Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36060062)

Nothing is happening immediately, Legendkiller! This is the mistake so many people are making! Nobody is saying these changes are happening right now. But the process will start within a few years, and then will accelerate exponentially.

I have not seen Channel 4’s 20-year-deal, but I dare say that if you read the small print, there will be no problem in closing down the channels and transferring the content to their streaming service. They will have been pretty incompetent not to have foreseen this.

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Stop nitpicking, jfman, just because it doesn’t suit your narrative. The reporter was quoting what was said, and if he misquoted, no doubt law suits will follow. You are being disingenuous. Let’s just address the way things seem to be going.

Happy to consider any reasoned arguments. I am happy to debate whether TV channels will actually disappear altogether, which is a reasonable point to make, but surely, that is the point we should be debating.

I appreciate that when losing an argument, this can be difficult. But this is a debating forum....

Originally Posted by Legendkiller2k (Post 36060106)

Ah my bad i forgot you know more about this than the company i work for afterall they only handle contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds but what do we know eh?

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36060122)

Well, if you’ve seen something significant that tells you that Channel 4 will not move over to streaming only in the long term, I will bow to your superior knowledge, but you haven’t made that argument.

I have provided a link to back up what I think, and it is one of many in relation to a streaming only future.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36060067)

The reporter clearly isn't reporting what was said - hence they did not use quotation marks or attribute a quote to that end. They are offering their own input/analysis and no such law suit, on such an uncontroversial topic, would be considered a reasonable or proportionate response.

"The future" being streaming doesn't equate to the end of linear broadcasting entirely. Nobody, at any point, on the forum has contested that the way people are consuming content is changing or that as companies chase revenues/profits they will have to shift their content delivery in a way that suits these habits.

That doesn't equate to the end of linear, scheduled broadcasting over DTT, cable or satellite (or even IPTV - I'm completely agnostic on the technology). You know this already. I wouldn't consider myself losing any such argument - I've set the extremely low bar throughout where if a single linear channel exists in 2035 I'm proven right. With Amazon and Netflix testing a linear channel I think there's life in them for a good while yet.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36060123)

The link doesn't back up what you think no matter how often you repeat that it does. It's a clear selective interpretation that you've deployed as you continue to clutch at straws.

No matter where Channel 4s priorities go or where they are extracting revenues from they simply will not give up the fourth most prominent EPG slot.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36060122)

Well, if you’ve seen something significant that tells you that Channel 4 will not move over to streaming only in the long term, I will bow to your superior knowledge, but you haven’t made that argument.

I have provided a link to back up what I think, and it is one of many in relation to a streaming only future.

Originally Posted by Legendkiller2k (Post 36060145)

Hmm a random link or a actual contract document i know which one i believe.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36060147)

That link was quality by Old Boy's usual standards in fairness. From a recognised publication for a change and not a digital marketing blog. :)

It just didn't say what OB thinks it did.

Originally Posted by Legendkiller2k (Post 36060149)

OB has been banging this drum for several years i believe one day he might actual listen to those of us who actually work in that industry.

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 36060150)

What do they know. :D

Originally Posted by weesteev (Post 36060356)

I love dipping in and out of this thread, always makes me chuckle :)

So broadcast TV is slowly dying, that cant be argued. Viewers on average are down and ad revenue is slowly declining, especially in this current Covid world... but heres the deal... Broadcast is so critical to service suppliers like Sky, ITV and others because a huge portion of their income comes from advertising revenue. If these providers move more towards a full on demand service and whittle away their broadcast channels then they will feel the fit in revenue.

On demand is booming, it will continue to overtake the broadcast market but broadcast will probably be here for the very long term. As someone who is actively working on next generation technology that includes broadcast services, i can happily confirm that broadcast TV will certainly be around on the Virgin Media network for many years to come.

Originally Posted by Legendkiller2k (Post 36060381)

So i checked systems for OB and nothing at all is on them about Channel 4 leaving traditional tv methods.

Also came through today SKY are proposing Shudder, Amazon prime video and Starzplay apps on the SKYQ box.
This is only at proposal stages at the moment.

Originally Posted by weesteev (Post 36060356)

I love dipping in and out of this thread, always makes me chuckle :)

So broadcast TV is slowly dying, that cant be argued. Viewers on average are down and ad revenue is slowly declining, especially in this current Covid world... but heres the deal... Broadcast is so critical to service suppliers like Sky, ITV and others because a huge portion of their income comes from advertising revenue. If these providers move more towards a full on demand service and whittle away their broadcast channels then they will feel the fit in revenue.

On demand is booming, it will continue to overtake the broadcast market but broadcast will probably be here for the very long term. As someone who is actively working on next generation technology that includes broadcast services, i can happily confirm that broadcast TV will certainly be around on the Virgin Media network for many years to come.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36060385)

My dear chap, I am not suggesting that any of these changes I have been going on about will happen in the next few months! How much of the contractual stuff do you see that deals with 2035, or even 2025?

5G broadcast certainly won’t be ready to replace DTT for some good few years - well beyond your modus operandi.

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You have not taken account of the fact that an increase in OTT viewing will rob the TV channels of their audience, thus reducing advertising revenue. Your premise is that viewer habits will not shift in a major way in the future, which is a pretty big assumption, given the way younger people watch TV. Those younger people are growing older, and there is no sign yet that they are changing their OTT viewing habits. Then there is the newer generation starting to come through, who are even more attracted to OTT viewing.

Add to that the declining quality of content on the traditional TV channels, and you are looking at a bleak future for them. I believe that the direct to consumer approach increasingly adopted by the various studios (to wit, the Disney content, which will all now move exclusively to Disney+) will be the final nail in the coffin.

Despite what some people think on this forum, the traditional channels will not carry on broadcasting once a certain audience threshold can no longer be reached. The BBC saved a lot of money when it transferred BBC3 to online only, and therefore OTT-only distribution will become much more attractive. This will be paid for by subscription and/or advertising.