On the Fringe: Dates and Times are Irrelevant to Television Nowadays

Fox has reacted to speculation that its shifting of Fringe to Friday nights starting in January is a sign that the show’s death is near. Fox is suggesting that, on the contrary, this represents a freaky Fringe-style attempt at reanimation of Friday nights. Here’s the commercial (HT SF Signal):

The truth is that a great many people record shows and watch them later, or watch them online, or download them via torrents, borrow them later on DVD from the library, or in some other way watch the show at a time other than that at which it actually airs on broadcast TV.

In the internet age, the time a show “airs” is bound to become an irrelevancy. The big question for the networks is not so much how to adapt to this new situation, but whether they can figure out which shows are popular when they do not have any accurate means of knowing how many people actually watch them. But that’s pretty much the situation today, and so we can hope that new ways of watching may bring with them new ways of knowing how many are watching, and responding appropriately (e.g. by keeping our favorite science fiction shows running, and giving them satisfying endings when it comes time for them to end).

What do others think? Is the whole notion of “primetime” antiquated? What should we expect in terms of changes to the way TV-type content is delivered as technology develops and our habits change along with it?