Time-shifting

Tivo, DVR, hulu.com, these are the agents of quantum cultural change. Since the 1950s, “prime-time” has meant the hours between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. (or 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. depending on your US Time Zone) when television networks offer their best programming and sell time to their best advertising customers.

Enter Tivo and viewers can shift prime-time to any time and even skip over those pesky commercials. Along comes the now-ubiquitous DVR and every cable or satellite customer can record their favorite programs easily and watch them at a later time.

The introduction of web site hulu.com recently has moved replays of current running television programs to the internet, with fewer and shorter commercial interruptions.

When we moved back to California from Florida recently we switched from cable to satellite and didn’t opt for the DVR feature. Oh, the agony of having two favorite programs on the air at the same time. However, last week I decided enough was enough and negotiated a good deal for installation of DVR. As I write this the excellent installer is preparing to make it possible for us to time-shift to our hearts content.

I know all of this talk about television is proof positive that I am not very “spiritual.” And I will have to confess that I am addicted to TV shows about attorneys, reality shows like Survivor and Big Brother, and I love American Idol. That being said, what is the implication of time-shifting for churches?

For years prime time in Churchianity has been Sunday morning. Saturday nights and Sunday evenings have gained in popularity over the years and with video venues and internet services time-shifting of “service offerings” is likely to come into play more and more in the coming years. Come and See churches will find it more and more difficult to recruit audiences for their weekly offerings. I would submit that this last assertion has been responsible for declines in attendance.

I remain pretty convinced that Christians, particularly seasoned veterans, are less and less interested in religious programming. When you can buy your worship songs on iTunes and through Time-Life, and get sermons from the best preachers in America on YouTube or other internet offerings, why leave the comfort of your home on Sunday morning?

I don’t have an easy conclusion for these observations, “Three easy ways that local churches can meet the challenge of the Tivo!” Let’s sit back, press the record button, and see what happens.