Warning: TV on life-support (again)

Another day, another End-is-Nigh study on the status of Television:

“The American Life Survey, conducted in early May, found that 38 percent of U.S. adults say they enjoy primetime less this year than in previous years. Thirty-six percent reported no change, while 26 percent said they were enjoying it more. Perhaps more telling, 48 percent said that watching primetime this year was less important compared with past years, compared with 32 percent who reported no change and 19 percent who said it was more important.”

The culprit? You guessed it: DVRs and programming available on the Internets. Knowing you can watch something anytime you want kinda drains it of all its joy.

Rich Luker, who worked on the study, says, “There is no time-fueled excitement associated with watching video. Watching primetime TV used to be a complete experience. Now it's no different than a book on my shelf, a board game in the closet, and the local park. All are options of wonderful fun things to do with no sense of urgency to get at doing them.”

My dog might take issue with the notion that there’s no sense of urgency in getting to the local park, and Luker has clearly failed to take into account Boggle sitting in that theoretical closet. Nonetheless, the argument makes sense, and begs the question:

What should the networks be focusing on creating – shows you’ll be compelled to TiVo (“The Sopranos,” “House,” etc.; that is, shows you seek out to view with consumer loyalty) or more impulse buys, disposable products that you wouldn’t set aside for a rainy day but will watch if you want to watch something mind-numbing at any particular moment (“Deal or No Deal,” “So You Think You Can Dance”)?

Thoughts?