I personally have not turned on my TV in months. I have to admit one problem is that I cannot abide commercials. But I have some subscriptions to premium, commercial free channels. About a year ago I realized I could watch most of their programs whenever I chose, using the cable system’s “on-demand” feature. But that has made TV rather like paintings in the local art museum. I can always go and look at the permanent collection, so why go now, right this minute? Unless a visitor comes to town, why not go later? There is always something more immediate to grab my attention.
Probably teenagers and other feel a certain pull towards immediate TV watching, so they can keep up with their friends. Sports events and certain political events may cause sports fans and political junkies to tune in at the precise moment the event is happening. But most TV is not like that. As the number and variety of such media grow, and as opportunities for watching and listening “whenever” increase, I suspect that “whenever” will more and more turn out to be “never.”
Meanwhile, one gets e-mails or sees blogs reminding one to look at a certain clip directly on one’s computer. In such an instance one looks at the clip and then responds to friends or comments to blogs at once…. What is immediate has drastically changed.
More about this transition and what it means soon….I hope.
One Response to “The Demise of TV Watching?”
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Do you think the word demise is too strong? I believe it is changing due to many factors. I recently saw Prison Break on Fox.com and this lead me to an interest in the show that I turn around and watch on my DirectTV system. This would seem to indicate that alternative forms of promotion/distribution were supporting the continuation of TV.