Here’s something i’ve been thinking about for a while. I’m not quite finished thinking about it either, but if I waited til then, I’d never write anything.
The question was, why was I so excited to be able to tune in to hear Andrew Weatherall (for those not familiar, something of a cult figure amongst record shop bothering men of a certain age) on BBC 6 music last Sunday? Why, when the show was going to be made available for a week after on the BBC’s iPlayer was it exciting to hear it THEN, as it was going out? The answer I think is an interesting one and reflects something we are only just getting to grips with.
By way of introduction, I can remember as a wet behind the ears researcher seeing TV clients terrified about the potential effect of the newly arrived Sky Plus on their audiences. This was probably 2005/6. Advertising revenues would surely dry up! Of course, it never really happened, despite the success of Sky Plus and other PVRs since. That’s because although time shifting – and indeed on demand – is great and enjoyed by many, it has become an adjunct to rather than a replacement for scheduled TV viewing.
That’s just because we’re all stuck in our ways and the kids are time shifting EVERYTHING, expect it all to be on demand and will grow up to be schedule ignoring adults of the future you might say. Well, i don’t really believe you. For two reasons.
1. Because for as long as schedules exist and are repetitive, content won’t just be content. It will have a context which will give it meaning due to where it is and hence what role it plays (eg stuff on Saturday evenings being stuff families can watch together on the sofa after their dinner, or soap operas being things people can escape to after another dull day at work). And because it will to an extent be made with a view to filling these roles, it will be a better watch at these times than others. To put it another way, people have social relationships not just with content but with schedules.
2. And this is really my point, but it’s a little different - Because content is linear, it has to start – emerge - at a certain time. So there will be something about getting it hot off the press that makes it attractive to get it as it is emerging. Or rather, we do not like the feeling that it has happened and some people may be enjoying while we are still waiting. This is different to the potency of the ‘live’ experience, by the way. I have pretentiously dubbed it ’the emergent quality’ but if you can think of a better name, do let me know.
This is an important thing for broadcasters to consider when they think of their futures. I’m almost certain it makes an entirely on demand model a non starter (ever sit in front of Google and can’t think of what to search for? Imagine that on your telly). Or rather, that if a broadcaster – or should I say content provider – wanted to do something without schedules, they’d need to do very well to remove all but a gloss of decision making from the consumer.
Anyway, here’s a picture of Andrew Weatherall, and a link to a wonderful record he featured in his 6 mix.
