After a long day of making countless decisions at work, then going home to make decisions for a child, by the time I finally settle down in front of the TV, the last thing I need is to make yet more decisions.

I don’t want to open up a streaming service only to spend the next 40 minutes endlessly clicking through TV series and movies, just to finally land on something that I have only half an hour to watch before bed. It’s too much choice. Too many decisions have to be made.

So here’s my proposal: a channel on each streaming service that is curated and pre-programmed to show movies and shows, good ones too, at set times. You click on it and start in the middle of whatever is on right then. It’s not algorithmic, or customised to your specific taste. Everyone gets the same channel.

Now. I know what you’re about to say. “Isn’t this just TV?” And you’re right, but hear me out. Let me explain the concept.

How is this not just TV? It already exists.
But does it, though? The TV of my childhood, many people’s childhoods, has disappeared into a fragmented collection of paywalled online streaming services with more options than anyone can keep track of. There is a reason sites such as CompareTV or Finder exist – if you think of something to watch, it still takes ages to figure out if it’s even available across Netflix, Amazon, iView, Disney+, Stan, Binge, Paramount+, 10Play, Foxtel Now, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube Premium, 7Plus, SBS On Demand, BritBox, Apple TV+, Kayo...

Loading

We get it. There are a lot of options. But why do you want to go back to TV?
Part of what I’m missing is the communal nature of the entire country watching the same thing at once. Reacting on social media, talking about it the next day at school or work. The closest we get these days is live sport, high-profile reality TV shows on traditional broadcast channels, and the first two weeks after a big new show comes out on a streaming service. “Have you seen the latest Stranger Things?” No, I haven’t, so there’s the end of that conversation.

OK, but there are TV channels that show movies right now. Can’t you just switch them on?
Yes, there are. Nine, owner of this masthead, shows films on its 9Go! channel. Seven has 7Flix, which broadcasts home shopping and sitcoms during the day and a couple of movies at night. But I’m already paying for streaming services. They’ve got great movies, including classics I’d watch and rewatch. I’m already looking at the streamers on my TV – just put the channel there instead. Also, my TV aerial doesn’t work for some reason.