FTA over terrestrial/satellite will never die until either;
a) internet becomes free for everyone, or
b) ISP’s stop metering FTA streams
Even if b) started happening, the need to have internet at home that is capable of handling literally 24/7 broadcasting on every TV in a household is required in order to be a true replacement. A lot of people see the internet as the actual subscription cost, which is very true if you don’t really need it for anything else other than watching TV.
Fair point.
I reckon the proliferation of Smart TVs may change the game though. On there I’ve seen a lot of TVs where it’s easier to pull up Netflix than a local FTA channel.
For sure, I’ve seen the same too. The FTA networks are getting better with access to their streaming services too, obviously with plenty of room for improvement.
Another option could be; the networks work together (hah!) and dedicate a mux in every market to 5G/6G/whateverG internet. Available for free for anyone with a smart TV/device who want to watch the FTA streaming services and limited to just those services and maybe social media and basic html web. Then offer a paid service on top for access to Netflix, etc. Designed for streaming only.
Seasoned internet users would continue paying for their NBN service of course, but the idea is that free TV is still available to all people no matter the technology.
Or unlimited downloads.
I wasn’t sure where the best place to post this would be, but 10’s response to the ACCC’s preliminary report into the Digital Platforms Inquiry.
Some interesting stats from the US.
Most ppl in Australia now only have Foxtel because of the sports package. That’s the only thing keeping them going.
And for their new-release movies. Foxtel gets the big films far quicker than Stan or Netflix.
This is probably the best thread to share this following article.
lol and i cant stand all three 
I’m struggling to watch anything on commercial FTA now.
I could handle a one hour reality show a few times a week but 2 hours a night over four or five nights, forget it.
Its a big commitment I have struggled to keep up with the amount of time I would need to commit to if I wanted to watch a reality show. I find Celebrity a lot easier to commit to as you don’t need to watch the entire episode.
Ditto. I’ll watch a bit of I’m A Celebrity maybe one or two nights but not the whole show and certainly not every night. I also won’t touch MKR or MAFS at all.
But by blocking out 2 hours a night from any other genres is it any wonder viewers are going elsewhere.
Then they say they risk knocking off their 8.30 shows. So aren’t their 8.30 shows any good? If you have to “trick” people into watching your network then perhaps there’s bigger issues with what else they’re dishing up
I really think this trend is going to be really damaging to the commercial networks in the long run. It seems like the decline in FTA viewers is happening at a faster pace in Australia than in the rest of the world.
The networks only seem to mostly worry about network share rather than building a solid schedule with decent programs throughout the night. They want to attract the audience early in the night and hope they will stay on for whatever they serve up afterwards.
While there is an abundance of reality programming overseas, they’ve mostly resisted the urge to strip them over multiple nights and bloat each episode to two hours or more. Having many different shows in their schedules, I think is the reason why they haven’t lost as many of their viewers there.
However, despite what we see as a problem here, from what I have seen lately overseas they seem to be keen to follow Australia’s lead and are dabbling in expanding their reality programs. I’m A Celeb has done it in Britain and now Masterchef has been on multiple nights across the week. This year, Big Brother in America also did this for the first time. In Greece, they have just started doing the same with a show called Nomads, which is like Survivor.
They have resisted the urge to bloat the episodes or run them way past their sheduled timeslots but this is a worrying trend worldwide.
As we’ve seen over the last few years, the problem with that strategy is instead of the networks having a lineup of programs which perform decently (like you mentioned) - the focus on the reality ‘tentpoles’ comes at the cost of virtually everything else either underperforming or not being given the best opportunity to suceed
The situation isn’t helped by the Commercial TV Code of Practice that was developed by and for commercial TV operators. One thing it allows is the networks to load up their early evening reality shows with extra commercials as long as later in the night there are fewer.
So instead of each prime-time hour having 15 minutes of ads, there are examples where 33% of the broadcast time is non-program. For example, as mentioned here, this 120-minute episode of MKR had just 81 minutes of program material meaning that one third of the 120 minutes broadcast was ads, promos, news breaks, promos and more ads.
We’ve had that in NZ for decades! Out of every hour at least 20 minutes is ads, trailers, promos etc. The continuity of decent (non-reality) programming gets ripped to shreds, as well as having pop-up nonsense to deal with, there is little wonder people stop watching linear TV… the networks don’t respect the programming, let alone the audience.
she’s absolutely right. The networks putting all their eggs into the reality show basket and then spreading them out over 1.5 or 2 hours a pop is basically ruining free-to-air prime time. 20 years ago people might have just copped the creative programming tricks employed, but not now.
It’s just beyond a joke that the commercial networks watch their viewership fall away year after year yet continue to employ the same tactics. I gave up years ago when a certain arrogant former network CEO appeared on radio and dismissed the concerns of outraged callers when they expressed anger at the direction they were taking.
Everything I watch, except the 6pm news and a couple of ABC shows, is streamed via overseas services I’m happy to pay for. There’s no point even looking at an Australian television schedule anymore. The only entertainment that can be derived from our commercial stations is from watching them fall over themselves as they try to retain the rapidly dwindling audience.