If there is any place where we should look for signals the end of a television empire, it will be the United States. It is the ocean decades ago began the golden era of the glass screen. It’s also where it comes to the end – in front of disoriented and completely unprepared for such a scenario media barons.
One of those is Tom Rutledge, CEO of Charter Communications one of the biggest American media platforms, which provides its customers with cable TV , internet and telephone services. A few months ago Rutledge in an interview with a journalist, “The Wall Street Journal,” could not get over the fact that among the 5.5 million customers of Charter Communications, has more than 1.3 million only decides to buy access to the internet, completely abandoning the telemarketer.
For similar problems for many months complaining about the owners of other cable networks, with giant Time Warner Cable at the helm. According to the ISI Group only in the last five years of telemarketer gave up 5 million Americans. However, in the last year for the first time since the beginning of the golden age of television the number of active subscribers of all cable networks in the U.S. fell below 40 million. The problem of declining interest also affects the largest cable television stations, including such giant HBO.
Television crisis in the U.S. has assumed such proportions that the resort Nielsen Media Research has been forced to broaden its audience research about the category of “Zero TV Households “- that is, households that do not have a TV.
Generation Y
Television crisis from overseas is reflected also in the Old Continent – including Poland . Viewership largest TV stations in our country falls almost from month to month. The study Nielsen Audience Measurement, prepared at the request of the portal Wirtualnemedia.pl that between 14 and 20 July TVP1 and TVP 2 recorded the worst result in the history of audience research telemetry in Poland. The smaller audience means less advertising revenue. And this in turn means getting weaker scheduling.
With the problems are also challenged telemarketer. Nielsen calculated that only in the last half of the percentage of households with cable TV fell from 33 per cent. to 30.8 percent, and in the case of households with digital platform – from 36.7 per cent. to 35.9 percent. One of the reasons for this is the rise in popularity of digital terrestrial television. Much more important reason for decline in the number of cable TV subscribers – of which still does not say out loud – is, however, aware of the so-called resignation. Generation Y of television as outdated and one-way medium that completely does not fit their needs. Who are the representatives of Generation Y? These are young people who grew up and were educated in the era of the internet already. This network, not from the TV always provided the entertainment. It drew from her knowledge. And she largely shaped their view of the world. For those glass TV screen is a foreign environment. They are not well accustomed to adopt unilateral communication without any interaction possibilities. Reasons why Generation Y is increasingly completely give up watching television, there are many. It is worth to point out the most important.
Reason 1: This miserable season schedule … In the world of internet, social media and content available here and now (VOD) , there is no place for a classic, rigid scheduling, the arrangement of which every few months puzzled brightest minds television. The modern viewer wants this medium adapted to it – not vice versa. You can see it on the example of the popular American television series. Just a few years ago with a flushed face waited a whole week for the next episode of “Lost”. Today, no one will wait patiently. Shows watch wholesale (often several episodes in a row) in legal and illegal sites VOD. Therefore, no one should be surprised that the purchase of large serialowych hits by Polish television stations usually end up for the sender’s great financial failure. Recently painfully satisfaction of the TVP, which aired on his television series aired on “The Walking Dead” and “Homeland.”
Reason 2: Advertising course Advertising surrounds us today from all sides, and marketing and advertising messages come across well in the press, radio and electronic media. Nowhere, however, they are not as tedious and annoying, like on TV. In the case of private stations broadcast in the “prime-time” movie can be interrupted long blocks of up to five times. The same can comfortably watch the movie on the internet – without kilkunastominutowych breaks.
Reason 3: The End of “window on the world” Just a few ago that television was for most of us the main source of knowledge and entertainment. Anyone who wanted to be “up to date”, every evening he sat in front of screen to draw the most recent dose of information. Today we watch the evening news while just to sort out in my head dozens or even hundreds of messages that the whole day ran to us with websites, Facebook or Twitter. With “window on the world” television turned up so a kind of filter, which has a separate information important from less important. Unfortunately, less and less television fulfills this role in an impartial and objective manner.
Reason 4: Faith in the passive viewer One of the cardinal sins of the television industry is treating the consumer as a completely passive recipient who will accept everything that will serve him TV. “We know what’s best for you” – they seem to say TV makers responsible for constructing programming schedules. This is something that a representative of the “bold” Generation Y will never agree. The modern viewer does not want to make his box was limited only to the possibility to change the channel to another. Today we want to decide what, when and where to watch. Television This flexibility simply missing.
Reason 5: Internet “Video Killed the Radio Star …” – sang in the 80′s band “The Buggles’. Today, to the tune of a British hit, we sing about the Internet, which killed TV. There is no doubt that it is the development of broadband networks, online video sites and platforms VOD led to the Great Depression, which is currently facing television industry.
Most major symbol of the victory of the internet to compete with traditional television is a giant Netfliksa success. The expansion of the service created by Reed Hastings is one of the biggest technological phenomena of recent years. In the third quarter of 2013 in the U.S. Netflix had 31.2 million subscribers already (40.4 million worldwide) – and is slowly becoming a kind of hegemony, which introduces traditional TV into a new era. At the same time, the number of subscribers kablówek consistently falling. What is the magic Netfliksa? For adapting to the needs of the modern viewer – only so much and so many. Service users do not have to wrangle with rigid outlined program and commercials. They can choose from a gigantic offer films and TV series, and then watch them on the selected device – the TV, the tablet, and ending on the smartphone.
This is the end Although such services as Netflix, Hulu or YouTube more often referred to as the “conquerors TV”, it bard sudden and immediate garbage this medium seems somewhat premature. Keep in mind that there are still monopolized by the traditional realm of television stations. A good example can be broadcasts of major sporting events, which – although increasingly also host the network – still belong primarily to the world of television.
But this is only a matter of time. Until recently, it seemed a natural thing after all that TV has a monopoly on the production of high-budget series. Everything changed because of the TV series “House of Cards” produced by said Netfliksa. Giant commercial success stories of corrupt politician Francis Underwoodzie deprived television industry one of the last “aces in the hole.” Today, on their own productions speak louder other Web giants – Hulu, Yahoo or Google. One can be sure: Cable not die suddenly. Do not live to see any spectacular event that will end her life. Instead, we will see how slowly loses its original meaning. Such a fate awaits any medium that can not adapt to the needs of the consumer.
