Broadcast Television: The Digital Dismantling of an Entire Industry?
Broadcast Television: The Digital Dismantling of an Entire Industry?  
Podcast: Ruined By The Internet? | Uncovering the human cost of our digital world
Published On: Mon Sep 08 2025
Description: By replacing linear, scheduled programming with vast libraries of on-demand content, has the internet toppled the business models and power structures of traditional television for good - or just created a new set of gatekeepers in different packaging?We're joined by Amanda Lotz - award-winning author, professor, and research leader at Queensland University of Technology's Digital Media Research Centre - whose work on the post-network era makes her one of the world's leading authorities on what the internet did to television, and where it's heading next.Welcome to Ruined By The Internet? - the show where we examine how technology is shaping modern life - whether we want it to or not.Follow or subscribe to never miss the next investigation - new episodes regularly.Visit us: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/Help us investigate ourselves: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/survey/Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/rbtishowIn this episode we investigate how on-demand viewing dismantled the traditional broadcast model, examine Netflix's role in reshaping audience expectations and industry metrics, explore what the fragmentation of television means for local content and public broadcasting, and ask whether we're living through a golden age of television - or just an age of overwhelming choice.00:00 - The evolution of television and how media studies has tried to keep up03:02 - The internet's impact on traditional broadcast television05:34 - The post-network era explained: what it means and why it matters08:12 - How audience behaviour and viewing habits have fundamentally changed10:34 - The role of technology in reshaping the viewing experience itself13:21 - Why on-demand viewing was always inevitable, and what that tells us15:45 - Netflix's influence on the streaming landscape and viewer expectations18:14 - The Australian broadcasting landscape in a global streaming world20:41 - How success is measured in a fragmented, algorithm-driven market25:02 - Understanding Netflix's viewing patterns and what they reveal27:17 - Traditional broadcasters versus streaming disruption: who survives?30:59 - Are we really living through a new golden age of television?33:22 - Local content quotas in Australia: protection or futile resistance?37:05 - The future of traditional broadcasting: slow decline or reinvention?42:50 - The evolution of video consumption and where it ends upGuest links - Amanda LotzWebsite: https://amandalotz.comAmazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/stores/Amanda-D.-Lotz/author/B001JSDEIWLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adlotz/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/drtvlotz.bsky.social