Three minutes to talk about popular science
IfThe price of the TV is going to rise, will you still buy it
Or let's put it another wayHow long has it been since you've watched TV?
I don't know when it started, the common household appliances that every household can't live without——Television sets have become less and less valued。With the rise of the smartphone industry, everyone likes to hold a more convenient mobile phone to get fresh and interesting news than a bulky desktop TV.
Especially in the homes of young people who are mainly post-90s and post-00sIn their eyes, the TV has changed from a must-have household appliance toIdle furnishingsIn addition to dealing with the general home design, the only role of the TV is now to act as a larger display for small electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and game consoles.
But if you set back the clock by decades, inAt the age of the struggles of the ancestors and fathers of this generation of young people, the significance of the TV is far more than just an entertainment applianceFor our country as a whole, television can also be said to be a microcosm of an era that was once in it
From the square-headed model to today's curved ultra-thin, high-tech screen design, from the best quality of black and white latte art to the clearer and clearer top picture quality,Television technology is constantly evolving, but people's enthusiasm for television seems to be gradually decreasing
So, how has the status of television in the hearts of the people experienced a rollercoaster of ups and downs?Behind the price increase of TVs, what kind of current situation is actually reflected?
In your memory, what did the first TV in your home look like?
For friends born in different eras, the answer to this question is, of course, different. But if you ask you what you remember the TV as a home appliance at the beginning, I believe everyone's answer will become the same.
On the National Day of 1984, New China ushered in the 35th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China。At that time, the spring breeze of reform and opening up was blowing to thousands of households, especially the provinces and cities on the southeast coast that were open to the outside world, and the economic level and the people's material living standards were significantly improved.
At this time, people unknowingly discovered thatFamilies who can watch the parade at home with a television set are already at the forefront of this road to prosperity
Moreover, the masses of the people like to see itSpring Festival GalaIt was also born in the eighties, and today, watching the Spring Festival Gala has even become a custom engraved in the genes of Chinese. There are all sorts of themSports events, film and television works, variety showsand so on, all of which have sprung up on the screen since the 80s, adding fashion vitality to China, which is getting younger and younger.
It can be said thatAt that time, whether it was an overview of international political events or leisure and entertainment news, whether it was to feel the passion of competition or literary rendering, as long as you turned on the TV, you could do it
From the nineties to the beginning of the new century in the 00s, televisions, which are mainly presented in the form of household appliances, quickly became popular all over the country, buy a TV for a promotion and salary increase, buy a TV for a housewarming, and buy a TV for marriage. AnywayAt that time, television symbolized the satisfaction of the common people in their quality of life, and was one of the concrete manifestations of the abstract term "happiness".
Later, with the advancement of TV technology, like the post-90s generation, they may have seen a big TV with a square head and a square brain when they were young, and the post-00s with better living conditions should have the impression of a TV from birth as a high-end LCD screen.
By around 2010, by the time of the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo, China had largely achieved its goal of making every household available to television
Do you remember what year you bought your first touchscreen mobile phone?After 2010, China's ** entertainment era gradually began to enterSmartphones and the internetfor the new phase of dominance.
Prior to this, there has always been a "clear division of labor" relationship between TVs and computers and mobile phones。If you want to watch a live show, especially a big event or a solo TV series, wait in front of the TV on time to get ready to startIf you want to play a game or check your past**, turn on your device and search for it on the Internet.
ButWith the advent of high-tech electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets, we can combine the two ways mentioned above into one and satisfy them at the same time
As the competitions, programs and channels on the TV screen were moved to the major Internet platforms, the TV set, which had been popular in the market for 30 years, began to be indifferent. What's more, even some TV platforms themselves feel that the Internet occupies a broader future market, and they have put their main service objects on the Internet
In this way,A TV set that has lost the favor of the copyright owner becomes an empty shell, the screen is not used every day when it is dark, and it is also placed in the most conspicuous place at home.
So,Under the impact of the Internet era, network TV has become a new development channel for the TV industry。China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom and other communication giants have entered the network set-top box project, making mobile TV integration, unified payment of network fees can be used at the same time.
Theoretically speaking, network TV is indeed the best solution for TV sets to cope with the impact of the Internet era. But that's often the case with a lot of things, and there are always all sorts of surprises between the expected idea and the actual operation.
As a live broadcaster, copyright owner or program official, whether it is broadcast on TV or online, people have to collect money, and this is the crux of the problem - copyright fees
During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, network TV was just emerging in Chinese mainland, and many network set-top box companies did not pay the broadcast rights of the World Cup to the relevant departments, resulting in many fans and friends having to find other ways to watch the game. There are many more similar problems, which have caused strong consumer dissatisfaction.
As a result, online TV began to buy broadcast copyrights in large quantities like mobile phone software platforms, and with copyrights, program content can be richer and attract customers and consumers.
ButFor a transaction, there is always a way to earn back the money spent。That's all,Unconsciously, there are more and more charging phenomena of network TV, and the charging items are becoming more and more "outrageous".
At the beginning, it was just a normal membership fee, whether it was a live broadcast of a game like the Football World Cup, a film or a television drama, or a variety show, in the face of some large productions with high copyright fees, the marketers of online TV really need to maintain the balance by charging membership fees.
But the question isThey only have to pay once to buy a copyright, while consumers need to pay a membership fee all the time to qualify for it
And these so-called "membership fees" are really not cheap, they are dozens or hundreds at every turn, and tickets to go to the cinema to watch a movie or go to the stadium to watch a game are not even as expensive as TV.
But even so, many consumers still acquiesced to this behavior of online TV marketers, and they don't remember it at allIn the past, as long as you spent money on a TV and signal set-top box, you didn't need to pay a penny more
However, even this part of the "obedient" consumers was quickly exhausted by impatience. Because the practice of network TV is becoming more and more excessive,It's okay to see the high quality of the members, but the types of these ** are getting more and more detailedFor example, if you become a member of the movie category, you can only watch movies, and if you want to watch TV series, you have to spend additional money to recharge.
Finally, under the complaints of the people,The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television officially launched a campaign in August 2023 to rectify the phenomenon of indiscriminate charging of online television。After a period of processing, many online TV platforms have indeed stopped a lot. At least compared to the blatant charges they once had, they no longer dare to continue to be so unscrupulous.
However, there are two sides to everything. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television can manage and rectify the phenomenon of unreasonable charges on online television**, but it is not forAs far as the TV industry itself is concerned, people do not belong to the network**, but real manufacturing household appliances。You can control the indiscriminate charges of these marketers, but you can't control the production and sales of TV sets.
And so, as stated at the beginning of the article,A new round of TV price increases has begun
Overall, of courseThe price increase of TV sets is actually a side testimony of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's success in rectifying the phenomenon of indiscriminate charges for online television, and it is also an important symbol of the return of TV consumption to purity
When we buy a TV, we buy it for quality and sincerity, not for bills that seem to be bells and whistles but don't really work. In other words,As long as the quality of your product itself is excellent, the price increase is also a matter of course
Today, the popularity of TV has been in China for decades, accompanied by generation after the reform and opening up, even if its future function may only be as a large display of Internet mobile phones, its role in a short period of time will certainly not be replaced.