The advent of digital television increase the number of TV shows no-one watch

The Daily Telegraph ^ | January 8, 2010 | Erin McWhirter

[myknowledge]

EVERYONE complains about the quality of TV programs, the endless repeats, and the scheduling, but are there programs that NO-ONE actually watches?

An old AFL thriller, Italian soccer, an animated children’s program about underwear-obsessed pirates and a triathlon were just four of the 24 programs which managed to attract zero viewers in Australia on Wednesday.

IS DIGITAL TV A DISAPPOINTMENT OR WATCHABLE. TELL US BELOW

While the launch of digital channels on major networks Channel 7 (7Two), Channel 9 (Go!), Channel 10 (OneHD) and public broadcaster ABC TV (ABC2 and ABC3), as well as SBS Two, has added variety to the TV viewing landscape it has also increased the number of shows watched by no viewers.

[myknowledge]

Obviously people these days in Oz are just not that interested in the digital tube no more./sarc

[Past Your Eyes]

I can’t believe Current TV didn’t make the list.

[JRios1968]

An old AFL thriller, Italian soccer, an animated children’s program about underwear-obsessed pirates and a triathlon were just four of the 24 programs which managed to attract zero viewers in Australia on Wednesday.

Some comments are unnecessary...

[netmilsmom]

I watch an old VFL thriller.
Capper taking a high mark from the 80’s.

No matter what a jerk he turned out to be, he was poetry in motion.

[autumnraine]

I would rather watch crappy quality reruns of I Love Lucy and Andy Griffith than something like Real Housewives or Jersey Shore. The eyes might enjoy it better, but my brain sure doesn’t.

[Eye of Unk]

I record everything except my early morning F&F news from my Dishnetwork, I refuse to record the poor quality edited movies shown on the affiliates like ABC etc, so I usually get something decent on HBO or the Discovery channel, my favorite recordable shows are Mythbusters.

[BallyBill]

With Hulu I have been watching, "Highway Patrol" and "Tales of Tomorrow" since I never got to see them before. It is amazing how much them shows have been ripped off since they were made in the 50's. Even at that, I presume even they are just remakes of radio thrillers.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Sherlock Holmes and Zane Grey Theater are in my queue to catch up on in the future.

[mikrofon]

an animated children’s program about underwear-obsessed pirates

Umar Farouk Abdulmutillab would've watched for some pointers, but he's been otherwise occupied...

[TomGuy]

I get about 80 cable channels (expanded basic digital + HD). I watch programs on maybe 20 channels in any given month.

I would like to see the stats for the viewership of all those 80 channels I am subsiziding each month. I would wager that many of them have single-digit percentage viewerships.

[Eepsy]

My husband and children exclusively watch television produced between 1960-1985, mostly british stuff. I have an occasional foray into Clean House and Project Runway. On date nights we’re partial to a good bottle of wine and an MST3K dvd, sometimes an older Columbo or I Spy. We haven’t touched prime time in a decade, and only carry basic cablle because it’s essentially free with our high speed internet.

[J40000]

I have a TV Guide from 1977. VERY few channels. No programming between 2am and 6am.

But the interesting thing is that at any time of day, you could find SOMETHING of quality to watch somewhere.

It's like major league sports. When there were only 6 NHL teams, you only saw the ABSOLUTE cream of the crop.

Sad that I have 900 channels to watch, yet I can only tolerate about 3 of them. ON OCCAISION.

[TomGuy]

I used Hulu/Fancast/Veoh to view the Alias Smith and Jones series (through the Pete Duel episodes). They were enjoyable.

I just finished years one and two of Stargate SG-1, as I didn't have cable/SciFi when they were originally shown. I also watched the original V series and Alien Nation movies.

Hulu is great for many older series, even with their brief commercials. I hope they continue to be online, because my local cable On-demand is crap.

[spodefly]

I don’t own a TV nor do I have cable, so I have watched 0 shows for years.

[TomGuy]

I have a TV Guide from 1977. VERY few channels. No programming between 2am and 6am.

I remember having only 2-3 networks, and sometimes PBS, depending on the location.

Then, the networks were competitive. Let one show a recent 'big' movie or event, and the other two would compete with comparable programs. VCR's were not available to the public then. We had to choose, and hope the other program would show up during the summer re-run period.

Now, if one network has a 'big special' -- sports or movie or event -- the other networks show re-runs, so as not to compete.

[LoveUSA]

I'm with you. I try to watch the shows that get rave reviews and I can't believe the poor storylines, lame dialogue and poor acting.

My disillusionment started with China Beach, back in the 80's. To me, that was the beginning of TV Drama's without a clue. And yet the general consensus was that it was a hit. What's Dana Delaney doing now????

[frposty]

Don’t they have a free satellite TV service available in England?

I saw that post mentioning Highway Patrol. Presume that’s the one with Broderick Crawford.

I’ve gotta get a way of hooking my computer into our 65” television set. Hulu sounds like a good thing but I need to watch the stuff like it’s on TV.

[Future Snake Eater]

On date nights we’re partial to a good bottle of wine and an MST3K dvd

That's your date night?! Dang...can I get you to talk to my wife? She does NOT get MST3K, but it's one of my all-time favorites! lol...

[netmilsmom]

>>I’ve gotta get a way of hooking my computer into our 65” television set. <<

My husband did this for us.
Not only do we watch Netflix but also YouTube etc.

My girls even take a Latin class on Dimdim, totally on the tv.

[netmilsmom]

>>She does NOT get MST3K, but it’s one of my all-time favorites!<<

We went to the Live event where they did “Plan 9 from Outer Space”. It was a blast!

[ClearCase_guy]

Can you provide a little bit of detail on how your husband did it? I've been considering that path and from what I see, I would need a PC connected to the TV, with the PC also connected to the internet (wirelessly or not). If there is another way to do it, I've love to hear.

Thanks