I wonder at what point will it become unprofitable to operate a TV station. In my location at least half of the OTA channels are religious broadcasting stations. Will non-profits take them over completely at some point?
There are so many choices and it's so fractured that there are no "big winners" anymore. But that's also a good thing, because the big winners weren't winners because they were good, they were winners because a network executive decided they would be winners.
Shows are still part of popular culture, it's just streaming instead of timed TV.
I don't know how the situation is in other countries, but down here in Brazil, 2/3 of OTA channels have become religious channels in the last 10-15 years.
And those channels are DEFINITELY FOR PROFIT. It's a disgusting scam, ripping off the elderly, the poor and the overall dumbest segments of the population. I have nothing against religion, I'm not religious myself but I can see how it can be beneficial for a lot of people. Having said that, the religious channels as they exist in Brazil should just disappear, and the world would be a better place. TV must die, it serves no useful purpose anymore.
Really the blackout exclusions that leagues have that allow them get higher cable revenue deals are the problem. But if that dynamic shifts and the deals are exclusive, I would expect the league-direct streaming services to become competitive.
No the broadcast frequency is too valuable. Right now TV stations are just holding on to their spectrum until they get a chance to sell it to cell phone companies and cash out.
Can a given market really support multiple PBS-like stations?