Over the past decade, the number of people cancelling cable or satellite TV and replacing it with streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime has steadily increased (despite growing complaints that these services exploit customers). However, new data shows that the trend toward cable TV is not limited to cable and satellite, but is seen across broadcast television. A survey in the UK found that less than half of young people watch actual TV shows, with most using TV only to watch YouTube, TikTok or other streaming services.
These numbers reflect similar trends in the U.S., where ratings for traditional television have been steadily declining for years. “Traditional television has largely disappeared from the scene,” says Jeff McCall, a professor of media studies at DePauw University. “Basically, traditional television is now only good for sports or other types of live programming like reality shows or game shows.”
The data also shows that the decline in TV usage is not limited to younger viewers, although they are leading the way. Older people aren’t watching news and network programming the way they used to. “It will be interesting to see how these established networks try to adapt, because their options are limited,” McCall says. “And getting the attention of the average American — especially young adults, but also middle-aged adults — is going to be very difficult.”
Nowhere is the decline of traditional television more evident than in the network newscasts. Once the centerpiece of evening television, where Walter Cronkite was considered the most trusted man in America, Cronkite’s CBS Evening News is now facing its sixth anchor change since Dan Rather left 19 years ago. McCall says it’s another example of networks failing to adapt to the new reality. “If you watch the evening news today, it’s basically just repeating what people have already talked about during the day, and you don’t need Walter Cronkite to tell you the news because you probably already know it,” he tells KTRH. “That makes it very hard for those newscasts to maintain any kind of relevance.”
