The Pope hasn't watched TV since 1990

[Ron Swanson]

Reminds me of an old episode of Barney Miller .. this guy had been out of touch partying for 10 years and his wife finally found him ... he's at the police station he asks what has happened in the last ten year as he's not watched ANY news or TV in that time

One of the guys says: "Well they have this new chewing gum, that doesn't stick to most dental work ..."

 

[blutoski]

I don't think that is a factor. Long ago, in the days of the big three, people were just as busy. But the technology to support a greater variety of choices was just not there. Forward 30 years. Now the technology is in place and people are using it. Thus, domination by a few is more difficult, if not impossible.

I don't think we're in disagreement - I just failed to explain what I meant by 'traditional tv' - that was a model where families all watched the same programming together at the same time, and the time of day powerfully influenced the content. Soap operas played in the daytime, news at 6, family programming on Sunday, Friday evening was a ghetto.

With new technology and deregulation, content is not as strongly tied to broadcast time slots, so we're seeing a shift.

It's not just the ability to record - it's the long tail. I'm able to decide that I'd rather watch The Prisoner and dial it up on NetFlix, instead of recording anything that's currently broadcasting. My thinking is that this will evolve into a situation where the only reason for staggered episode release is basic production limitations.

 

[Stuart]

Yeah, know what the pope means. There isn't a lot on worth watching

 

[maximara]

One hears that the Catholic church is out of touch with reality and this would seem to illustrate that in spades. What is the man thinking?

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/05/26/pope-francis-says-hasnt-watched-tv-in-more-than-25-years/

Nothing really worth watching on it? With the internet I am surprised anyone watches TV anymore. It is like that line from "Nobody Home" in Pink Floyd's The Wall only it is 200 channels of total garbage to choose from instead of the meager 13 there were when he recored that song.

 

[maximara]

I don't think we're in disagreement - I just failed to explain what I meant by 'traditional tv' - that was a model where families all watched the same programming together at the same time, and the time of day powerfully influenced the content. Soap operas played in the daytime, news at 6, family programming on Sunday, Friday evening was a ghetto.

PBS was about the only channel back in those days that bucked that trend. In Columbus, Ohio in the 1970s programing that was to be used in classrooms ran most of the day with Sesame Street around noon. In the late 70s early 80s Around 6 pm was the Electric Company followed by Doctor Who (Tom Baker)

Evenings were a mixed bag with NOVA on Tuesdays, Mystery on Thursdays, and Lowell Thomas Remembers on Friday for a while

With new technology and deregulation, content is not as strongly tied to broadcast time slots, so we're seeing a shift.

It also means that some corporate idiot can't kill a show by pulling in a poor time slot (Star Trek and the original Doctor Who after Colin Baker) or bouncing it around until no one even knows when the show even is on (The 1994 The Flash)

It's not just the ability to record - it's the long tail. I'm able to decide that I'd rather watch The Prisoner and dial it up on NetFlix, instead of recording anything that's currently broadcasting. My thinking is that this will evolve into a situation where the only reason for staggered episode release is basic production limitations.

The problem is right now advertisers still will not pay for time shifted programs (more reason to hit the fast forward button ) so even if a show is popular it can still get canned if its "live" viewer ratings are poor.

Show producers have wised up to this nonsense and are now offering season passes of shows (I personally have Doctor Who and the current Flash series) and if you only have a small number of favorite shows it is far cheaper then cable TV which generally runs about $50 a month.

 

[Elind]

Nothing really worth watching on it? With the internet I am surprised anyone watches TV anymore. It is like that line from "Nobody Home" in Pink Floyd's The Wall only it is 200 channels of total garbage to choose from instead of the meager 13 there were when he recored that song.

You are hardly the first to make that trivial suggestion. The truth is that there is plenty of value if you look for it, and that includes much about current events and issues that you would not find online without already knowing something of the issue from somewhere else.