Streaming television was meant to destroy cable and broadcast television. Ad-free, endless choice, on-demand and on your schedule meant the uncompromising television experience of our dreams. However, it has not quite become that way and it is now starting to look like the old models; the models that have powered cable and broadcast television for decades are rising like phoenixes from the ashes and will soon return to you via, of course, all the best streaming platforms.
This week, The information reports that Disney Plus is now considering adding a selection of genre-based channels that, instead of on-demand content, will simply cycle through a 24/7 content schedule, including commercial breaks.
If this sounds familiar, it just means you watched cable and broadcast television in the years before the rise of Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video, and countless other options.
The details about what Disney Plus can or cannot do are scarce, but they are more than plausible. In recent months, most major companies have retooled their streaming platform strategies to offer a more affordable tier that, while still on-demand, includes commercial breaks (Amazon did this to existing Prime customers with little to no notice).
And as I discovered when I cut the cord earlier this year, there are plenty of FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) options to fill the gaps between your streaming appetites.
A schedule to look at
FAST has more in common with Disney Plus’ possible plans, as networks like Tubi have dozens of channels that, like cable, air content on their own schedules. This means that instead of searching for something to watch, you can just turn on Tubi (or FuboTV), open the guide, pick a channel, and start watching what’s going on. Right, just like old-fashioned cable.
This change is partly about your habits, in that people still like to have TV in the background and that means not watching a movie or even a discreet streaming series, which a family member, if he watches it without you , is excommunicated. No, these channels, like those from Disney Pluys, are about passive viewing while you might be doing the laundry or working from home.
In my house, I like to have the CBS broadcast stream from Paramount Plus running while I work. I don’t pay attention to The Talk, The Bold and the Beautiful, or The Price is Right, but I love the white noise of these mostly harmless shows.
Pay their way
For streamers, however, this is more than just a viewing option; it’s a potential big revenue stream. Disney Plus, which remains a premium service whether you pay to remove the ads or pay less to suffer through them, could once again be paid for by advertisers willing to deliver ads to this less attentive audience.
In the highly competitive streaming space, Disney (now with Hulu), Paramount, Netflix and others are in a knife fight for consumers’ eyes and dollars, and the only way to keep them is with more new content, which costs money. In other words, these companies will never stop looking for new ways to monetize your opinions, thoughtful or otherwise.
The result, however, is a landscape that increasingly resembles the cable world of the past and less like the burgeoning streaming wars of, says 2018.
Ultimately, I expect all streamers to offer 24/7 programming schedules and guides. It will be an added value and could lead to the emergence of many more entry-level programs. Think of game shows, talk shows and cheap laugh series to fill this pipeline. They won’t have the same quality we’ve come to expect from streaming original programming, but they’ll serve their purpose and viewers like me will probably eat it up.