Why I Changed My TV

For years and years I have loved television.  I mean adored it in a way that is probably not healthy. In 1995 and 1996 I can safely say that I watched at least one episode of each and every network show. When I started working I realized that instead of majoring in history and political science, I probably should have gone to school for communications and media studies. I should be the guy they ask about television shows in interviews on television. 

Media_httpwwwtvhistor_bgooe
I think my parents owned this exact 1974 Zenith Console TV

That being said, I recently said good bye to Directv. I did not add cable. I found that overall television has descended into a black hole absent of creativity. For every 30 Rock there are plenty of shows I will never, ever watch. Too much of cable has become a wasteland of reality shows: dangerous jobs, people hoarding piles and piles of junk, vapid idiots trying to be the dumbest person to every walk the face of the Earth. Outside of HBO and a handful of shows on other networks (30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, How I Met Your Mother) there is absolutely nothing to watch on pay television.  Nothing.

So after some investigation, I discovered I could stream two of the three sports I love (NHL and MLB), use an over-the-air antenna to get HD network programming, and stream the rest via Netflix and Hulu (though the verdict is still out on Hulu as it doesn't seem to have much content). As a result, our cable bill that was once around $105 per month is now replaced by $24 in streaming and DVD services. That's about $1,000 a year in savings.  The best part? I don't miss a thing (except Larry David which I'll get on DVD as soon as it comes out).

Actually, I've been watching shows and movies I always meant to try or watch again like Sports Night or Starblazers or Louie (from FX). Instead of wading through crap, I'm doing the programming and finding good stuff. Plus, by going OTA I get three PBS stations. So I now get more nature and history shows than on satellite.

You can do it too.  There is absolutely no reason to keep paying for cable. They gave up trying to really entertain you. They don't produce anything worth watching. If you're happy to pay $100+ a month so you don't miss an episode of Alaskan State Troopers or Frightening Old Ladies who Hoard Piles of Shit and Cats then by all means feel free. But, if like me, you miss the glory days of television and would rather not participate in the corporate sham that exists today, then join me. You won't miss a thing.

Creative Surplus?

I've read a few ideas online that there is a creative or cognitive surplus going around. The idea (my poor synopsis) is that for years the sitcom has acted as a kind of lobotomy and as television dies, people are getting back brain power. The internet is a great place to pour that brain power and we're now reading, thinking, writing. In theory it sounds all fine and dandy, but I have one question: where's my surplus? As I've gotten older I've felt like the surplus I had in my 20s is vanishing. In my 20s I had time to read, think, write (though no where to publish), and do things.  I had ideas.  I had time, despite my job.  It was like the yoke of school thrown off was enough to free up the world.

Now in my 30s, I feel that the surplus is gone. I'm thrilled to watch 90 minutes of television in a day (sometimes I'm happy with 60). In my 20s I watched much more television. I watched enough television to make the claim (for 2-3 seasons at least) that I'd seen one episode of every show offered by the networks and could discuss the plot with people. Forget reading, a little before bed seems like a major victory.  

My take on this?  The surplus that many are seeing? Young people coming out of school with lots of free time. The difference? We're hearing from these Gen Y kids because they have a medium for broadcasting. I don't think as a society (and my incredibly scientific sample of one) that we have this great surplus of brain time that didn't previously exist. I suspect that the people who have it now have always had it.  We're just hearing from them now. Every. Single. Thought. 

The Death of Commerce?

Everywhere you turn there are articles proclaiming the death of this or that. Print media, handwriting, fiction, the author, history, etc. These articles or pundits always declare that a new technology (most often the Internet) will be the answer. While this hasn't proven to be true among mass audiences, I'm beginning to wonder if there is a generational shift a foot. In terms of content (reading, watching, listening) it seems that new devices and apps are promising to revolutionize the world. While I think that's an exaggeration, there is something going on.

Media_httpwwwnndbcomp_hmshe
 There is a democratization of content that, I believe, is going to injure commerce in these areas. We've moved away from a handful of voices captivating us with their shows and messages (think Big 3 on TV and local radio) to consumers expressing a desire to curate their own content. What's interesting about this curation is that the generational shift is clear and easy to see. 

  • My parents (older boomers) use their TiVo to record shows like they did with a VCR. While they time shift, they're just pulling what they want out of the stream. Netflix (which they signed up for in the past year) offers them a wrinkle on the video store. Sirius is like cable for the car. Nothing too revolutionary. 

  • In my household (Gen X) we use TiVo to record shows and time shift. We're also using Netflix through our Internet enabled television and doing some streaming. I'll use Pandora on my phone to stream when I can't get to Sirius. In addition to convenience, our household is starting to cut out commercials. Increasingly, none of the services we use force us to watch commercials. 

  • Some of my co-workers (Millenials) are bypassing everything. They're maybe renting music through Rhapsody, but none of them watch television over the air, instead choosing to stream content from the internet. Additionally, they're bypassing printed media for online links (and avoiding the pay sites like the plague) and steering well clear of commercial radio. While they're paying for Netflix or Rhapsody, the old passive model of someone else programming content and offering with commercials is not part of their worldview. 
Media_httpfarm4static_obgqi

What's with the shift?  Is it technology, is it theft, is it something else?  I'd argue that a few factors are at play here. Let's start with technology. The younger you get on this spectrum, the more accustomed and comfortable the cohort is with technology. It's not frightening.  It's an enabling force in their lives. But technology alone wouldn't explain the desire to select and curate your own content. 

The desire to control content has grown among consumers as radio and television became all about corporate entities making money. Remember when networks showed quality (or at least entertaining) programming? Now the bottom line dictates what is put on the air (think reality shows, cheap and easy to control). Remember when local DJs selected music? Now corporate consultants program from a central location.  While these moves generated short-term profit they hurt the product. As a result, consumers looked to new technology to democratize their entertainment.

So where is this leading? I suspect that the old commerce models are going to die. That doesn't mean that consumers will never passively receive content from providers. I think the problem is that those providers are going to see large declines in revenue year after year. That means they'll squeeze more money out of the process, sending more people in search of the content they want the way they want it. I don't believe this will result in an explosion of self-produced television (music is another matter), but I do think that consumers will stop waiting for content to find them. 

The other thing it will do is chase consumers to premium services (HBO, Sirius, etc.). People will pay for what they want. The old models of content production and broadcast are likely on their way out. Twenty years ago we had three networks, Fox starting out, and a lot of bad cable channels showing Patrick Swayze movies all the time. Twenty years from now we're likely to have no network news, no locally generated radio, and viable decentralized publishing and music industries. The bad news is we'll lose convenience, the good news is that as we move away from big companies and profit we may actually get innovation again.