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Old 02-07-2018, 12:34 PM   #4
Clodfobble
UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 20,012
Yeah, but Facebook's already on the downswing. It'll be like when Wal-Mart comes to a small town, forces all the mom-and-pops out of business, then closes its doors a few years later leaving the town economy in ruins: the need (you could say "desire," in the case of comedy, but I actually think need) remains, and people will find a way to fill it. Sure, rebuilding from the ashes sucks, but it always happens.

My personal prediction: people are finally going to start accepting that they must pay individually for content. The supported-by-advertising model is going to go away because 1.) we've all had the chance, through one venue or another, to realize how awesome life is without ads, 2.) ad blockers are only going to get better, and 3.) even the people who do see them never fucking click or pay attention to them anyway. The effectiveness of advertising campaigns has been going steadily downward, and nowadays they're almost as likely to do PR damage than generate sales.

10, even 5 years ago, I would have laughed at the idea of paying to access shows on Comedy Central's website. Now? I would do it in a heartbeat. (Still can't, mind you, because the cable companies force exclusivity deals, but that content model is on the way out, too.) Our new "big three" networks will be Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, and it will be a long time before any of those three can risk a "reduce your monthly bill in exchange for voluntarily watching ads" promotion.
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