The days of mass TV viewing are in the past S
OAPS are in decline, fewer people are watching normal TV and more are preferring to binge watch.
According to media watchdog Ofcom, most of us are no longer anchored to normal telly at scheduled times. We may record favourite programmes for later viewing or use catch-up facilities like iPlayer, but the days of planning a night’s entertainment with the aid of The Radio Times are in the past.
No more do families settle down in the front room after tea, turn the big light out and indiscriminately sit through game show, soap, travel, cookery and Play for the Day.
Even the soaps themselves, a mainstay of popular UK television, are shedding viewers.
Emmerdale, Coronation Street and EastEnders had a combined viewing audience of 8.7 million in 2007. Last year, it had dropped to 6.9 million.
Today, younger generations use smart phones, tablets and iPads to watch snippets on YouTube. For serious viewing they prefer Netflix, Amazon or the back catalogues of channels to watch boxed sets of comedy and drama.
Long gone are the days when Morecambe and Wise, Tommy Cooper and Till Death Do Us Part, could pull in many millions of viewers. Days when people would avoid going out so they wouldn’t miss Steptoe and Son.
The difference between then and now is choice. Back then, we didn’t have one. There were only three TV stations until Channel 4 arrived in 1982. Audiences were captive in their armchairs, which is why Only Fools and Horses recorded the largest ever viewing figures for a live transmission of a television programme on December 29, 1986. More than 24 million tuned in to watch Del Boy finally become a millionaire. HIL Bradley is 71 and declares himself to be: “A Huddersfield exile now living in the East Riding who keeps up with events, news and happenings in the area where I was born through the Examiner.”
He says: “Browsing the internet the other day, I came across several pictures of an area of the town which I vaguely remember Castlegate and Southgate.
What stood out for me was a picture of The Southgate Hotel. Here was a magnificent building in, to say the least, a very strange setting. A Tardis in Dystopia.
Three years later, Sky and satellite television launched and the rules of the game changed.
Today, according to Wikipedia, there is the choice of 480 television channels by terrestrial, satellite, cable or streaming, plus the ability to record programmes or use catch-up.
Sharon White, chief executive of Ofcom, said: “These challenges cannot be underestimated. But UK broadcasters have a history of adapting to change.”
The only time you need to watch TV live is for sport and news. Scheduled programmes can be sifted and discarded or watched at a time of your choosing. This is the age of On Demand. Serials can be stockpiled and viewed en-bloc so you don’t forget the complexities of a plot from one week to the next.
The change and challenge has produced brilliant drama from terrestrial channels as well as Netflix, Sky and Amazon: House of Cards, Westworld, Game of Thrones and The Crown. All perfect for binge watching.