This comment was added to the Breakfast thread, and it's a very good point/idea with opportunity for further discussion, but as it's nowt to do with Breakfast I've copied it here for people to discuss further.
(I'm not trying to be a mod, and apologies if I'm treading on any toes doing this!)
Sascha posted:
The sooner television broadcasters realise that people increasingly dislike being dictated to by scheduling the better.
I long for the day when all BBC One is just a digital menu and you can select the programme you'd like to view at your own leisure. Imagine being able to turn on BBC One at 7am and have the choice of news, sports, documentaries or even a good old episode of Blackadder to brighten your mood before you head off to work.
I agree it'll happen, and that it has it's benefits, but one thing it'd lack would be going into work the next day and saying, "Did you watch THAT last night!?" Before all this choice and before DVDs and computer games TV used to be an event that the whole nation shared. This made for a much better TV experience.
Well really if you've got Sky+ you've already got it. But i believe that we will still have schedules - after all programmes have to start off somewhere. And people who have Sky+ still watch most of their TV 'live'. So although clearly we will be able to watch everything 'on demand' i still think there will be schedules and most people will still watch programmes at their scheduled time .
Linear scheduling isn't going anywhere fast. The fact is we're inherently lazy and after 70 years of being fed whatever is given to us at a set time, that's not going to change. On-demand will increase by whatever method is easiest - via broadband or TV I guess but we'll still be watching the same channels with a copy of the Radio Times in our hands in 10 years time.
Right or wrong people still arrange their evenings around Corrie being on at 7.30 and dumping the fixed schedule will only reduce audience ratings further.
I love my Telewest Teleport service, as its an excellent way to plug the gap on a dull night's viewing. I was watching Grumpy Old Women last night on it.
I tend to think I will still enjoy a linear schedule for the most part though.
Well really if you've got Sky+ you've already got it.
Not quite, you still have to wait for the programmes to be broadcast linearly, and then it's only what you've already chosen to watch. Video On Demand, which is essentially what Moz is refering to is very diffrent.
The problem I have with VOD and 'non linear schedules' is that there are some times when I just want to sit in front of my TV and watch what's on, I don't always want to have everything available to me at all times.
It's like DVD's or videos - I've got hundreds of tapes and discs but sometimes I just can't decide which I want to watch.
VOD does have its place though, I've got Teleport too and it's great
Imagine if the internet worked in the same way as television does currently. Being told what websites you can visit at a certain time, and having to wait until next Saturday at 8.30pm for you to see the next website. It would be ridiculous.
People are less lazy about what they watch now than they were say 20 years ago and beyond that. People are increasingly wanting to personalise the way they receive their media. Ipods, mobile phones etc., people are getting bored of having to organise a part of their lives to watch their favourite programme.
If most people are like me, and I suspect they are, then they often miss a television programme they meant to see because they're off doing something else and forget to watch it, which is frustrating.
I think a digital menu service could work both ways. There would be a default across-the-board schedule which viewers could tune into, or there could be a pick and mix option for those who want to watch their favourite programme at a time and date that suits them.
I predict than in around 10 years from now, everything will be coming down broadband. TV, phone (Picture&VOIP), Internet etc. Once internet speeds of 100Mbps+ are the norm, then we can expect to see a huge difference in how we receive the media. No longer will viewers have to be force-fed what the broadcaster tells us.
I think the BBC are doing exactly the right thing by streaming entire episodes of a few current programmes from their website. It's a small, but significant step in the right direction.
I suspect broadcasters like ITV will suffer the most. They're programmes are hardly appointment-to-view. I mean, would many people actually tune into most of their braincell-killing trash if it didn't happen to be on there and then? I don't think so.