By replacing linear, scheduled programming with vast libraries of on-demand content, has the internet toppled the business models and power structures of traditional television for good - or just created a new set of gatekeepers in different packaging?
Welcome to Ruined By The Internet? - the show where we examine how technology is shaping modern life - whether we want it to or not.
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We're joined by Amanda Lotz - award-winning author, professor, and research leader at Queensland University of Technology's Digital Media Research Centre - whose work on the post-network era makes her one of the world's leading authorities on what the internet did to television, and where it's heading next.
In this episode we investigate how on-demand viewing dismantled the traditional broadcast model, examine Netflix's role in reshaping audience expectations and industry metrics, explore what the fragmentation of television means for local content and public broadcasting, and ask whether we're living through a golden age of television - or just an age of overwhelming choice.
(00:00) The evolution of television and how media studies has tried to keep up
(03:02) The internet's impact on traditional broadcast television
(05:34) The post-network era explained: what it means and why it matters
(08:12) How audience behaviour and viewing habits have fundamentally changed
(10:34) The role of technology in reshaping the viewing experience itself
(13:21) Why on-demand viewing was always inevitable, and what that tells us
(15:45) Netflix's influence on the streaming landscape and viewer expectations
(18:14) The Australian broadcasting landscape in a global streaming world
(20:41) How success is measured in a fragmented, algorithm-driven market
(25:02) Understanding Netflix's viewing patterns and what they reveal
(27:17) Traditional broadcasters versus streaming disruption: who survives?
(30:59) Are we really living through a new golden age of television?
(33:22) Local content quotas in Australia: protection or futile resistance?
(37:05) The future of traditional broadcasting: slow decline or reinvention?
(42:50) The evolution of video consumption and where it ends up
Key takeaways:
• Technology Affordances Shifted TV Models: The transition from broadcasting (a one-to-many, non-excludable signal) to internet distribution broke the historical constraints of spectrum scarcity. This shifted the industry from a rigid, linear programming schedule to an on-demand library model.
• Delayed Disruption in Australia: Unlike the US, which experienced a massive multi-channel shift via cable in the 1980s, Australia had very low cable adoption. Local networks didn't face severe financial destabilisation until 2009, when digital free-to-air multi-channels diluted advertising revenue across higher programming costs.
• Illusion of Streaming "Hits": Being number one on a streaming platform today is numerically incomparable to a top-rated broadcast hit from the pre-digital era. Streaming data is heavily aggregated globally and cumulatively over time, and a daily "Top 10" list only accounts for roughly 2% to 3% of a platform's total viewing.
• Rise of Personal Media Streams: Instead of pushing audiences toward completely atomised, AI-generated custom content, the internet has shifted behaviour toward short-form social video feeds. These personalised streams maximize efficiency during limited modern leisure windows, acting as a supplement to traditional movies and series.
If this episode got you thinking, check out:
Rental Markets: A Frantic Fight for Shelter As A Service?
https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/ZDU3ZjAzYjktMmZiZi00NmM3LTg4M2ItYTE4OGI1ZWQ2YTFl
The Taxi Industry: A Data-driven Destruction of Dignified Work?
https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/ZjFmM2RlN2EtZTNjMC00MTVmLTg3YzgtNTk5Y2NjMWNkNzMy
Retail: Convenience That Costs Everything?
https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/ZGU0YTkzMjAtNGExNi00ZjlkLWFkYTMtOTRmMWFkYjBiMjM3
Guest links - Amanda Lotz
Website: https://amandalotz.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/stores/Amanda-D.-Lotz/author/B001JSDEIW
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adlotz/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/drtvlotz.bsky.social
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