my own time, and I can pause whenever I want if I need to use the toilet or grab a drink or whatever. The only downside is it can be hard to avoid spoilers, but that's one of the trade-offs.

 

[Thameslink Rail]

I don't actually use Netflix and I prefer watching my favourite shows as they come out on television, there is something special about watching a show as it comes out on the big screen with millions of others. I am probably in the minority here but live TV has no spoilers (except in Match of the Day where you already know the score) and you don't have to worry about remembering your password.

 

[D4n]

Literally don't remember the last time I watched TV for something other than live sport.

Yes it is dying a death. Rightly so. Streaming offers far better convenience and choice.

The TV license is also overpriced and should be scrapped.

 

[Tim]

... live TV has no spoilers ...

I don't think that's been true for a long time. Most TV in the last 10 to 20 years has either been leaked by media outlets or spoiled by being aired at different times in other time zones (a big problem with American shows that often air at 4am UK time). The Internet has kind of made spoilers unavoidable.
It's actually why we used to stream Game of Thrones the morning after it aired in America. If we waited for the UK live broadcast it was granted we'd have it spoiled during the day.

I think the days of broadcast TV are coming to an end, but "Live" TV will continue. Sports, the news and popcorn TV (channels like Dave that you watch when you just want anything on), all still have an audience. But there's no reason they can't be streamed like Twitch.
The benefit to switching from broadcasting to streaming is it frees up a lot of the wave frequency spectrum used by TV and makes it available for other uses. Not only is this a major incentive to switching away from broadcasting but it's already started. Some of the spectrum reserved for TV channels have already been sold.

Personally I almost exclusively stream stuff now. I actually find it novel to visit family that just have the TV on in the background. We have a freesat box at home but even if what we want to watch is on live if its already available on a streaming platform we'll load it on there. It's just more convenient to start and pause the program when we want.

 

[pluk]

Undoubtably, and sadly, yes.

While streaming comes with obvious advantages of choice and accessibility it loses so much in giving the chance of success to more niche programming, and to the excitement of live, event programs outside of sport. Most of the very best TV of my life has been things that I've discovered chanel hopping rather than looking for it, but with streaming that doesn't really exist. The way the algorithms work you just get fed what it thinks you like, that's not good for discovery, for broadening the mind, for finding something new. Or for developing new talent and programming with the algorithms just demanding more of the same.

The BBC is an incredible, wonderful thing, and astonishingly good value. It produces things others can't or won't without the need for commercial success. That encourages risk taking and experimentation in programming that has a value beyond viewing figures, and an impartiality that others don't have. It has been ravaged, by design, by interference from a government with an agenda to weakin it on behalf of their media mougal friends putting commercia interests above public service. See also, the NHS. Like the NHS, we should be demanding the BBC was strengthened, not letting them win. You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone.

 

[geo4chg]

Undoubtedly the trend is towards on-demand streaming services - possibly accelerated by the pandemic, especially when people were stuck inside through lockdowns and/or furlough. However, there are certain programmes that undoubtedly benefit from being "live" - news, sport, events (coronations, weddings, memorials, elections etc) and certain "event" television (Strictly final, SPOTY, Game of Thrones season finale for example).

I personally don't think live TV will disappear for a very long time, but it is certainly on the decline. There are a lot of people that like to just have the TV on when ironing or cooking or doing a crossword or whatever, and being able to just switch the TV on and that is it has a clear benefit over having to actively choose what they watch. Ultimately, a lot of live TV will essentially just become an advert for what is available on demand - look at Sky Movies, Sky still schedule films to be shown on their channels, but with on demand services a lot of people will just download what they want to watch and when, but having those live films being shown at least advertises to the viewer some of the movies that are currently available on the service.

As an aside, on the topic of the License Fee, it is incredibly good value and it really annoys me when I hear people say it isn't - the BBC is in an enviable situation where it doesn't have to chase viewing figures and so there is a lot of content it puts out (especially on BBC4, or what it does on Radio 3 for example) that is of significant cultural value, and when you consider the breadth of content that the BBC broadcasts across TV, radio and online (not just in the UK also) it is a very small annual cost per household. When paying the License Fee, you are not just paying to "not have adverts", but also for the BBC to remain independent from shareholder, commercial and political interests to provide impartial content that is not just entertaining but also of educational and cultural importance.

