My thread about movie theaters got me to thing about another major seismic shift coming whether people realize or not:

Network TV

My kids are 11, 8 and 5 and they don't watch ANY network TV. Not one bit. Everything they watch is via a streaming platform or YouTube.

We just got done watching this YT series by a Christian YouTuber named Ryan Trahan who, with his wife, traveled to all 50 states in 50 days and stayed at a unique Airbnb in every state all while raising money for St. Jude's. It was really fascinating and made me realize that eventually network TV is going to die off because all the people watching it now will be gone.

Not sure how they will handle this but it's coming sooner than people know.

I give it 10 years or less.

Tomorrow would be ok with me. No network tv for over a year now.

Just dumped DirecTV after probably 10 or more years with it, and Spectrum before that.

100% streaming, DTV doubled the rate after the last discount period, it had become the game, call, tell them you want to cancel, get the same rate for a year as new customers. Discount would have ended up with a 40% increase vs double.

Told them we're going to drop it, stick with streaming for the next 30 days and see if we need it. So far, no, I can get the networks if needed for local news, not missing it one bit.

So, they will have to adapt to stay in business, be a shame if they ran out of money to program the crap they put out...

My wife would miss Dancing With The Stars.

Here in central Arkansas, the local Fox channel (16) has been unavailable for over 2 years on Directv and DISH because the station owner wants more money. I never watch NBC (4) or ABC (7). The CBS (11) is the only Network station to get screen time in our house. NCIS, FBI and Boston Blue and local weather at 5:15pm or 6:15pm. I get Paramount + for free, so technically I could eliminate Channel 11 as well, weather app on my tablet.

Damn, I forgot PBS (2)...Antique Roadshow, and Motor Week.

ETA PBS

My guess is that network TV will wind up like radio. Still around, but focused on niches and largely irrelevant.

It depends how you define network TV.

Over the air would be dead now if the government did not interfere for the seniors.

Network TV as we had know it, is already gone.

Paramount/skydance owns CBS

Comcast owns NBC.

Disney owns ABC.

All streaming companies.

Haven’t watched it since we converted to streaming and dropped cable tv. Been years. Don’t miss it at all. It’s already been dead to me.

I haven't watch 'network TV' for at least 15 years, and have been internet only streaming for 5 years now. Network TV has absolutely NOTHING worthwhile to offer!

quote:

Originally posted by sig2392:
It depends how you define network TV.

Over the air would be dead now if the government did not interfere for the seniors.

Network TV as we had know it, is already gone.

Paramount/skydance owns CBS
Comcast owns NBC.
Disney owns ABC.

All streaming companies.

For the record, I watch NONE of that! Seriously, don't get me started....I don't even watch FoxNews anymore!

I'm always amazed when people proudly proclaim that they've 'cut the cord', and then go on to rave about YouTube TV!

Live sports is one way networks are remaining viable, and it's what keeps me paying for Hulu Live (i.e. I'm streaming but watching network TV). As soon as the NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, etc. stop signing network contracts with local blackout the downfall of network TV will be rapid. They all have their own streaming service and could easily step-up.

I had Gemini AI create this table comparing viewership of top sport vs top tv show, and sports dominates viewership. Also, they tend to be longer so more time to advertise.


An interesting tidbit, ABC's top show's viewership is 50% streaming

I switched to YouTubeTV for live TV, and YouTube Premium (no ads) for all the stuff they have.

I still buy 4K discs and get the free digital copy, and it's cheaper than tickets for two to the theater. I have the cheapest Netflix plan for stuff that is only on Netflix but rarely watch anything. I had HBO Max and Apple TV+ but didn't watch much so I will subscribe when there is a reason to, but otherwise cancel. Apple TV+ had the outstanding Masters of Air series and some original movies, but after that not much.

I don't watch networks except for occasional sports (not a big fan, usually just the big games), awards shows (getting to the point I don't care about them any more), and special events.

I really don't watch "TV Shows" any more. I might watch a well regarded series in a binge with my son like Breaking Bad. I did like some HBO series in the past but haven't watched new ones in a long time.

Mostly I watch the 4 panel news on YouTube TV - Fox, MSNBC, CNN, and BBC. Sound is on Fox, but I see the tickers on the other channels. Really interesting to see how the liberal news channels all say the same shit and keep trying to convince people that Trump is a pending lame duck.

I don't know anyone under 40 who pays for cable or watches network televison.

I don't think it is in jeopardy for now.

Hasn't been in my life for at least five years and I don't miss it.

Have an OTA antenna on the house. It gets used very little. Most often use is during severe or extreme weather for local updates.

I have seen all the sports, get farmed out to streaming services and that’s a shame for a young boy or girl into one of the professional sports. Like say Monday Night Football. That’s on ESPN now and so is professional Tennis, NBA. These things used to be on public TV via one of the major OTA networks. I don’t care about really any, but I would like to watch Women’s tennis, especially the Grand Slams. Now these mother fucker streaming services want you pay a monthly subscription and at the same time still be subjected to commercials, which I find to be bullshit. One or the other, not both. I don’t know how long they’ll last but Paramount is CBS IIRC. Pea-cock, is NBC. How long before ABC and Fox move all their shit to streaming services to boot? Once that occurs, just like someone said about FM radio, it’ll stay there but the content will be awful.

I am in my late 70s and stopped watching network news, weather, etc years ago. Now I am moving to cut the cord and move completely to streaming.

Not soon enough. Network TV is pure shit.

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Here in central Arkansas, the local Fox channel (16) has been unavailable for over 2 years on Directv and DISH because the station owner wants more money. I never watch NBC (4) or ABC (7). The CBS (11) is the only Network station to get screen time in our house. NCIS, FBI and Boston Blue and local weather at 5:15pm or 6:15pm. I get Paramount + for free, so technically I could eliminate Channel 11 as well, weather app on my tablet.

Damn, I forgot PBS (2)...Antique Roadshow, and Motor Week.

ETA PBS

Heres a deal on a OTA antenna on Woot, wonder if it could help pickup other stations in the area.

https://electronics.woot.com/o...nt_lnd_cat_elec_8_12

Within the next decade or so, easily.

quote:

Originally posted by FenderBender:
I don't know anyone under 40 who pays for cable or watches network televison.

I'd say it skews even older. I don't know anyone under the age of ~55ish who regularly watches network TV or even has cable/satellite/OTA TV access.

It's all streaming now, for the majority of households. Overwhelmingly so in the younger demographics.

And rightfully so. Why would you ever choose to pay more for cable/satellite, to watch what some network programming executive decides they want you to watch when they want you to watch it, and with copious ads crammed in it?

With streaming, you can watch what you want to watch, when you want to watch it, with at least the option for ad-free viewing. And while the cost savings are lessened compared to 10 years ago, it's still cheaper by quite a decent margin.

Traditional TV is almost exclusively sticking around just for the non-tech-savvy older folks who want to watch their shows the same way they've always watched their shows, because change is scary. And those numbers dwindle steadily by the day.

I steam everything. I couldn’t tell you which show is on which network. I might be able to tell you which streaming service something is on. I haven’t had cable for years. Everything goes from the laptop to a screen. I only know channel numbers for the four networks because they’ve been that number for most of my life. I rarely see commercials. The legacy networks are essentially dead to me. If they actually die a few shows might disappear. Or they’ll get picked up by a streaming service and produced that way. No loss. There are few things I might actually miss