Originally Posted by Baz_James:
“Surely one of the requirements for a golden age is shared experience, ie. mass audiences and scheduled broadcasts. It's difficult to see how it can be a true golden age if you're unable to discuss a programme the next day because of the risk of spoilers for people who won't watch the show for another six months and incomprehension from people who don't happen to subscribe to a particular service. I hate what Netflix and Amazon and Hulu and Sky has done to fragment television and isolate viewers. It's like going to the cinema to find that you can only watch the film if you sit in a single soundproof pod and sign a non-disclosure agreement.”
It's always been like that, we had cinema, DVD, cable/satellite/TV windows that stretched 2 years. You had regional windows where TV shows would be first shown in the US long before here in the UK. These barriers are being broken down, not always but more shows that have been secured by UK broadcasters or in the case of HBO Sky Atlantic are shown at the same time not months behind. There are still gaps the new season of NCIS for example isn't scheduled to show here until next February, it has been running in the US since September. There are plenty of spoilers out there even access to the show itself unfortunately these spoilers will seep through spoiling the experience for many.
You say you hate what Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and Sky have done yet they have opened up more content than could ever have been provided by linear TV. There would not have been enough advertising revenue or funding from the licence fee to fund the rights to US shows through our FTA commercial channels or the BBC nor make the depth and breadth of original content on their own.
There may be a point to your argument that SKY in the UK and cable in the US put content out of reach of many but you should also recognise that Netflix has broken that system. In the US almost every major player has a stand alone service where you no longer have to be tied to a whole package of channels you didn't want. SKY have responded in the UK with NOW TV which doesn't tie you into a contract and offers great value. The option also appeals because you can opt in and out of these services and cut the cost dramatically and have more content available than you could probably ever afford under the old system and I dare say have time to watch it all. Subscribe to Netflix and watch a number of full series of shows you want, throw in a few films too. Then opt out and pay for Amazon or Now TV and do the same, with entertainment passes for Now TV, offers for Amazon and Netflix you could probably see everything you wanted on all three services for around £8 a month by opting in and out and you could have all three for the entry price of SKY on satellite. So whilst SKY or cable was an expensive option you can now cherry pick for a lot less.
As far as content is concerned HBO changed TV production, they invested heavily in writers, actors and production which raised the game of everyone. It is not only argued but accepted that some of the best writers, actors and productions are found on TV. Cinema has become more a vehicle for franchises, how much can you squeeze out of a story, a format?
You will never ever return to the age where 20 million sat in front of TV and talked about it the next day, that era has gone. Yes there were great dramas that have stood the test of time, comedies we will never forget but there wasn't the depth or breadth of content that exists today and for decades it wasn't always available here in the UK.
Not everyone can afford to go to the cinema but 16 weeks after cinema release you can download almost every film "legally" in HD quality at a little over the price you would have paid in a video store without the trouble of going to get it and return it the next day. Almost 40 years ago a video store would have charged £2.50 - £3 on average for a movie which had a 12 month window, nowadays it's £4.50 for a HD download after 4 months. How does that work out in terms of inflation? You can have access to a huge library of films after just 6 -9 months through subscription.
It is more of a shared experience today than it ever was, we may not all sit down at the same time and watch the same thing but we can sit down and watch much, much, more and for the most part I would say higher number of quality shows. We share those conversations with others on here, at work or play with family and friends. You here people discussing Netflix, Amazon, Sky everyday. Not everyone subscribes but access is affordable and that is a choice many didn't have before.
There are 25 and 1/2 million TV licences but there is also 18 million Pay subscribers, they don't all subscribe to one thing but that is an awful lot of people discussing something that may encourage others to waatch or as the case may be miss.