 

[GaryH]

I’m going to show my age here but I still remember when it was only 3 channels. Then C4 came along and C5 was a revolution at the time. Funny thing was, even with just 3 channels there was always something decent on to watch! I struggle sometimes with 200+ channels to find anything and will often give up browsing through Netflix!

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

Been honest except CBeebies channel I can’t remember the last time I watched anything live on tv. With all the steaming Services I don’t understand why ITV or BBC show movies over Christmas.

 

[GaryH]

Prime time viewing for BBC and ITV over Christmas is Eastenders and Coronation Street. Worst part is we have to pay for this rubbish on BBC

 

[Jim]

Well, I'm still old school and still use my custom built PVR which automatically records what I might be interested in from FreeToAir HD channels and I watch them when I have time and if is any good, archive it. Haven't watch live TV or channel hopped in years. To be honest very little on nowhere days and have zero interest in streaming, its bad enough trying to game when the internet goes down again .

I do think subscription TV (Sky) days are numbered now and will become an internet streaming service, hell they even now have a actually TV build to stream SkyTV which can be brought or rented like the satellite receivers.

 

[Benjsh]

Why people watch soaps I will never know. My wife is annoyingly one of them too. The acting quality and story lines are abysmal. If you want to watch a drama then watch something on Netflix or another streaming service and get 100 times the quality.

I doubt I will ever understand the fuss.

 

[Matt N]

Why people watch soaps I will never know. My wife is annoyingly one of them too. The acting quality and story lines are abysmal. If you want to watch a drama then watch something on Netflix or another streaming service and get 100 times the quality.

I doubt I will ever understand the fuss.

I’ve admittedly never watched any soaps myself, but I get the impression that they’re more of an “everyday” drama than your typical Netflix drama, which some people might like.

My Nan absolutely loves the soaps; she often talks very enthusiastically about what’s going on in Emmerdale or Hollyoaks! My sister also watched Hollyoaks for a number of years, although I’m not sure if she still does.

I can understand liking them if you like the drama, but they sound a bit too dramatic for me, personally… from what I hear from my Nan, it seems like someone either dies, gets killed, has an affair or has a child they didn’t want every episode…

 

[Hew878787]

I used to love Coronation Street. It had some drama but a lot of humour too (RIP Patricia Cutts - her one liners were great)

Haven’t watched it for over a decade though as it went down hill imo.

 

[John_P]

The issue is how its all fragmented, you'd get your Sky/Virgin Media subscription and the good US TV shows would eventually show up somewhere.

Now everyone seems to be setting up a streaming network.

Netflix
Amazon Prime
Disney+
HBO Max
Paramount+
Peacock

Some are being folded into existing subscriptions (like Peacock being park of Sky), but these TV subscriptions which aren't reducing in price whilst year on year the new shows are disappearing behind a new pay wall.

I can see this continuing for a few years before the giant services start to cannibalise the smaller ones for their content.

 

[Jim]

The issue is how its all fragmented, you'd get your Sky/Virgin Media subscription and the good US TV shows would eventually show up somewhere.

Now everyone seems to be setting up a streaming network.

Netflix
Amazon Prime
Disney+
HBO Max
Paramount+
Peacock

Some are being folded into existing subscriptions (like Peacock being park of Sky), but these TV subscriptions which aren't reducing in price whilst year on year the new shows are disappearing behind a new pay wall.

I can see this continuing for a few years before the giant services start to cannibalise the smaller ones for their content.

The big issue with streaming compared to traditional TV is that its cheap to set up a streaming service, the technology is wildly available & its very low cost compared to traditional broadcasting. So if you hold the copyrights (aka a studio) its not that difficult to have your own site with your own content now, as Netflix found out the hard way the other year.

Within a few years, the only streaming services will be the main studios that produce content on there individual streaming services, hence Netflix, Amazon Prime & even Apple are desperately starting ramp up producing exclusive movies with big name stars and content. Any service that has to buy in content won't be able to get that content at a price that makes it viable unless its distributed via non streaming means, if at all. The more the big license holders see others bragging about subscriber numbers, the more they want a slice of the pie.

