Time to give up TV?

December 23, 2008

smashed-tv.jpg

There’s an interesting piece in the Independent today hypothesizing that this Thursday might just be “the last Christmas Day on which everyone in Britain watches the same programmes at the same time.” The reason is not, sadly, because next year the country is set to awaken from its decades-long mass hyponosis to realize just how bad Christmas TV is, but because of that new-fangled thing, television-on-demand.

Television-on-demand will, says the Indy, herald the end of the linear channel as broadcasters engage their viewers in a plethora of ways. The internet is, of course, key to the televisual revolution, one which is already seeing the move to create “an industry standard” and which will see parents watching television in the living room while their offspring commune with media via applications such as iPhones and laptops. Even sitting down to eat the turkey won’t make much difference to this multi-media onslaught.

The Indy might be right, but Blade confesses to a degree of unseasonal cyncisim. Television-on-demand, “Catch-up TV” and the end of the TV experience as we know it have been heralded, promised and predicted for the last 15 years. No doubt things will change one of these days, but Blade fears that we’re more likely to see the demise of a national newspaper than the end of our love affair with television. Let’s hope it’s not the Independent.

 

One Response to “Time to give up TV?”

Posted by:
Jade on August 27, 2009 at 2:04 pm

I was reading this article with a quiet excitement, it has dawned on me that we are entering the future. Technological advancements are so frequent now that I believe the medium of television as we knew it will indeed soon be outdated. So I will be enjoying my Christmas dinners this year with the Queen on in the background in the knowledge that next year, my Christmas party fun will probably come in the form of internet tv. However, I don’t think the same will apply for New Year’s Eve. There’s no better medium to watch the New Year come in!

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Not so right said Fred

February 2, 2012
fred hat

So Farewell, then, Sir Fred Goodwin.

Now you are just Fred.

Not Right Said Fred, but plain Fred.

The Forfeiture Committee did for you.

No one had heard of it before,

But Dave said it had to act, and it did.

Trouble is that no one knows what to think.

Is it ‘Alas, poor Fred‘,

Or ‘Hurray! Sir Fred is dead!’?

We don’t know.

Do you?

By A. Mob, aged 1,378 and a half.

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STOP PRESS:

Fed up with being stuck on the Thames in south-east England, London yesterday decided to move. In a dramatic gesture which augurs ill for the Olympics, the city upped sticks and relocated to East Anglia.

Lawyers were not consulted about the move, and the city’s precise motivation remains unclear. However, financiers fear that London’s decision is a sign that it wishes to downsize. Moreover, a source from London said: “We no longer want to be Britain’s seat of power. If the Scots can deregulate, why can’t we? East Anglia is a nice place where nothing happens. It’s time for a quiet life. Please respect our right to privacy.”

Elsewhere, Birmingham did not do anything, but Manchester was seen to be packing its bags. “There’s an opportunity for us,” said Manchester. “We can become London.”

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