On-Demand Judaism

 Something new to worry about: It began with the conversation with one of my oldest friends, who is a trustee of the Metropolitan Opera. She noted that ticket sales were down due to the fact that people do not like to commit to subscriptions, which requires them to be in attendance at a performance at a certain time on a certain evening. She also noted that her cousin, who works for the National Theatre in London, had told her that all of the performing arts are in trouble because we live today in an on-demand world.

Many of us don’t know what time or on what channel our favorite TV shows are broadcast. People simply set their digital recorders and watch at their convenience. The rare exceptions are sports and award shows (such as the Academy Awards or the Grammys), which many people still want to watch in real time.