Aside from the AFL grand final and Brownlow Medal coverage, which were specific non-streaming events, my interest in sitting down at a certain time in front of the TV each day had been limited to the start time of Bluey on ABC Kids every morning.
But slowly, and surely, the free-to-air siren call has roped me back in.
Sunday night’s episode of Australian Survivor was far and away the best episode of reality television I have ever watched — not just the best piece of content the franchise has produced over its journey.
I won’t spoil it for you — I implore you to go and watch it for yourself — but what the production crew was able to do with the gold it had would make any smelter jealous.
They pumped it up all week — as you usually would with your prime-time Sunday offering — but the camera work and score made it feel like you were watching a feature-length film.
And the best part was that they didn’t give away the dramatic climax throughout the show — allowing it to legitimately blow you away.
I realised the only thing that could have been better for my viewing experience, though, was if I had watched it live on TV.
My wife, Grace, and I have been in the habit of catching up on Survivor after the kids are tucked away in bed, but it reduces the wider user experience of the show.
Twitter is a big part of my social media routine — and when I eventually was past the spoiler barrier, boy was the discourse entertaining.
Being able to watch a show at the same time as everyone else, and discuss it live and on the fly as your reactions mirror theirs, is drawing me back into the free-to-air web.
Now bedtime is a rush to ensure the house is quiet and calm by 7:29pm every night — although I’ll admit that most evenings that remains a pipe dream.
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