If the current TV season is cancelled, as is likely, will anybody notice?
As the writers strike and the networks wring their hands over ratings that were anemic even before the strike, I wonder if TV is relevant any more.
Of course, we still watch plenty of TV, maybe while we're surfing the internet, downloading movies, or shooting something to bits on a Playstation.
But how do you get your news? If you're reading this, chances are good that you don't get your daily dose of grim from the NBC Nightly News. How do you watch movies? Probably not the Million Dollar Movie. Do you watch music videos on MTV? Of course not, they don't even play them.
You're not watching TV anymore.
You're ingesting content.
TV is watched, content is downloaded. TV is about prime-time and ratings, content is about portability and choice. If the writers strike, there are infinite alternatives to the TV season a few keystrokes away. Eventually the marriage between broadband and digital TV will be complete, and the TV season as we knew it will be gone forever.