• by Fern Siegel , July 1, 2016

The popularity of streaming is undeniable.

A recent online Miner & Co. study among TV viewers found nearly three out of four says: “My TV input is usually set to stream vs. cable/satellite/telco. Some 68% of viewers are streaming more often than last year and 68% say they "couldn't live without streaming services.”

Count me in.

When I was a kid, bedtime meant the TV day was over. And at midnight, it was over over — for everyone. Now, TV is 24/7, and it can be viewed on a variety of devices. Must-see TV often happens outside traditional broadcast or cable.

Raise your hand if you’re a Netflix or Amazon Prime devotee.

Truthfully, how many of us check our streaming options, including Hulu, HBO Go, Acorn TV, PBS Kids, etc. before checking what’s on TV? If we even channel-surf at all. 

That’s a remarkable cultural shift. It’s not unlike four people in a family watching four different programs at the same time in the same house. So much for the touted family-viewing hour. Or even families viewing together.

Now, I’m sure psychologists and social scientists theorize as to what this means long-term for shared experience. There is much to be said for experiencing comedy or drama communally. What else is that monstrous 65-inch flat-screen for?

Plus, television has gotten better.

For instance, “The Andy Griffith Show,” on nostalgia-central TV Land, defines simplicity: Barney goes on a date. Opie gets a new friend. Yes, it’s tension-free; it’s also, however comforting, remedial TV.

Conversely, even “Seinfeld” in reruns — the gold standard of prime-time comedy – remains must-see TV. It’s layered; plot lines dovetail brilliantly. (I also recommend HBO’s “Veep,” spot-on political satire/commentary, which seems ripped from the headlines, as well as Amazon's "Mozart in the Jungle," which makes classical music sexy.)

Moreover, today’s series are deeper, richer and sharper, such as “Downtown Abbey” or “Breaking Bad” or “Sopranos.” (In fairness, ABC’s airing of “Roots” in 1977 and NBC’s “Holocaust” in 1978 were watershed moments for prime-time TV, too.)

Streaming, a 21^st-century phenomenon, has given viewers better TV, and, per Miner, they are happy to pay for it. Viewers place a premium on anywhere, anytime, any device. But will that special collective, even generational experience remain? I hope so.

Because wherever you have it, there’s nothing like that next-day water-cooler TV talk.