[kwlug-disc] OT: Broadcast TV in trouble?

[Andrew Kohlsmith (mailing lists account)]

> On Dec 12, 2015, at 5:27 PM, B.S. <bs27975 at yahoo.ca> wrote:
>> a la carte is the only sane way forward.
> Yes and no.

I was going to quote your entire response but I find I’m confused by it. I make the assertion that a la carte is the only way forward, and you start talking about how “skinny” bundles don’t work. “Base plus” isn’t a la carte. I’m talking about eliminating the entire concept of a bundle or a base. You pick the channels you want, at $1.50/mo apiece. No minimum, no “buy 10 and they are $1.25 apiece”, but flat per-channel pricing. That isn’t what we got out of the CRTC, but it’s what we need to end this nonsense.

You did bring up cancon though, and that’s something I hadn’t thought of. I’m also not a fan of cancon; I feel Canadian content is strong enough to survive on its own with the right marketing and licensing abroad. I might be out to lunch on this though. I need to think about it a little more.

>> The barrier to watching a broadcast station is now not much lower than 
>> access to a web stream.
> Not so, actually but I only recently switched my viewpoint from yours.

I’m particularly interested in this part of the thread. :-)

I agree with you that the baby boomers want to turn on the box and watch. I’m nowhere near the baby boomers (turning 40 next year) and an ubergeek and hell, that’s exactly what *I* want. My 6 year old son is the same way. Commercials infuriate him because unless he’s at a friend’s house, he’s never exposed to them.

> And for them, they want to turn the TV on, press guide, click a channel to show me 'this', and get on with their day. Not futz around with the underpinings of how that content arrives at the screen, nor multiple pathways within their home by which a picture appears on the screen.

I disagree with you that streaming media is anything but “turn it on and watch.” Netflix or whatever weak comparison that Rogers is trying desperately to shlock in order to catch up with the boat they missed is the same way. Our “smart” TVs all have these channels built in. It’s really no different than a standard cable/satellite/OTA solution. With the exception of the setup and maintenance (which is exactly what you’re driving at, I think), my XMBC setup is identical to “turn it on and watch."

Now I don’t know a whole lot of baby boomers who aren’t tech savvy and who don’t already use services such as Netflix or Apple TV. My limited exposure to this demographic also seems to indicate that they’d have enough help (friends, family, etc.) who could get them streaming and require little to no upkeep/maintenance (certainly no more than you’d have with digital cable/satellite).

My comment about barrier to entry was not aimed so much at this side of it though, especially since I feel that there is no difference between turn on your Netflix appliance or turning on your Rogers box.

I was referring more directly to “you need an internet connection” to consume streaming media. The barrier to entry is largely the same these days because there are no analog channels left. You need a digital tuner equipped TV (which isn’t very far off from a wifi-enabled device) and you need to pay for service. OTA will get you some media for free, but with streaming media you can possibly get by with public internet, although it’s unlikely you’ll have a great time doing this.


> So, I don't think the TV, the remote, and 'broadcasting' (or 'TV') as we know it, is likely going to really change any time in the next 3 decades. The pathway by which it travels - yes, but the consumers largely want to not care / have to think about that. I expect. They will always want turnkey - press a button, consume.

This is the confusing part of your reply. It almost seems like we’re arguing the exact same thing, that “broadcast” television is almost extinct as it is, and has been replaced by streaming networks, although much of the digital cable is currently masquerading as a broadcast medium even though it’s more and more being turned into private streaming networks. This is very similar to how “voice” calls largely don’t exist anymore and have been replaced with digital voice streams over private networks. Circuit switched networks are carrying packetized data and nobody is the wiser, although the carriers are saving a *pile* of money.

-A.