The Tribal Mind: What will you cut back this year?

Wednesday May 9, 2007 04:08 PM

Who We Are

To discuss whether spag bol, pad Thai or tiramisu should be our national dish, go to Who We Are.

by David Dale
This is a year in which you are going to have to choose which side you're on. There are two types of people in Australia, multiplied by five:

1 Those who like to get their news and insights from printed newspapers Versus Those who are content to scroll through media websites.

2 Those who like to watch movies on the cinema screen Versus Those who don't mind renting a DVD six months later.

3 People who are content with the mass market pap presented by the free to air TV networks (70 per cent of Australians) Versus People who are prepared to pay $60 a month for the greater diversity offered by subscription TV (30 per cent).

4 People who can live with the arrogant and inconsistent programming policies of network television Versus People who are prepared to break copyright laws by going online to download programs (11 million Australians can now hunt and steal their entertainments, because they have broadband internet connections).

5 People who simply enjoy a good story and don't mind if it's delivered via book, play, newspaper, magazine, TV set, cinema screen or computer terminal Versus People who must see the latest thing, even if it's almost indecipherable on the screen of a mobile phone, and even if it's pretty lame.

Which of those ten categories are going to grow this year, and which are going to shrink? If the economic downturn were the only factor in play here, then the shrinkers would be 1A, 2A, 3B, 4B and 5B.

In tough times, why pay $1.30 for a newspaper when you can get most of its content for free online? Why pay $16 to admit one person to a multiplex when four people can watch a DVD for $8? Why buy TV shows when most will be repeated anyway on the free stations? Why subsidise a teenager to waste time on technological bells and whistles when dad just lost his job?

To put it another way: it would be logical to predict declines in Pay TV signups, mobile phone contracts, newspaper circulations and cinema attendances in 2009.

But some of us may give priority to other factors. Photos simply don't look as good, and lengthy journalism is harder to read on a computer screen compared with, say, Good Weekend. A movie such as Slumdog Millionaire has far less power to exhilarate on a small screen. Pay TV now plays new masterpieces that have been ignored or mistreated by free to air - such as In Treatment, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Mad Men and True Blood.

Money may not be the only thing that matters in Australia's entertainment choices this year ... but we'll certainly go through changes.

How will you alter your entertainment pattern this year ... cancel Foxtel? Stay away from the multiplex? Simplify the mobile contract? Go to Comments to predict the cultural effects of the economic crisis

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

COMMENTS

I work with a number of individuals who fit categories 1a, 2a, 3b, 4b and 5b.
Some have very recently become 5a 'ers.
As far as I see it: we'll just have to ask ourselves whether we can justify obtaining our entertainment in ways we'd previously thought were viable.
That's certainly been the case for my colleagues.
The current advertising campaigns by Foxtel and other media providers is showing that there's already been an impact - even Fairfax is trying to sort out how to cope with something it was as much a party in creating...
As much as I didn't particularly like John Howard - his appraisal of the impact of harder economic times upon companies scrambling for income from diminishing sources - especially in media, as being "economic reality" is pretty spot-on.
Them what can't respond go down the gurgler... Evolution in action!

by Steve C on February 01, 2009 at 04:31 PM

I won't be cutting back on movies thats for sure - nothing can beat the cinema screen and I still don't get people who download them.
FTA is plenty for me - the only reason I'd get Foxtel is for the Halllmark Channel but I can get past aussie drama on DVD anyway. Nine, Seven, Ten, ABC and SBS are enough for me thank you very much.

by Alex on February 01, 2009 at 05:50 PM

I wish I had time to spend on entertainment opportunities. Latest movies, or any movie watched uninterrupted is a dream, let alone watching them on my mobile (hell - its a phone!)... due to my 2 little babies at home.
We are looking forward to the extra channels on FTA, a much more cost efficient way of getting additional nonsense at no extra cost.
I do miss my newspaper subscription, but I was only taking the plastic off to recycle the paper.
My day will come back.

by Andrea Austin on February 01, 2009 at 09:27 PM

I will be getting rid of my extra sports subscription on foxtel, as soon as the superbowl is over.
The herald has been going inexorably downmarket so I buy it less and less these days. It seems to be surrendering the only thing that made it different - quality journalism - to seek a broader market.

by Greg on February 02, 2009 at 05:48 AM

The reality television 'phenomenon' pretty much killed FTA tele for me, and I got rid of Foxtel ten years ago when it seemed I was paying to watch the same repeats 5 times a week. I'll probably only go to the movies 5 or 6 times a year, for the big blockbusters, only because of their price. The rest can wait. But yeah, I have my pick of the good British and American tv shows, uploaded only a few hours after they are first aired. At least then I can be a part of the global community to discuss them, and not have to wait months or even years for FTA to show them. The last time I actually read a newspaper, the stories were up to 4 days old. I doubt I'll be cluttering my house up with newspapers again. The free viewer for the ABC is good - I can watch 'My Family' when I want.

by Jane on February 02, 2009 at 06:32 AM

I'll probably be looking at upping my internet download limit again - with more and more good movies and TV shows out on iTunes I'm using that method to avoid both the pap of FTA TV and the rip off of cable. Movies ditto (plus the occasional BD rental/purchase).
I have enough books (and increasingly eBooks) in stock to keep me reading through a 2-3 year recession I reckon. As to newspapers - I gave them up years ago for the web, why limit yourself to Australia's often poor press when the whole world of "quality journalism" is free on the net?

by David S. on February 02, 2009 at 06:41 AM

I won't be cancelling Foxtel, that is for certain. FTA is just an excellent way to bore yourself stupid with the rubbish some oily TV executive has decided will make them the most advertising revenue; no thanks, Foxtel actually treats it's subscribers with intelligence. Of course, we can afford it; if we couldn't it would go, but only to be replaced by youtube and downloads. I'd rather have no TV at all than watch Australian FTA.
I miss newspapers though. There is no longer any point to buying them, but I miss the morning ritual of kicking back with the paper. It's a little harder to 'kick back' with your desktop PC.

by Kelsey on February 02, 2009 at 06:45 AM

This is my year of living carefully. It is also my intention to use what I have before I buy more of anything and as I went on a binge of buying books, DVDs and CDs last year my entertainment needs are sorted for at least 12 months. As to TV I have watched less and less each year and I suspect that is not going to change dramatically this year; in part because despite recording fewer shows I never seem to have time to watch the things I do record.

by Cat on February 02, 2009 at 09:26 AM

If you can get what you want from foxtel for sixty bucks you're lucky. Do Sydney residents still have a choice in PAY TV providers?
We have ONLY Foxtel. The packages are inflexible, the movies available on the "basic" movie channels are usually crap and you can't get a decent choice of programs for much less than a hundred dollars a month.

by mickm on February 02, 2009 at 11:20 AM

I got rid of Foxtel when they started charging me to watch ads.
However, given the absolutely appalling choices on FTA I would probably rethink Foxtel if they would offer packages that just depended on the channels you wanted. I don't want sport but I have to have it in the basic package. I do want History and classic movies, but need to get two extra packages. If I could just choose the channels I wanted and only pay for those I'd be back on Foxtel in a heartbeat.

by Moz on February 02, 2009 at 11:37 AM

Regional areas comprise more than one third of NSW population, but are doled out the legal minimum by communications & media. And as far as movies go, in spite of living in the SECOND largest city in the state, we can forget it. The chains don't give a stuff about us, and send only populist rubbish. The independents have pretty well all closed down. So yes, I wait for the DVD (IF I can remember the movie by that time). As for broadband - forget that too. No competition, therefore slow and expensive. Same for mobiles. And Foxtel ONLY. What a joke not. Heaven knows how the rest of the state fares if all contingents of the powers that be are prepared to treat a hugely significant population centre, on which much of the nation's economy and production depends, in such a disdainful and despicable way. Oh, what was that about "choice" again?

by Chris on February 02, 2009 at 01:08 PM

I rarely buy a printed copy of the paper. Not for cost cutting, not for environmental purposes. I drive 5 mins to work and have no commute, and no time at home to read in the evening, even on a Saturday/Sunday morn.
I ditched the Pay TV about 3 years ago as a cost cutting measure. I love my biffo but could not justify $60 a month for Austar. When we did cancel it, just before the cutoff Mr Skerrick and I stayed up till the wee hours for a week watching everything, and still reaslied that most content is just recycled.

by Bereft Skerrick on February 02, 2009 at 01:31 PM

I hire DVDs, books and audio books free from local libraries. Lucky I get around and I'm a member of several libraries so the choices are good. I don't hire many DVDs and go to the cinema infrequently. I wouldn't subscribe to foxtel even if I won big on lotto. A peice of trash if ever there was one. I read the news online rather than in hard copy, though it's not as good because the old media has not been smart in making dollars from the web. SMH/Fairfax has missed the boat big time by not shifting its advertising online at the first opportunity, and it must be costing the share price big time.

by realto on February 02, 2009 at 02:47 PM

I watch very little FTA - too many cheap shows (so-called reality TV), but at least they show up the quality stuff (Underbelly, for example). Also very tired of Foxtel - when you've seen the same block of land sold 5 times, or the same family moving to the country 4 times, you wonder what your money is buying. Sport coverage is sometimes OK, but who decided poker is a sport?

by Millsy on February 02, 2009 at 03:33 PM

"the greater diversity offered by subscription TV"
Thanks TM, best joke I've heard in years!

Tribal Mind replies: "Greater" doesn't necessarily mean "great". Everything is relative.

by Rob1966 on February 04, 2009 at 12:47 PM

I follow a lot of international news (political and cultural). SMH or other Australian papers is somewhat poor in that regard. Most of the coverage has been lifted anyways. Why get a 3rd or 4th hand account when one can go the source (eg. NyTimes or a trade publication)

by canoli on February 06, 2009 at 03:31 PM

The Sun-Herald

Who We Are

The Tribal Mind: What will you cut back this year?

COMMENTS

POST A COMMENT

Comments Terms & Conditions

RECENT ENTRIES

ARCHIVES