I remember the moment I realised TV had changed forever. It was when I saw this:
Toadie in a wheelchair. TOADIE IN A WHEELCHAIR.
In fact, Toadie had been in a wheelchair for about a season-and-a-half. (He’d also had his drink spiked, left his bride at the altar, been hit by a car, and had a tragic accident on a bouncy castle). And I hadn’t even noticed. Because I just hadn’t really payed any attention to normal network TV all year.
Because in 2015, the way we watched TV changed forever.
No time to read? Listen to this bonus episode of Mamamia Out Loud here and let us tell you why it was the year of TV:
The catalyst was the launch of many shiny new streaming services. Netflix burst on the scene, alongside Stan, Presto, FoxtelGO, FetchTV and even Quickflix. Alongside iview, and then our free-to-air network’s own streaming services, (TenPlay, Plus7, 9JumpIn, SBSOnDemand), 2015 became the year we threw the TV guide into the yellow bin.
On demand. Any time. Ad-free. Across multiple devices. No need to have to illegally download shows or spend big dollars on DVD box sets. And the best part?
THE QUALITY.
All these new streaming services means the competition for your eyeballs was fierce.
Whereas previously network TV was dominated by a few gatekeepers; white, middle aged men who cast shows designed for mass appeal (and cast women according to their last fuckable day), streaming services entering the TV market opened up the floodgates for diversity in programming.