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View Full Version : Traditional Broadcast Media Still King


Chris Gohlke
03-29-2009, 03:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/03/despite-growth-in-web-video-traditional-tv-still-trumps-all.ars' target='_blank'>http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2...-trumps-all.ars</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Despite the growing popularity of online video options, average TV watchers still get most of their TV exposure from switching on the ol' boob tube and watching whatever's available at the moment. DVRs, web video, and even mobile devices are gaining in prominence, according to a new report by the Nielsen-funded Council for Research Excellence (CRE). Still, when it comes to sitting back, turning your brain off, and watching objects move on a screen, traditional TV viewing remains king."</em></p><p>No surprise here, but I think they are missing something.&nbsp; They seem focused on the quantitative rather than the qualitative.&nbsp; By their measures, we probably watch more broadcast TV than most, but for us, broadcast TV is kind of like the radio, it is background.&nbsp; For example, I put Sci-Fi channel on when I get home from work for Star Trek and Stargate episodes, while I do chores, cook dinner, etc.&nbsp; When I actually sit down to watch something without doing background tasks, it tends to be more on-demand media like DVD's, Netflix streaming, or Hulu.&nbsp;</p><p><em></em></p>

buckyg
03-29-2009, 03:42 PM
Yes, TV is like background much of the time for us. There are a few current shows that I try to watch "live" if I have nothing better to do. But most of them are set to be recorded on the DVR or I can catch them on sites like Hulu shortly after. So it's not like the old days of "Oh no, I missed it!" or "Gotta watch it when it comes on!"

If our cable system had the broadcast networks on demand, that would make it even less important to watch shows when broadcast...

EscapePod
03-29-2009, 06:16 PM
Speaking of "in the background" TV watching -- I just have it on in a small window off to the side of my desktop. If something comes on that catches my interest, I just click the maximize button.

I usually only have it on during news and race broadcasts.