The Future of TV - Linear vs. Streaming and beyond

They’ve been doing that under the Freeview banner for years

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I’m not even sure free is a great drawcard anymore. Perhaps in comparison to sub-TV but the rise of Netflix and Spotify shows people are willing to pay for content if the price is right.

The most talked about show I’ve seen on social media for the last fortnight? 13 Reasohs Why. A Netflix exclusive.

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That doesn’t prove anything though. How many are actually watching it? I bet it’s a lot fewer than most of free to air.

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Of course and it’s a good point you make but it proves they’re engaged in the content. This may be my experience only but I genuinely do not recall the last time I heard someone talking about a FTA show in the office. Used to happen all the time up until 18 months or so ago. I work with people in my age vicinity (25-35).

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I heard a couple of younger females discuss Married at First Sight in my office earlier in the year. A few years ago there’d be lots of discussion regarding MKR and The Voice. Haven’t heard anything this year. The watercooler shows all seem to be Netflix or HBO originals now.

I had a look at 13 Reasons Why on the strength of what was being said amongst younger people I work with. I really wish I hadn’t. While the acting was very good, it sent me into a dark funk for about a week and dredged up a lot of issues from my school days I’d rather forget. I’ve warned my sisters to keep their children away from it.

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I still hear people talking about MKR at work. They ask me what I think about it and i just shrug my shoulders. Will probably be the same when MasterChef begins. But I agree there has been a shift in discussion towards non-FTA shows. But networks have themselves to blame by not making content outside of reality shows that actually gets people in.

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[quote=“TelevisionAU, post:47, topic:2596”]
But networks have themselves to blame by not making content outside of reality shows that actually gets people in.[/quote]
This is absolutely true. I still hear people talk about TV shows on FTA but I’d say most people who watch reality shows are inclined not to discuss them, in case people judge them for it.

They’re more inclined to discuss a doco they saw on the ABC or SBS rather than admit they watched MKR.

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It isn’t, people pay for ad-free Netflix and Spotify.

The massive problem with pay TV is that you can pay well over $50 a month, and yet the ads on Foxtel are some of the worst. Ad breaks on FOX8 and other Fox entertainment channels are on average longer than free-to-air’s. Meanwhile, streaming options like Stan and Netflix are a 1/5th the price and feature no obtrusive advertising. That alone makes me believe that FTA’s true competition moving forward will not be the pay TV sector, it will be streaming.

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Understandable. It’s a dark, dark show. I had to stop it a couple of times and just take a break/go outside as it was getting too dark. I never went through those issues myself but lost an extended family member recently. I know it’s got its fair share of criticism but hopefully starting a conversation is some way to removing the stigma around mental health.

Agreed. This should be the FTA’s strength! Making Australian content or grabbing that water cooler show from overseas and taking a risk. Or else they risk dying an even earlier death. There’s no innovation to stop the tide. No fresh ideas.

I think there’s certainly an element who do that. I did until a couple of years ago when I asked myself why I was wasting 90 minutes of my life every weeknight!

If I didn’t need it for the live sport, I’d be gone from pay TV. If I can get a smart TV within the next year and stream what I want online I will go. I have no need for their general entertainment or movie channels.

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In the UK they have a tv licence which I assume reduces the cost of tv licences. However, with little on offer I doubt many would be willing to pay a tv licence with streaming available from netflix. I haven’t watched FTA in about a month. Although I have been overseas a week.

Yes , that show probably needs to be vedited by any parent, if any of their kids wants to watch it. It’s pretty full on. It’s a very touchy subject, but it’s executed very well though.

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This is to fund BBC, not for commercial networks.

To be fair, the BBC’s immense size means it ends up subsidising the rest of the UK’s output as well. Lots of programs from ITV and Sky use BBC facilities and vice versa.

Ok I have got a question for people. How do people prefer to watch a series? Me personally I prefer to binge watch most series.

Just a crazy idea but could a network facilatate this? For example Offspring. Release the 10 episodes first on Eleven in a omnibus format then put online. They could then air it on the main network in a consistent slot on a weekly basis to please all types of viewers?

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Isn’t that basically what the ABC is doing now?

They release the whole season on iView then screen the series weekly on ABC to diminishing ratings.

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Do they do it with all their series?

Not sure about all of them but they have been doing it since at least Barracuda.

At the moment they have “All Episodes” available for these series currently screening on the ABC:
Seven Types of Ambiguity
The Warriors
You Can’t Ask That
Lost in Pronunciation

Thats great. I didn’t realise that. It obviously wouldn’t bother ABC because ratings are somewhat irrelevant.

So they tell us until something like the NYE fireworks gives them something to crow about.

tfw there’s another person from uni on this site.

nah but like hope you do well hey!