杏吧原创

WHEN video cassette recorders entered our living rooms in the late 1970s, the TV industry feared the worst. People would fast-forward through the ads in a recorded programme, they predicted, and the whole business of commercial television would collapse. It didn鈥檛 happen, and commercial TV continued to prosper. But it could happen now.

In the age of the VCR, recording television for later viewing 鈥� timeshifting, as it鈥檚 known 鈥� was a minority activity. Today it is a force to be reckoned with, thanks to the recent convergence of computing and digital television technologies. In place of the VCR we have the personal video recorder (PVR), which records TV and radio programmes onto a computer hard disc. The difference between them, in terms of what they allow us to do, is immense.

What makes PVRs so powerful? The key lies in the way they exploit additional information broadcast over the airwaves to give users enormous flexibility over what they record and when they watch it. Most PVRs display comprehensive programme schedules that make it easy to select which programmes to record. You can view programmes you have already recorded by selecting them from a list at the touch of a button. It is even possible to watch the beginning of a programme while the end is still recording.

Should the TV companies be worried again? Yes. Timeshifting could change TV and radio as we know it. PVRs make it easier than ever to skip the ads. Even worse, from the broadcasters鈥� point of view, is how PVRs make a mockery of traditional scheduling. The list of programmes stored on your PVR turns it into something like a personalised TV channel showing only those programmes you want to see. Traditional branded channels such as NBC and the BBC may never be the same again.

鈥淭imeshifting could change TV and radio as we know it鈥�

So how are the broadcasters fighting back? A strategy favoured by many is to protect their brand by continuously displaying their logo in the top corner of the screen, so you know what you鈥檙e watching even if it is recorded. And with advertisers already aware that viewers may not be watching their ads, TV companies are increasingly resorting to alternative methods of raising money, such as charging companies for including their products as props in regular programmes.

But some companies are recognising that if you can鈥檛 beat them, you鈥檇 better join them. They are actively encouraging viewers to choose what they want to watch, when they want to watch it. So-called 鈥渙n demand鈥� broadcasting is already available for many BBC radio programmes on the internet and for some CNN news bulletins.

Others, such as the internet company , offer movies on demand in your living room. And earlier this month, the internet giant Google announced that it would soon begin selling TV programmes, music videos and news clips for instant viewing over the internet. That not only shifts the time when you can watch TV: it shifts the place as well.