And now, the end is near
2013 was a
great year for television – or was it?
House of Cards made quite a splash in February, Orange is the New Black got us all by surprise, Top of the Lake mesmerized us. Mad Men had us- but not quite as much as it did before. Girls broke our heart. And then there were other, less refined pearls, like Ray Donovan. The beautifully build-up finale of Breaking Bad was without a doubt the highlight of the year, while Homeland both jolted and disapointed us, all in one (fast) heartbeat.
But the true story of tv this year, is not about tv. It's about different ways of viewing, about the growing diversity of players in a fast-changing game, with Netflix and Amazon showing us what the future will look like. But most of all, the story of 2013 is about the shift from tv to video.
But cord cutting also affects a seemingly untouchable institution like the BBC.
More than 428,000 British households had claimed exemption from the licence fee in 2012, Intelligent Magazine reports in their fall issue, as they no longer used television sets to watch live broadcasts. That's only 2% of the viewers, but it still means a loss of more than 62 million BP in revenue (and it’s slowly rising: up almost 2,500 from the previous year).
Meanwhile, Facebook and Google have built up an audience that is about to overtake all of TV in terms of reach.Think about that.
Those making money in tv advertising industry, this year will have trouble with the traditional New Year's Eve toast 'happy new year'.
