5 ms·

TV really seems to be in its twilight. When I happen to chance to watch it, I'm seeing basically the same 4 commercials and they are all geared toward elderly

TV really seems to be in its twilight. When I happen to chance to watch it, I'm seeing basically the same 4 commercials and they are all geared toward elderly populations. No one I know has plain broadcast TV on in their home anymore. I wonder at what point will it become unprofitable to operate a TV station. In my location at least half of the OTA channels are religious broadcasting stations. Will non-profits take them over completely at some point?

gruez 5y ago
> Will non-profits take them over completely at some point? Can a given market really support multiple PBS-like stations?
- setpatchaddress 5y ago
  The religious channels are not PBS. "support" is not relevant if the goal is propaganda (religious or political).
- ghaff 5y ago
  Generally they can barely support one. Also while everyone thinks of Nova and Masterpiece Theater a lot of local PBS content is cheap talking head shows or at least it was historically.
commandlinefan 5y ago
HBO just announced a new season of "Sex and the City" on HBO Max. It occurred to me that although I've never watched an episode of the original series all the way through, I know all the characters names and their basic story arcs - the show was just part of popular culture when it was new and you couldn't help but hear about it. There's nothing like that now. My kids couldn't even tell you what shows are on - I doubt they could even name the broadcast stations.
- leephillips 5y ago
  Really? I don’t have that impression—part of popular culture. I tried to watch it once and lasted about four minutes. I’ve heard people refer to it a few times, but know nothing about the characters nor anything else. Contrast the Simpsons, Seinfeld, and Friends, for examples (the last also dreck that I never watched, but recognize as part of popular culture).
- thrower123 5y ago
  When I watch football, I catch some ads for the current CBS and Fox shows that are in the old money spots of weeknight primetime. They look absolutely awful, and I've never met anybody who has ever admitted to watching any of them. It feels a little bit like the Rick and Morty interdimensional cable episode.
  - colinmhayes 5y ago
    Those CBS shows just look so wildly awfully. Last year they showed ads for the queen laitfa cop show or like the big bang theory at the end of seemingly every single commercial. I have to assume that only old people are watching this stuff because there are just so many better options.
- jedberg 5y ago
  I lament this fact often. We no longer have a shared cultural experience around media. Very occasionally something pops up that everyone seems to know about, like Squid Game or The Mandalorian. But it isn't like the old days, when anyone would talked to saw the latest episode of I Love Lucy or Friends or Seinfeld. There are so many choices and it's so fractured that there are no "big winners" anymore. But that's also a good thing, because the big winners weren't winners because they were good, they were winners because a network executive decided they would be winners.
  - el-salvador 5y ago
    This happens with music too. The Spotify wrapped posts with my friends are completely different, whereas ten or fifteen years ago we would have watched the same Top 10 videos on MTV a half a dozen radio stations that were not much different with each other..
- mFixman 5y ago
  I don't know what you are talking about. I can tell you the rough plot of Stranger Things, Squid Game, and Tiger King despite never having seen a single episode of those series. Shows are still part of popular culture, it's just streaming instead of timed TV.
  - commandlinefan 5y ago
    Hm, ok I guess you've got a point there. I took the post as being about "why TV Lost (to streaming services)", which I consider Netflix to be one of. But you're right - those are more or less "shows" the way "Friends"s was, more than Logan Paul and PewDiePie and the other stuff I'm too old to "get" that have replaced TV in popular culture.
- watwut 5y ago
  All the kids know plot of Squid Game and stranger things (yes including 6 years old). They all still know about Frozen after those years.
  - el-salvador 5y ago
    I heard all the kids on the other side of the road playing Green light / red light one day.
kikokikokiko 5y ago
"In my location at least half of the OTA channels are religious broadcasting stations. Will non-profits take them over completely at some point?" I don't know how the situation is in other countries, but down here in Brazil, 2/3 of OTA channels have become religious channels in the last 10-15 years. And those channels are DEFINITELY FOR PROFIT. It's a disgusting scam, ripping off the elderly, the poor and the overall dumbest segments of the population. I have nothing against religion, I'm not religious myself but I can see how it can be beneficial for a lot of people. Having said that, the religious channels as they exist in Brazil should just disappear, and the world would be a better place. TV must die, it serves no useful purpose anymore.
panzagl 5y ago
I wonder how much it costs to run an OTA station, ignoring content costs. I wonder if there's room for truly local stations to emerge.
MisterBastahrd 5y ago
Live sports is really carrying cable subscription packages at this point, and I get the feeling that a lot of people who watch it would consider it a bridge too far if the major sports leagues decided to ever adopt a full pay per view model.
- jacobr1 5y ago
  But the format of a cable subscription doesn't need to match current form factor. For the past few seasons we've bough Youtube TV during the NHL playoffs, and canceled after. I'd just as happily pay NHL directly (probably a lower cost for me, and higher margin for them) but their current offering has blackouts for exactly the games I want to see. Another example, we buy Disney+, but not their ESPN package. But we would it they had coverage of the teams/leagues we care about. Really the blackout exclusions that leagues have that allow them get higher cable revenue deals are the problem. But if that dynamic shifts and the deals are exclusive, I would expect the league-direct streaming services to become competitive.
- colinmhayes 5y ago
  I have to think live sports will move to streaming services that package betting on the same screen and allow different announcers. There's just so much money to be made off controlling gambling.
wmil 5y ago
> Will non-profits take them over completely at some point? No the broadcast frequency is too valuable. Right now TV stations are just holding on to their spectrum until they get a chance to sell it to cell phone companies and cash out.