Oh, good US TV Shows use to show up on E4 quite often , but after 1st series it was a gamble of they would get brought out by SkyTV .

 

[BarryZola]

The BBC is terrible, apart from a few select shows occasionally. They vastly overpay their staff, especially presenters. There is absolutely no need to pay the likes of Vanessa Feltz £300,000 a year, or similar for news presenters. What is their special talent that means that someone less known couldn't be trained to do the job for £100,000 a year, or less? That is just wasting money. They also DO operate like a commercial channel and chase ratings by tailoring their programmes for the masses, instead of producing more original and thought provoking programmes. Most of the presenters are scared of having a genuine opinion incase they upset someone and lose their cushy jobs. If anything they will always fall back on 'oh, isn't everything great'. They also force ultra liberal stuff down your throat if you have the misfortune of listening to or watching their programming. Even the local radio stations are chasing ratings by attracting morons. My local station used to have interesting presenters and lots of local content & consumer affairs etc. Now it's just more and more of the young bubbly type presenters playing the same old Radio 1 type crap music and trying to be hip. BBC, what a joke. Can't wait until they have to get into the real world and pay their own way.

 

[QTXAdsy]

Thing with BBC is not down to the licence fee that everyone has against it, but that the content that they pump out is for the most part utter garbage, just look at the sorry state Doctor Who has gotten itself into trying to play identity politics far more than what it been before and it's not the only one. Actually I'm struggling to remember anything that had me interested.

Had the majority of the BBC's output been more or less decent regarding drama and comedy as we had back say the '90's or early 00's then at least the majority would feel that the fee would at the very least feel justified. That all said I really haven't gotten into streaming myself as with so many to pick from it feels rather cumbersome and even though it might help find new talent that otherwise would have never gotten a look in from traditional media which I welcome, however with so many to pick from there is a danger that the streaming market will quickly get diluted.

At the end of the day, a book is nowadays my main source of entertainment. Funny how things end up going round in a circle.

 

[jon81uk]

Thing with BBC is not down to the licence fee that everyone has against it, but that the content that they pump out is for the most part utter garbage, just look at the sorry state Doctor Who has gotten itself into trying to play identity politics far more than what it been before and it's not the only one. Actually I'm struggling to remember anything that had me interested.

Had the majority of the BBC's output been more or less decent regarding drama and comedy as we had back say the '90's or early 00's then at least the majority would feel that the fee would at the very least feel justified. That all said I really haven't gotten into streaming myself as with so many to pick from it feels rather cumbersome and even though it might help find new talent that otherwise would have never gotten a look in from traditional media which I welcome, however with so many to pick from there is a danger that the streaming market will quickly get diluted.

At the end of the day, a book is nowadays my main source of entertainment. Funny how things end up going round in a circle.

Doctor Who might have gone downhill, but Russell T Davies is getting involved again so will see what happens. But all shows even those on streaming can get poor with the wrong team behind them.

But overall I watch a signficant amount of BBC content, probably as much or more than we watch on Netflix. Most of the BBC stuff we watch is consumed via iPlayer so as you say there is still the issue of picking things and finding them.

Things we've watched on iPlayer recently include, Ghosts (an excellant sitcom), The Tourist, Four Lives, What we do in the Shadows (bought from FX but another great sitcom), Pose (another FX show), Drag Race UK/CN/AUS, Inside the Factory, Killing Eve, Line of Duty, A Very British Scandel, Vigil and more.

In terms of traditional linear TV I think there very much is a place for these curated streams, look at Spotify even they still provide playlists and curated lists of tracks.
Also "event TV" is a thing, Bake Off, Masked Singe and The Apprentice are getting a lot of people watch at time of broadcast so they can discuss it on Twitter etc.
Drag Race UK was on iPlayer weekly and most people would watch it on the night it was released, so even though it wasn't on a broadcast channel the date and time of release was important.
BBC Three returns today and I think even if people watch on iPlayer, having a broadcast channel will help people find new things to watch easier.