Some commentators such as Chris Tant from Datamonitor believe that traditional channels such as BBC One and Channel 4 are doomed. In the future we are likely to have hundreds of channels, and the programmes people enjoy will be spread across them rather than concentrated into the five most people have today. Instead of just sitting there waiting for something good to turn up, people will search out favourite performers or programmes created by production companies they know and have entertained them in the past. He thinks it unlikely that documentaries will become multimedia extravaganzas made up of short video clips around a central theme that people pilot their own way through, pausing the video while they scour the web for background information on the parts that they want to know more about. He also thinks that TV is too closely associated with relaxing to tempt people to a lot of interaction, all that searching, looking up and improving your knowledge is too much like work for the generations used to vegging out on the sofa in front of their favourite soap.
Tiny audiences Using a PC and watching the telly are very different experiences.
But what will undoubtedly change is the economics of programme production. But as channels proliferate it becomes possible to survive on audiences which are tiny by national TV standards. The series of programmes being developed by ETV Centre will be 10 minutes long and will be profitable if they can win an audience of over 100,000 viewers. But he acknowledges that the hard part is making programmes that are good enough to win any audience when there are hundreds of channels and thousands of choices. Aherne goes down under for comedy Links to more TV and Radio stories are at the foot of the page.