gruez 5y ago

> Will non-profits take them over completely at some point? Can a given market really support multiple PBS-like stations?

setpatchaddress 5y ago
The religious channels are not PBS. "support" is not relevant if the goal is propaganda (religious or political).
ghaff 5y ago
Generally they can barely support one. Also while everyone thinks of Nova and Masterpiece Theater a lot of local PBS content is cheap talking head shows or at least it was historically.

commandlinefan 5y ago

HBO just announced a new season of "Sex and the City" on HBO Max. It occurred to me that although I've never watched an episode of the original series all the way through, I know all the characters names and their basic story arcs - the show was just part of popular culture when it was new and you couldn't help but hear about it. There's nothing like that now. My kids couldn't even tell you what shows are on - I doubt they could even name the broadcast stations.

leephillips 5y ago
Really? I don’t have that impression—part of popular culture. I tried to watch it once and lasted about four minutes. I’ve heard people refer to it a few times, but know nothing about the characters nor anything else. Contrast the Simpsons, Seinfeld, and Friends, for examples (the last also dreck that I never watched, but recognize as part of popular culture).
thrower123 5y ago
When I watch football, I catch some ads for the current CBS and Fox shows that are in the old money spots of weeknight primetime. They look absolutely awful, and I've never met anybody who has ever admitted to watching any of them. It feels a little bit like the Rick and Morty interdimensional cable episode.
- colinmhayes 5y ago
  Those CBS shows just look so wildly awfully. Last year they showed ads for the queen laitfa cop show or like the big bang theory at the end of seemingly every single commercial. I have to assume that only old people are watching this stuff because there are just so many better options.
jedberg 5y ago
I lament this fact often. We no longer have a shared cultural experience around media. Very occasionally something pops up that everyone seems to know about, like Squid Game or The Mandalorian. But it isn't like the old days, when anyone would talked to saw the latest episode of I Love Lucy or Friends or Seinfeld. There are so many choices and it's so fractured that there are no "big winners" anymore. But that's also a good thing, because the big winners weren't winners because they were good, they were winners because a network executive decided they would be winners.
- el-salvador 5y ago
  This happens with music too. The Spotify wrapped posts with my friends are completely different, whereas ten or fifteen years ago we would have watched the same Top 10 videos on MTV a half a dozen radio stations that were not much different with each other..
mFixman 5y ago
I don't know what you are talking about. I can tell you the rough plot of Stranger Things, Squid Game, and Tiger King despite never having seen a single episode of those series. Shows are still part of popular culture, it's just streaming instead of timed TV.
- commandlinefan 5y ago
  Hm, ok I guess you've got a point there. I took the post as being about "why TV Lost (to streaming services)", which I consider Netflix to be one of. But you're right - those are more or less "shows" the way "Friends"s was, more than Logan Paul and PewDiePie and the other stuff I'm too old to "get" that have replaced TV in popular culture.
watwut 5y ago
All the kids know plot of Squid Game and stranger things (yes including 6 years old). They all still know about Frozen after those years.
- el-salvador 5y ago
  I heard all the kids on the other side of the road playing Green light / red light one day.

kikokikokiko 5y ago

"In my location at least half of the OTA channels are religious broadcasting stations. Will non-profits take them over completely at some point?" I don't know how the situation is in other countries, but down here in Brazil, 2/3 of OTA channels have become religious channels in the last 10-15 years. And those channels are DEFINITELY FOR PROFIT. It's a disgusting scam, ripping off the elderly, the poor and the overall dumbest segments of the population. I have nothing against religion, I'm not religious myself but I can see how it can be beneficial for a lot of people. Having said that, the religious channels as they exist in Brazil should just disappear, and the world would be a better place. TV must die, it serves no useful purpose anymore.

panzagl 5y ago

I wonder how much it costs to run an OTA station, ignoring content costs. I wonder if there's room for truly local stations to emerge.

MisterBastahrd 5y ago

Live sports is really carrying cable subscription packages at this point, and I get the feeling that a lot of people who watch it would consider it a bridge too far if the major sports leagues decided to ever adopt a full pay per view model.

jacobr1 5y ago
But the format of a cable subscription doesn't need to match current form factor. For the past few seasons we've bough Youtube TV during the NHL playoffs, and canceled after. I'd just as happily pay NHL directly (probably a lower cost for me, and higher margin for them) but their current offering has blackouts for exactly the games I want to see. Another example, we buy Disney+, but not their ESPN package. But we would it they had coverage of the teams/leagues we care about. Really the blackout exclusions that leagues have that allow them get higher cable revenue deals are the problem. But if that dynamic shifts and the deals are exclusive, I would expect the league-direct streaming services to become competitive.
colinmhayes 5y ago
I have to think live sports will move to streaming services that package betting on the same screen and allow different announcers. There's just so much money to be made off controlling gambling.

wmil 5y ago

> Will non-profits take them over completely at some point? No the broadcast frequency is too valuable. Right now TV stations are just holding on to their spectrum until they get a chance to sell it to cell phone companies and cash out.