May 11, 2007
Who's Killing TV?
A whopping 2.5 million people have gone missing -- at least that's what major TV networks believe. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox report that the number of people watching their shows has dropped that much since Spring last year. Network executives are scrambling to figure out where everybody went. Mike Elgan on Computer World reports and has a suggestion: Blame technology. [via The Raw Feed - Image left from flickr]
Elgan believes "three factors have done more to cut viewers from the Nielsen ratings even than the super-low quality of the shows. First: Tivo, second: Hi-Def and third: The Internet.
He writes, "The Web is hurting TV in two direct ways, and one indirect way. First, it's an alternative entertainment screen. More people surfing the Web instead of watching TV. Video clips from TV shows are becoming substitutes for sitting through entire shows."
I differ slightly with Elgan on this point because entire TV shows are available online, not just clips. And here in Europe that's what were watching. Entire shows online, instead of on our TV sets. The main reason is because US shows only reach our TV channels 6 months to a year after they've been broadcast in the US. And this way, we don't have to wait.
Kind viewers in the US are uploading on video sharing sites such as YouTube, Dailymotion, the latest episodes of the last series, for a our viewing pleasure. And sites like Gigi Studio are indexing the links, making it easier to follow the sequence of episodes.
But I do agree with this part : "The indirect way is that the freedom of choice we find on the Web sours us to the "captive audience" model of TV."
Related:
-- Online TV viewing 'on the rise'
-- Threat for Big Media: Guerrilla Video Sites
-- Forget YouTube: Go To These Sites If You Want Hard Core Copyright Infringing Content
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