BBC News | UK | It's 2010: Has TV survived the internet?

UK Contents: Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales |

BBC News Online: UK

Tuesday, 11 January, 2000, 18:28 GMT

It's 2010: Has TV survived the internet?

It's 2010, a decade since the mega-merger of Time Warner and AOL. BBC News Online's Ryan Dilley finds CD players, DVDs and computers have been swallowed up by the almighty television, which now carries 30,000 channels.

Following the merger of internet giant AOL and the media company Time Warner back in 2000, our lives were transformed by the "clicks and mortar" revolution.

Television remains the staple of home entertainment, but all of those other gadgets and gizmos which threatened to swamp our living rooms in the early years of the century have thankfully disappeared.

The rush to copy AOL and Time Warner saw a frenzy of consolidation in the industry - with entertainment corporations snapping up the e-companies who could deliver their products straight to customers' homes.

Those agonising over whether to ditch their CD players in favour of MiniDiscs, swap the VHS for the latest DVD machine or even take the great leap into computer purchasing were saved the bother.

Record shops followed video stores into steep decline - despite their anachronistic charm and the protests of enthusiasts who insist that "real-time" buying and the crackily quality of old-fashioned data storage devices is part of the experience.

Many of us now chose to download music, films and even books from our preferred online television company.

Most homes have a video library and jukebox rolled into one in the sitting room

The latest sets are hooked up to a central database, from which we can order brand new movies and music straight from the studio. Ours to enjoy in seconds.

Accurate billing allows customers to terminate transmission should they not like what they get - or know the film's ending - and only pay for what they actually received.

The most terminated film of recent months has been Leonardo DiCaprio's Alexander The Great - further evidence, say pundits, that we have tired of Cecil B DeMille epics peopled by hoards of computer-generated digital actors.

With TVs now boasting audio/visual memory storage for upwards of 600 hours - most homes have what amounts to a video library and jukebox rolled into one in the corner of the sitting room.

In the past two years, the number of channels has rocketed to 30,000, but advanced programme planners built into televisions has slowed the flood of complaints about "information-overload" to a trickle.

Just 20 minutes talking to your TV - once it has become accustomed to your voice - will give it enough of an idea about your tastes to select only the programmes you'll like.

Although programmes-on-demand have been accused of fracturing this country's cultural life - with the chances of any two people watching the same show at the same time virtually nil - they have not led to a degeneration of standards.

The big TV companies have been able to unlock the value of their archives, offering pay-per-view access to more than 50 years of digitally remastered programmes.

A portion of this money has been pumped back into making new shows.

Who Wants to be a Multimillionaire - more like a pub quiz than "event" TV.

The "smart" recording of programmes did confront commercial companies with other funding dilemmas though.

With TVs told to cut out adverts - or at least those not of interest to the owner - some feared a collapse of revenue.

Today, with product placement in nearly every show, and a jumper like the one worn by your favourite soap star just a command away, we find such worries hard to fathom.

Play-at-home gameshows, such as Who Wants to be a Multimillionaire?, have also proved themselves fantastic moneyspinners - although with them rolling along 24-hour-a-day they are more like pub quiz machines than "event" TV.

Top of the Pops, the ever popular BBC brand, has also gone "round the clock". Since 2005, its chart has been decided by online sales of tracks - with no fewer than 30 different acts scooping the number one on a single day last week.

The veteran show has also made use of the latest multi-camera technology, with fans choosing to watch just their favourite band members during performances - while downloading a detailed biography and their vital statistics from the net.

The closure of the final "computer-only" site last month means the internet has changed more than television in recent years.

With text so difficult to read on a TV screen, many people now prefer having text from the net "translated" into speech emanating from the mouths of lip-sync virtual presenters.

If your night's viewing is interrupted by noisy neighbours, you can complain to the council and then watch them swing into action on the CCTV-TV channel, without leaving your armchair.

However, many older Britons still retain a nostalgia for the old days. Dazzled by the array of online shopping, games and programmes available on top-of-the-range TVs, some still go back to basics.

A recent survey suggests that 15 million of us still have a terrestrial set hidden away at home. The seven remaining "traditional" broadcasters have even reported an upturn in viewing figures.

Indeed, the Bluewater Coalition government recently announced a stay of execution for the low-tech analogue signal - with transmissions protected for at least 10 more years.

Related to this story:
The first 'clicks-and-mortar' company (10 Jan 00 | Business)
Shares soar as giants merge (11 Jan 00 | Business)
AOL: The internet company that grew up (10 Jan 00 | Business)
Time Warner: An entertainment blue chip (10 Jan 00 | Business)

Internet Links:
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

UK Contents: Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales |