solitary binge
big shows will still create pop-culture references, but the experience will never be the same again
by Joseph Wiltshire
20 August 2024
it’s been over two years…
…since the BBC announced that in 2025, the TV channel CBBC will be discontinued. Their programmes will be moved to a digital platform that’s more in keeping with modern competitors. Another landmark of traditional media falls to the internet, putting more responsibility on sport to pick up the slack.
I was raised on Tracy Beaker, and find this decision hard. Yes, CBBC’s programmes can be uploaded and enjoyed online, but it’s the trade-off that hurts most. To me, the audience was a crucial part of my enjoyment. I wasn’t just watching TV in the living room – I was sharing my 4pm cereal with millions of others. We all watched at the same time, sharing an experience through communal attention. Today’s children will not experience this. Big shows will still create pop-culture references, but the experience will never be the same again. To watch together was a benefit they’ll sorely miss.
Sport, however, lives on, creating a new monopoly over tv’s live audiences. It is now the only domain in which the general population reacts in real time to a piece of media.
Photos by Nina Hill, Frank Okay, Gaspar Uhas, Stas Ostrikov
It may seem odd, but I always find myself in the comment section of YouTube videos. I like to see how others have reacted, and what they have to say. It is this same desire that has allowed streamers and react channels to explode with popularity. They provide validation for a digital community, an escape from loneliness, and a dose of social banter. As humans, we will always seek this communal element, making sport’s role ever important.
Sport is live. The community is baked in. I watched the 2022 World Cup Final in my living room with my dad. We were 2 of 1,500,000,000. No other industry and no other medium will ever compete with that. A benefit to sport that will live on, no matter the technological advancement.
In our world of instant access, binge streaming, and independent consumption – sport stands alone as a bastion of communal engagement. It’s a big responsibility, I wonder how they’ll choose to direct it?
