In the US, “the season’s nearly 40 new shows have again failed to yield a consensus “hit,” and according to the Nielsen Media Research firm that measures TV viewing, young men in particular seem to be abandoning the tube in stunning proportions. In the gloomiest interpretations of these omens, they signal the beginning of the end of free, over-the-air television, because shrinking audiences at some point will have to mean declining revenue from the ads that have given viewers a free or relatively cheap ride. Put more simply, that would be: Goodbye broadcasting, hello pay-per-view!”