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The BBC is abandoning linear exclusivity as it goes for broke to make the iPlayer a global Netflix rival. The corporation says it will throw entire series on to the on-demand streaming service before the first episode in a series is even broadcast on terrestrial TV.
Director-General Tony Hall will call for the BBC to "reinvent public broadcasting for a new generation in order to compete against giants such as Netflix and Amazon" this morning.
Hall has set two targets: double the number of visits to iPlayer and quadruple the time a user spends on the iPlayer site by 2020.
Established broadcasters have faced increasing pressure from OTT providers in recent years. Netflix spent more on content (buying and licensing it) than the BBC or HBO last year. Netflix made "binge watching" series cheap and easy – previously you'd need to buy an expensive box set, and those usually sold to fans.
But for the BBC to follow suit and dump entire series on the internet at once means surrendering one of its key advantages: its ability to create artificial scarcity. Withholding episodes creates "event TV" – a common cultural experience – and results in increased attention. As Enders Analysis points out, live viewing has fallen 19 per cent since 2010 as time-shifted viewing making up about 40 per cent of the decline. "Linear remains vital," the consultancy warns.
Is "event TV" still a thing for non-sports programming?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by anubi on Thursday January 12 2017, @11:18AM
No. Its been a long time since I scheduled *anything* around a TV broadcast.
I did when I was a kid, but that was over a half-century ago, and TV was new.
Now, there is a time and place for nearly everything in my life, and I plan my time around other people, not TV.
Sorry, NAB, but you are sucking hind tit in my book. Not to say I do not like you. Its that I can timeshift you with a machine. It was all recorded anyway. Another few days/weeks/months/years won't change it. If I am still around, I may get around to it.
Over the past few years, a few people have made trying to watch TV programs so frustrating that I consider you guys won. I threw in the towel years ago.
Now, if I do watch any TV, its in the background, usually tuned to one of those old movie channels, or BUZZR. Especially What's My Line, I've Got a Secret, or To Tell the Truth. Those do bring back fond memories of my first experiences with TV as a kid.
Incidentally, even to this day, I still use the Suave shampoo advertised in those old commercials. Walmart still has it. Never did break that habit. Mom used it.
If you can get the moms, you got the kids. If you annoy the hell out of us with ads, you are just gonna get switched off.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by tibman on Thursday January 12 2017, @06:08PM
The last "event" for me was the presidential debates (on youtube). Nothing other than those.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday January 12 2017, @06:41PM
I wonder about those reality/competition shows with text-voting.
Apparently, more people voted for American Idol than for President [itv.com] (in 2012) so I'd imagine it's still a popular TV event.