Well, it looks like I survived the shellacking from last week. I was overwhelmed by the feedback, and I want to clarify that I believe Humans vs. Zombies is a valuable student organization here at UF, just like any other. I in no way intended to compare them to Dove World or any of the real plagues that are affecting UF.
Regardless of football players’ trouble with the law or the recent sexual abuse scandals plaguing campus — it’s a game, no more, no less. I was also trying to mention the dangerous effects of extremism — be it from dedicated H vs. Z players or from rabid Florida football fans. I apologize for those I offended, and I promise that was not my intent.
And now for something completely different.
Netflix, of which I’m a proud paying customer, made a landmark decision this week. Starting with its new season, Saturday Night Live will make episodes streamable via Netflix immediately after airing. That in itself is not incredibly innovative.
Network websites and Hulu.com have been doing this at a slight delay for the past year. What is innovative is that the entire library of Saturday Night Live is now available on Netflix’s instant streaming service.
The first group of people satisfied by this are those who have longed for the SNL glory days — be it “Da Bears” or “The Ladies’ Man” or if you just thought Phil Hartman and Chris Farley were funnier than Will Forte and Kenan Thompson. No longer are the episodes sliced into ‘”Best-Of” DVDs and occasional NBC specials. They’ll now be available at the click of a button.
The more significant group of people are the people affected in the long term. Netflix is cashing in on what Hulu.com has been doing for the past year or two, but it hopes to do it on a much larger scale. It’s moving away from its original business model after succeeding in its first goal of replacing Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and other traditional video stores as the primary source for DVD rentals. Now it’s looking for its next target: replacing Hulu.com and online streaming websites as the primary source for time-shifted programming.
It’s time to declare what the bell has been tolling recently. Live TV has breathed its last breath and died.
DVRs, Hulu.com, and YouTube are permeating culture, and the need to get together and watch live television has been reduced to sporting events and important national events like the State of the Union or a Presidential Inauguration.
As it stands, time shifting isn’t perfect. You need expensive equipment like a DVR, and you still have to deal with the burden of fast forwarding during those annoying commercials. The only way to stay somewhat up to date without encountering those issues is renting the previous seasons on DVD like you can on websites like Netflix.
But even doing that puts the viewer behind a season, even though he or she is able to watch at their leisure for a menial fee.
Moves like this from Netflix are much more convenient and allow people to escape the previous constraints of streaming and time shifting.
Sean Quinn is a first-year political science student. His column appears every Wednesday.
