The Media Revolution

Let's have a show of hands: who watches anything live on TV nowadays? By live I don't mean a live concert or something like that, but simply watching a programme when it's actually being broadcast.

Here's my answer: never. If the programme I want is on a channel with adverts I always record it on Sky Plus and, even if I'm home, I'll start it 10 or 15 minutes late so I can scroll through the ads. And there's no guarantee that even if I'm taping it that I'll want to watch it then - programmes now fit my mood rather than me watching whatever's on just for the sake of it.

Recently, however, things have got even more exciting. Previously, if I wanted to watch something, I needed to know beforehand and remember to set the box to record it. The launch of BBC iPlayer changed all that, and I occasionally used it to catch up with stuff I'd missed. The problem, however, was that iPlayer only worked through my laptop or, since my birthday, my iPod, and neither of those devices are very good for watching a programme with someone else. Curling up together with the laptop just doesn't cut it for me.

The newest development has changed all that - good old Auntie Beeb has joined forces with Sony, and we now have iPlayer available through the PS3. Fantastic! Today I'd read Rob Brydon's tweets about his panel show Would I Lie To You, which I'd forgotten to record, so instead we watched it on the TV through iPlayer. OK, it froze a couple of times, but mostly it was perfect - and even with glitches it's better than huddling round the laptop. Let's hope the BBC's great work in this area will spur on the other broadcasters, because at the moment they're trailing way behind.