The relatively consistent number of jobs in broadcast television is surprising to me. I would have imagined video streaming would cut into broadcast television the same way online publications cut into newspapers. Services like Netflix have made watching broadcast television almost unbearable due to the obscene amount of advertising.
> I would have imagined video streaming would cut into broadcast television the same way online publications cut into newspapers.
Newspapers were declining through consolidation, scaling back local newsrooms in favor of wire-service and syndicated content, etc., long (as in, consistently for decades) before online publications stepped in to fill the gaps newspapers were leaving as they contracted and collapsed.
The online publications are replacing newspapers for people. I have a RSS reader. My parents found that they prefer getting the news online and on OTA broadcast TV. They used to get the paper daily, but now only get the Sunday paper for the coupons that it includes. They have it on a 99 cent a week promotion. That is a an order of magnitude less than the >$500 per year that they used to pay. They find having only 1 paper a week to recycle more convenient too.
commercials have their uses: bathroom breaks, quick runs to the kitchen, making sure the brats are in bed, let the dog out, let the dog in, and most important, discussing the show as it has transpired thus far.
but I suspect that for many people once the channel is set they really don't want to have to do much more than change the volume. it simply is not worth the investment and I would bet a majority don't have a dvr
People watch(ed) TV not for the actual content but just to pass the time. It was mostly channel surfing and once in a while you'd find a show that you wanted to watch all the way through. It was just something to do rather than actually consume a story line. Netflix has made consuming actual stories much much better and easier.
It'd be like saying "more people now own bicycles than cars".
Sure, both cars and bicycles address the "transportation" marketplace. But one can be sold to 5 year old kids, where the other requires you to have state license and age requirements.
Are you saying kids are more likely to read paper newspapers than online sources? I would think the opposite is more likely true. Or if you were saying the opposite...doesn't that support the point of the article?
