The epidemic has given some color to traditional television, but the Coronavirus will not always be there to slow its erosion.
For 10 years, the time you spend in front of TV hasn’t stopped diminishing all over the world. In the United States and Canada, where super services are most common, the decline has been more pronounced than anywhere else … except since the pandemic.
After being denied other leisure activities due to the lockdown, millions of less fortunate citizens watched line TV in 2020 more than the previous year. They haven’t seen traditional TV much in a long time. TV viewership increased by 6 percent compared to 2019. It was the same everywhere, except in the USA where we watched eight minutes less TV every day.
If traditional television has regained its strength in Canada, it is in part due to the US election and the pandemic, which has followed its advance with curiosity. Two million Canadians watched CNN on January 6 during the brutal attack on Capitol Hill. He had never seen anything like him. During the first weeks of the health crisis, the rankings were dominated by press briefings by Prime Minister Francois Legault. I’ve never seen him before either.
Big winners
Listening to Radio Canada and TVA has reached an all-time high. Almost five million to good byeAnd 3,647,000 forInfoman New Year’s Day, an average of 1,830,000 for the day District 31. Comedy Martin Matt, Beautiful harassment 2.0Save TVA honor with 2,320,000 spectators.
However, convolution services are the biggest winner. In one year, the total number of Canadian households who subscribe to Club illico, tou.tv Extra, Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Disney and Crave increased from 25.8 million to 38 million. A colossal leap in which the abundance of ads on line television is no stranger.
Advertising was first restricted by CRTC, and it has virtually no limits. It does not have anything on traditional networks. Only a few limits remain for channels that are not part of the main service and sports channels. Not a week went by until I didn’t receive angry emails from readers complaining about the ad spreading to the small screen.
The pub has no limits
To enjoy the ad-free entertainment, most viewers subscribe to TV on demand and record their favorite shows. The less fortunate must give in to see their sausage programs being seen by the pub.
In the early days of television, commercials were 60 or 30 seconds long. Today, it lasts 20, 15, 10, and even five seconds. So we get the impression that we are bombarded with ads. Within a few minutes, one can become trapped in 10 to 15 different products. Because letter production is expensive, patrons often accept one or two new letters each season. So the same thing returns with unbearable hesitation. To make matters worse, we often send the same message back twice.
Broadcasters and advertisers shoot each other if they continue to believe that such aggression against the viewer, as well as the less fortunate, could remain profitable for a long time to come. Everyone’s insatiable appetite for traditional television is destroying it.
Ryan MacDonald is a contributor at Vaughantoday.ca, covering a wide range of topics including local news, politics, business, technology, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle. He focuses on clear, accurate reporting and delivering useful information that helps readers stay informed about current events and community developments. Ryan is committed to presenting stories in a balanced and accessible way, highlighting issues, trends, and updates that matter most to readers in Vaughan and across Canada.