604-629

I saw a picture of what a Skybox used to look like and I’m woman enough today that I shed a tear. My TV channels were my safe space, and my channel circles were tried and tested.

Channel circle: the scope of TV channels one consistently returns to.

My circle mainly went from Nickelodeon to PopGirl, aka, 604-629. Someone told me that I sounded like I had Disney Channel when I was growing up, I let out a broadcasting smile and thank you, because to be honest, these channels helped to shape my personality. But now, it seems like channels and networks are becoming a lost art. People are using their Firesticks and Smart TVs instead of the old Skybox, leaving networks neglected and my remit of 604-629, for lack of a better word, massacred. We’ve lost the joy of a worn remote control held together by sticky tape with buttons that had the words smudged out. We didn’t need the numbers; we knew our way around. Now we are navigating the internet, with endless movies and TV shows that can leave me with decision fatigue. Channels weren’t just how we watched TV, they shaped how we watched together. What we’ve lost with streaming isn’t convenience or quality, but the shared cultural rhythm that channels once enforced. This blog entry is an ode to the channels. They were limited sure, but they were ours!

Couch Potato

The whole concept of TV and shared schedules took shape in the 1920s and 30s, with BBC launching the world’s first television service. Radio shows expanded into TV, so a lot of networks already had their own radio brand. The flagship networks were active in the Western world, with BBC, ITV, NBC, ABC etc and they were a massive hit. Then in the 70s, we got the remote control. No longer did people have to get up to change channels, and this was the start of TV culture – the passive viewing, the development of your channel circle, the couch potato. The number of channels grew, and with the 24 hour medium developing in the 80s, we had news, entertainment, sports and music videos at our fingertips. This was also the start of specialty networks, with certain channels being designated for one thing. You’re not watching MTV for sports and so on, for instance. The TV scope went to having channels for different languages, ages and even went as far as separating people by skin colour, like BET. I never saw it as exclusionary, but provided a space for people of those sections to feel represented. And it gave a pathway to many creators who wouldn’t have had a voice on other channels, with content that truly felt tailor made. 

My circle, 604-626 was for kids entertainment, where I lived for about a decade. It fostered community knowing that a show was coming out, premiering on the same day and the whole of the country was watching it together. Yes, I dabbled in other areas but I enjoyed letting my channels choose for me. Of course, by the 2000s, there was a full-on channel boom. The digital switchover and rise of services like Freeview and Sky Digital meant hundreds of new channels were suddenly available; this made TV shows slightly less shared, but the main channels were there, with specific sections for people to still rally around. Catered channels weren’t restrictive, they were orienting, and I didn’t feel like the channel was always calling me back to watch things, I felt in control.

609 > £5.99 (at least)

With the rise of streaming services, there’s a hodgepodge of shows, giving us a lot of choice but it also deprives us from really choosing. Many didn’t mind the predictability of shows that channels gave, but now with the internet, everything is available and people don’t know where to start, and without those boundaries, the lines between age, audience, and intent blur far more easily. When we have access to everything, nothing feels urgent or poignant and we kind of lose the essence of shows.

We dispose of shows when we lose interest, but back in my channel days, I watched every episode of 90210, and I don’t know if I would have hung on like that, today.I didn’t abandon shows at the first lull in interest in search of constant TV highs. I trusted my channels and whatever came with them. When I didn’t like something, it gave me permission to step away from the screen, something streaming services rarely allow, as their interest lies in keeping our eyes glued. With streaming services, nothing there is presented as precious, really. Unlike channels, I wouldn’t call streaming services a trusted source, more like the big ocean to navigate.

So many channels have been discontinued in favour of streaming services. My remit 604-629 is practically all gone, with PopGirl, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon being unavailable or moving online, creating multiple content paywalls that previously weren’t there. Families are paying for multiple subscriptions that can be revoked the moment a payment lapses. Content that was once 3 numbers and a select button away for most is now tiered to how many people can log in at one time, which creates a different restriction than before, and I’d rather be restricted to a ‘communal box’ instead of an exclusive paywall. But, I can’t say that I don’t participate. I have my subscriptions, I’m endlessly scrolling, I am a victim! Streaming replaced access with choice, and in doing so, dissolved many shared cultural experiences and has changed the dynamics of what we see, and when.

We didn’t have as much content, but the content that was there, was watched as a country! Whatever channel circle you were in, it wasn’t one that you were in alone, and those barriers were broken for group entertainment. I mourn Saturday night TV and channel hopping. Even though convenience has improved, it has come at a cost of communal viewing. I don’t think TV will ever be like it was, and even though I wouldn’t call streaming services the big evil, they have taken our remotes away, ultimately leaving the power in their hands.