It is true that people are moving over to a more "on demand" way of watching their favourite shows, and that standard TV is slowly coming to an end, but I believe that TV and cable networks aren't going away yet. There are multiple reasons why I think this, all relating to what we don't have if we don't have cable.
One of the things we loose without cable is live airing. It usually takes a considerable amount of time for "on demand" programs and websites to add "the next episode" or "the current news". While it is true that news does tend to get out fast, in certain cases, a difference of an hour to a few minutes can be massive. Imagine, in the morning, you wake up and get ready for school or work, but until the current day's news comes out, you will either need to read the newspaper for what's needed (which is inconvenient compared to live TV), or go on clueless.
Another example relates to live streaming which while is a live broadcasting method, it can be more complicated than live airing. While it fixes the problem of time delay between release and stream/airing, livestreams need to be known to the public in order for people to watch it. Even when there's an announcement, there would be some delay between the announcement and the viewer from seeing it.
In addition, with on demand services, the commercial industry would loose a vital source of advertising through TV channels. TV is one of the largest sources of commercials in the industry and the most effective. Online commercials are annoying and usually skippable. TV commercials feel natural and can't be skipped. Without TV, sales may go down with the lack of viewed commercials. This can worsen the economy.
Finally, cable allows for people to randomly stumble upon new channels. This is more situation, but with on demand services, you would most likely already know what you want to watch. If you had cable TV, if you get bored, you could just flip through channels until you find something interesting, essentially expanding your interests. You could perhaps find something new you may like or learn some interesting new information you might not know otherwise.
And this is why I don't think TV will die just yet. Although, it probably isn't saying much when I am almost always on my laptop at home.......
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So what do you think?
Hey, I agree with your opinion except for the first part. I believe that TV is going to go away really soon, as opposed to what you wrote in the first paragraph. Other than that, all other points that you have stated are correct and I agree. A difference between an hour and a minute is a big difference and it's good you stated that. In the end, great post, love the comparison between the news and google.
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