Download the TV Shows You Missed

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=517636' target='_blank'>http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=517636</a><br /><br /></div>"The future of television is almost upon us: the day when we spend our train or bus journey to work catching up on the shows we missed the night, or even several days, before. Later this month, the BBC will launch a pilot project that could lead to all television programmes being made available on the internet. Viewers will be able to scan an online guide and download any show. Programmes would be viewed on a computer screen or could be burned to a DVD and watched on a television set. Alternatively, programmes could be downloaded to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a hand-held computer that is becoming increasingly popular in Britain and sells from about £70."<br /><br />TV stations are finally waking up to the fact that people want TV on their own time schedule, not when the network says so? Gosh, who knew. :roll: I've gone on Kazaa before to find TV shows that I've missed, but if there was a service set up where I could pay a buck to watch a show, I'd gladly do so. What about you? This is assuming of course that you don't already have a PVR that's recording the entire TV spectrum already. ;-)

[piperpilot]

I would definitely be interested in a service like this. I find it increasingly difficult to find dedicated TV time at home. It would be great to catch up on my favorite shows during the subway ride to/from work, although sometimes a ride on the DC subway is entertainment in and of itself ;)

[ale2999]

finally. that is all I can say. I am a very busy person between university and work. I was lucky enough to find a way to download shows. The only flaw is that I can not find older shows easily, so this service would be awesome that way as most programs would be stored indefinetely. Also not getting tv shows "illegaly" would be a gooder :)

[OSUKid7]

This is absolutely awesome. I've played around with transfering shows from my Replay TV to my computer, and then watching them there, but now that I have the TW DVR, that isn't possible. I wonder if service providers such as DirecTV or TimeWarner will offer services like this in the future. I never pirate, so legal solutions like this are great. Hope to see this technology develop. :)

[Gary Sheynkman]

AHA! So you do have Kazaa!!

Anyway, if they offer their Top Gear episodes on DVD I will buy EVERY SINGLE ONE. It is the best TV show....ever.

[Zack Mahdavi]

Wow, I would definitely do this... however, they would have to be careful, as this could cut into DVD sales of certain TV shows. If they limit the quality and side of downloadable show, they might be able to get around this problem.

[JR]

This is very interesting. I'm surprised to see a network offer this because it represents a huge change to how they do business. I am not surprised that it's the BBC though. I would have been knocked off my chair if one of the Big 5 US networks did this.

I think we'll eventually get to this point with all of the programming, but the major networks won't go there willingly. They'll need to be dragged kicking and screaming all the way. Their ad rates are determined by ratings, specifically by the number of viewers during the two major and two minor "sweeps" periods. Offering on-demand television programming like this will completely change how they track viewers. In most cases, they'll drop. Last week, 22.5 million viewers watched Friends Thursday night, but part of that number is a result of the time slot. In that case, Friends went up against Survivor: All Stars and the rest of the shows on at that time. How will you measure a show's success when it's up against all other shows?

This is the networks' worst nightmare. They set their schedule very carefully to maximize the chances that they'll get that large spike in viewers (that's how you get the $$$ from advertisers). Offering all shows all the time will - I think - level off the numbers.

This would change how shows are produced. Right now a standard season is 22 episodes. That breaks down to an average of a show about every 2 1/2 weeks. If your production schedule is no longer constrained by a network release schedule, you may see some shows release two episodes per week. Would that mean a 44 episode season? Or a season that's over by December? Who knows...

Then there's the impact to actors' salaries (if the numbers do level off, salaries will drop), the changes for the advertisers, not to mention the poor folks at Nielsen's. ;)

Is this the end of prime time? Tune in next week (or download it if you prefer...). 8)

[Philip Colmer]

JR has hit some important points, notably getting buy-in from the actors because of "retransmission" of a programme, plus loss of revenue from advertising.

The BBC doesn't suffer from this because of the TV licence that effectively pays for all of the programming (well, that plus selling the programmes elsewhere). The stated aim from Greg Dyke before he left (so it will be interesting if they stick to the plan) was for ALL BBC material to be made available in this manner.

Time will tell ...

The other thing, as other people have noted, will be the price :?

--Philip

[flooder]

I don't have a PVR system but I do find that I often miss episodes of my favorite TV Shows. Since I prefer Sci-Fi and 'well written dramas,' I can thank the Usenet for coming to my rescue. Someday I'll have a Tivo type solution. Until then it is my well worn VCR and giganews account.