MASTERCLASSES

Thursday 10 April 2008

A death has been announced

Actually it hasn't quite been announced, but we can predict it.

The ISPs are miffed at the amount of bandwidth the BBC's i-player is taking up.

The success of this application means that the death of live television is here. In future, most TV content will actually be web-delivered.

Of course, we can still expect live TV to premiere big productions but, apart from the major programmes, most TV will be watched on demand - as and when the audience decides it would like to see it.

Infact, the whole idea of watching or listening to something when the broadcaster decides we should already feels alien. Many of us watch or listen to TV and radio when we have the time.

When do I listen to Radio 4?

When I'm running.

What do I listen to?

The three programmes I like.

Thank God I no longer need to listen to what is presented to me. No more You and Yours, no more Woman's Hour. No more - thank you Jesus - Veg Talk.

And really, when you think about it, the idea that we can only listen to what is being presented at that moment is a very odd one- one that the internet has killed stone dead.

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