Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

So they aren’t offering anything new, just the same old delivered in a slightly different manner. If you are relying on Comcast or Liberty to provide revenue streams you will have to fit their business model.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

It's the change in the method of delivery which appears to give the viewer a better choice of content.

So if I want to view good dramas and films, I might go to (according to our present choice) Netflix or Amazon, maybe StarzPlay. But if I want reality rubbish, I would probably go to Hayu.

In the future, we will have much more choice, so we will be able to pick out the streaming/VOD services that meet our needs.

This will be much more focussed on what we want, compared to the current situation where you have to pay for a multitude of channels you don't want.

Disney + and other services will cater for the kids, and there will be plenty of services catering for other genres.

Sport is the interesting one, and how this will play out is a matter for speculation.

I don't think Comcast and Liberty Global are the main players to watch, quite honestly!

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

I smell the whiff of b...s...

---------- Post added at 23:37 ---------- Previous post was at 23:34 ----------

In all honesty, I would have thought sport was the biggest monespinner for a streamer.

If they can't make it pay then linear channels will be here for a long time - even if it's only for sport.

Don't forget the sky empire was built on their exclusive rights to premier league football

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

So they need the existing platforms to mark advance payments to them for minority interest content?

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

I access Amazon Prime and Netflix directly on my Samsung TV. I can also access a handful of other streaming apps if I choose. A firmware update later this year should also add Apple TV to the line up. I don’t pay a subscription to Sky or Virgin for any bundles. I just buy what I want and, OB, if the future is truly on-demand as you argue, that’s the only way it’s going to work.

If Sky or Virgin have to bundle streaming services for those services to survive, those services have no more right to survive than the bundled linear channels that only exist because they’re thrust under your nose as part of a bundle.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

I accept that there are alternative ways of viewing streaming services. I do this already, with my V6, my Amazon Fire stick, my Roku stick and my smart TV.

The way I see it is that by bundling streaming services, having one search facility and one watchlist for all of those services, there will be added value for the customer. It is far too tiresome to go to each streamer separately to look for content. I'm not saying that such bundling is to enable the streaming services to survive. What I am saying is that bundling will have advantages for the customer.

I see, by the way, that despite the dead hand of the Competition Commission, BBC and ITV are getting together to put in place an SVOD streaming service.

https://inews.co.uk/news/entertainme...classic-shows/

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Hang on ... you’re the one who’s been arguing all along that searching for content on streaming services *isn’t* tiresome, and once people get used to searching, the whole experience is so utterly wonderful that linear channels will die horribly.

Surely you’re not finally accepting that it’s a barrier to use, that you have to deliberately engage with a streaming service rather than just tuning in and flopping on the sofa? :scratch:

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

I use Netflix occasionally but there is so much on it, it takes ages to settle down to watch what you want.
How much better after a hard day to click through your V6 recordings and within seconds watching something good. What a pleasant surprise when a new series of a favourite programme has appeared .
I want watching TV to be easy and relaxing.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Completely agree with all that, the majority of our viewing is done from recordings.

The V6 and Sky Q make it near impossible to miss your favourite shows these days and as you say the automatic recording of new shows is a real bonus.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

And when you don’t want to devote time to catching up with your favourite dramas, what’s even more relaxing is a linear schedule on a channel whose theme you’re generally interested in. Tune in and enjoy whatever’s there, no stress, no fuss.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Great points.
I find Netflix particularly painful.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

We can spend an age trying to find something to watch on it , another point is Netflix Originals are predominately American. most of its British content is third party content from the likes of the BBC and ITV.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

And the Wish List and search facilities can bring up all matter of little gems to watch as well.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

If all the content is brought together it certainly isn't tiresome. Nor is it when you are dealing with only one streaming service. But if you are dealing with many, it makes sense to centralise all your searches and watchlists, doesn't it?

You are making it sound like some vision of Utopia that I am promoting. I'm doing no such thing, I'm simply describing what I see as being the future for TV. It will happen, whether we like it or not. Surely you can see what is already happening out there.

Ridiculing the whole notion of the shift to VOD only services in a discussion forum will do nothing to change the way this is moving towards what I have been saying for the last four years.

---------- Post added at 07:14 ---------- Previous post was at 07:12 ----------

Do you never bookmark the shows on Netflix that appeal to you? If you did that, they would be listed in 'My Shows'. Easy peasy.

---------- Post added at 07:16 ---------- Previous post was at 07:14 ----------

Just second rate rubbish most of the time. I guess if you are happy to watch any old junk that is thrown at you together with endless adverts, you will be happy with the present system. Hardly stimulating, though, is it?

---------- Post added at 07:22 ---------- Previous post was at 07:16 ----------

If you only want to watch British material, the new successor to Project Kangaroo involving BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and maybe Channel 5 might be the streaming service for you when it is launched. Subscribing to Netflix won't be compulsory - there will be far more choice in the foreseeable future.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Old Boy there’s really no need to be insulting about the viewing habits of other people as “hardly stimulating”. It’s television, by any mechanism it’s delivered, it’s a broadly passive experience.

It’s curious how you are insistent this is how the future must be despite recognising the many barriers new entrants face and fail to recognise that it’s far easier for incumbents in the pay-tv market to deliver apps/on demand than app developers to put their content on the largest platforms with the easiest and most user friendly interfaces.

It’s sitting watching a rectangular box at the end of the day and the vast majority of people don’t feel in any way strongly about the technology behind it. The evidence points to most people enjoying a mix of watching live, on demand and on apps. I’ve no idea why you feel so strongly against offering people a range of options to suit their preferences and needs.

Ironically if television evolves beyond being passive it will be through social media interaction. Which necessitates that everyone is watching at broadly the same second. What’s the cheapest and most effective way to deliver that I wonder?