Television Reloaded

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Television Reloaded

Steven Levy of Newsweek does an article on the future of television, covering new hardware, time-shifting, video-on-demand, IPTV (TV on the Internets :), and other trends in television viewing.

However, the part of the article that rang most true to me was this:

The result may be that when all the time-shifting and space-shifting is accounted for, most people will watch the same stuff by the same creators. In fact, even with today's relative abundance, most people stick to only a few channels.

According to Nielsen Media Research, households that receive about 60 channels usually watch only 15. Households whose systems can receive 96 channels (around the national average) actually watch... 15.

What's more, a recent study conducted at the UPenn Annenberg School for Communications showed that when people were offered more programming choices, they stuck to fewer selections—and, alarmingly, watched fewer news shows.

MSNBC - Television Reloaded

by Gen Kanai May 24, 2005

Comments

I am a long time TiVo user and I have learned a lot about my viewing habits using the TiVo service. I believe that Steven Levy is spot on. We used to have over a hundred channels with digital cable but at some point I stopped and analyzed what we/TiVo was actually recording/watching. I found that we really only watched like 5-7 different channels, and almost all were channels I could get for free for with basic cable. We eventually scaled back to just basic cable and I really haven't missed. Most good cable TV shows make it to DVD so I don't really feel that I miss too much. TiVo has changed the way we watch TV and I think it illustrates a larger movement away from the traditional home entertainment delivery infrastructure.

William

Posted by: William Higgins at May 24, 2005 6:24:30 AM

Yes, most people stick to a few channels. But one person's few channels is more likely to be different than another's when there are more channels available. In the future, people will still only watch a limited number of programs. Afterall, everyone is limited by time. But the key is that with unlimited choices (every website will be a tv channel!), these few programs will be more aligned with their tastes and more worthwhile. The part of article that got me thinking was the idea that if people are given unlimited choices, most will be less likely to be exposed to things beyond their relatively narrow range of interests. Hmmm, with power comes responsibility.

Posted by: Gary at May 24, 2005 6:48:27 AM

I look for programming, I could care less where it airs - TIVO gives me the power to grab the content and play it whenever I want. I assume this will be a good thing for the MotorSport Ranch pilot and potential series. For example, I NEVER watched the Travel Channel before I had TIVO - now I watch one or two series (World Poker Tour to name one) only found on that network. Oh and what about OLN (Outdoor Life Network channel 800 or something) - they run the Tour de France each year - we keep that running in Architel's Network Operations Center during the summer.

Posted by: Alexander Muse at May 24, 2005 11:21:22 AM

Why is it "alarming" that people with more choices watched fewer news shows? The only people this should be alarming for are the idiots who are producing news programming. Maybe they should take the hint - we don't want to watch more sensationalized made for TV news and screaming talking heads. Television is an entertainment medium. I'll get my news from newspapers, the web, and occassionally from the radio on my commute to and from work.

Posted by: AJRitz at May 24, 2005 2:00:15 PM

I question the use of "number of channels" at all. Is this really a useful indicator? I don't believe that people have any type of channel loyalty overall. Wouldn't a better metric be to measure individual show consumption ? Or types of shows using some type of characteristic criteria. (Comedy/Drama and FOOD/NEWS/DOCUMENTARY etc)

I tend to watch more or less distinct networks based on programming changes. I don't watch anything from USA network regularly, but this season I have a Kojak season pass. If USA sells Kojak to NBC well then I wont be watcing USA anymore.

I also tend to believe that eventually, the channel concept is going to change quite a bit. IMHO the whole point of having a "Food Network" would evenutally become obsolete. The only reason to need a channel dedicated to food is so that one wouldnt have to go searching tons of channels to find something food related. If we have good browse/search capabilities I dont see the needs of channel grouping by subject. Specialized channels wouldn't be necessary.

And if I were to really want to fantasize, broadcasters would become content providers, and everything will be available in some On Demand format (as well as live streaming if people want it and for live events and whatnot) so that people wouldnt have to worry about whats on right now or even managing their subscriptions etc. Maybe one day I could log onto some content provider server and view whichever episode of "Desperate Housewives" or "24" I havent seen yet.

Posted by: ChicagoTom at May 24, 2005 2:04:01 PM

I may have hundreds of channels, but a good half of them are junk channels. 5 home shopping, 5 religious, 10 "local origin" 10 kiddie channels, 10 international, and anything Lifetime... I wish that I could only pay for what I want to watch. I'd definitely select more than 15 channels, but I'd have a lot less to sort through when I want to find something to watch. There was a push in congress to make Cable providers offer an a la carte option, anyone know what happened to it? I know the cable providers didn't like it. But, hey, I don't have to buy marmalade and capers when I go to buy a loaf of bread, why should I pay for things that bother me (shopping, religious channels)...

Posted by: ~bc at May 24, 2005 3:48:32 PM

Has anyone considered that the reason why people watch less shows once they have a TiVo is that they don't watch live TV as much anymore and therefore aren't introduced to new programming?

Traditionally, new shows were introduced to viewers because the bookended other popular shows. Studios relied upon consumer lazyness. The prior show would end, the viewer wouldn't click the remote and the next show would draw them in. VOD has the same problem. If you're not looking at ads and you're not watching live TV, how do you find out about shows? TV Guide? Hunting and pecking through the onscreen programming guide? They're all based on time and channel, criteria that matter very little to PVR and VOD users. They all suck.

The problem is not that there is nothing on those other channels, the problems is that it's very difficult to find content on those other channels. Once that process becomes easier, you'll see people watch shows from lots of different channels. (Although never from all 500, which is why we still need a la carte cable).

Posted by: Alex Rowland at May 24, 2005 8:12:14 PM

I'm all for the a la carte option with cable channels. I watch/PVR maybe 5 different channels the rest I never see. What makes me keep my cable box are the videos on demand. I want TV on demand! Maybe I'll cancel my cable and just go with Netflix. There's plenty of TV on DVD now.

Posted by: MrBlank at May 25, 2005 11:52:35 AM

The comment about not being exposed to new shows... rediculous. When ad skipping, if an ad for a new show looks remotely interesting, I watch it. I also look through the TiVo showcases, and of course, my keyword wishlists. I have a TON of wishlists. I'm actually worried TiVo might have a wishlist limit somewhere. I'm constantly watching stuff I've never heard of.
The difference is that I'm not settling for whatever is on when I have time to watch... I'm watching something I want to watch (unless it's a new show I'm viewing fopr the first time, then I'm finding out if I'm going to want to watch it)
And of course, my favorite, the TiVo suggestions. I LOVE suggestions.

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Television Reloaded

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