24 Olympic Channels? Channels are Dead

24 Olympic channels. Do we want them? Do we need them? I'm not talking about the sport being displayed, I'm talking about the channels themselves. Numbers attached to transmissions. That's not very 2012.

I will be watching the Olympics on a mix of television, mobile, desktop, laptop and in actual real full life actual size.. You know what I'm going to be doing in the Olympic stadium, awaiting Bolt to step out onto the track? (Besides checking to see whether Van Persie has made up his sodding mind) I'll be checking my phone for news on the other events. Because even when watching live, you feel that you are missing out on 'content'. But I think it's actually the commentary that we miss. Fans have been listening to personal radios at football games for years, checking on whats going on, confirmation and justification of their own thoughts and opinions on the game.

Now we have Gary Neville to do the judging for us.

Back in the 90's we were besotted with numbers of channels. Sky still has hundreds of the frickin things. Cable TV was one big mess of channel flicking. Start at BBC 1, get to Nickelodeon - If you hit AlJazeera you've gone to far and you end up watching 'Deals on Wheels'on Discovery, and no-one wants that.

Can I get your number?

Years later and what else to we assign numbers to? Phone numbers? Sure, but how often to you recite your number to someone?

Truth is, the world of tech is all words now. I.P numbers are transferred into names because they are easier to remember.

So, TV will eventually change landscape. We will lose channel numbers in favour of categories of programme; factual, drama, sport... Shit, that's BBCiPlayer.

Image: Geoffrey Chandler