Comments on: Professional Sports and HDTV Are Dead and Boring

By: somasf415

somasf415 — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:19:00 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. I consider myself an uber consumerist and am fickle about everything. Combine that with my ADD and Insomnia and there is only one thing in life that does not leave me bored right now at 12:15 am. I have learned more about photography in 7 months than most could learn getting a degree. It has helped me get my pilot’s license, keep in touch with international friends and answers every question I can thing of. I always say to everyone when asked what I need in life. I always answer, my MACBook, an internet connection, and a credit card.

By: victoria

victoria — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 22:12:00 +0000

Four years ago I gave up DirecTV (18 months of dot-bomb unemployment called for serious cost-cutting measures). My neighbour gave me her rabbit ear antenna so I could at least get local channels but I’ve only hooked them up once (during the 2004 presidential debates–for the Bushisms Drinking Game). Otherwise, I haven’t watched TV since 2003. I thought I’d miss it (especially my Centre Ice subscription during hockey season) but I haven’t. Not one bit. My apartment complex offers free basic cable and they’re mystified as to why I haven’t signed up. If there’s a show I really want to watch I can pick it up on DVD/Netflix.

But Mark Cuban pronouncing the internet dead and boring on his blog is pretty cynical. Meh. Whatever, Mark.

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 20:38:00 +0000

Cuban's a smart showman and Fred said it right, if Mark had spoken only for himself who could argue? I'm sure America will watch the Super Bowl in HiDef - but that won't save TV.

Did you see the IBM study last week that found Internet usage is now approaching TV usage in the US, the UK, Australia, Germany, and Japan?

I don't have a ready stat to link, but last I heard TV viewing time (for cable and broadcast) continues to fall. I'm with you and Fred, not bored at all by the hardly dead Internet, bored instead watching TVs slow death as it figures out what to do about the internet.

That same IBM study found that the TV networks’ share of online TV viewing is about 33 percent, below YouTube and just ahead of Google and social networks in the U.S.

But it's not just the Internet that's killing TV, it's also Netflix, the Long Tail and the freedom to watch what we want when we want (one in five households has a DVR).

You wondered with me last year when I noticed friends canceling cable and satellite, is no TV a trend? Just last week more friends, a young couple in their early 30s, chose to opt out of any television reception at all for their three large expensive flat panel displays, choosing instead to watch Netflix and play with their WII.

More and more I'm thinking this is a trend, a trend that is nowhere near its end.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:45:00 +0000

Cuban uses a blog post to declare the Internet dead and boring.

It's that akin to screaming, "Airplane flight is dead and boring!" while sitting comfortably in a first class seat at 35,000 feet on a transcontinental flight?

I've read enough of Cuban's "visionary" (used loosely) headlines.

By: Thomas Blake

Thomas Blake — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 18:12:00 +0000

Eh. One of the most important rules of promoting your blog is to be controversial. How better to be controversial than to take something most people are enthralled with, and claim it’s dead & boring?

Aside from that, I agree with everything you’ve said, Thomas.