I'm probably making a big deal out of nothing, but it seems like actual television inside of places such as restaurants is starting to fade out, especially among chains. Instead of familiar television stations that everyone knows, businesses are starting to opt for corporate television such as loop.tv and Atmosphere TV. But why, and does this even matter?
First, you have to actually understand what "corporate television" is. It's not as scary as it sounds. Regular television is TV that anybody can pick up, either with cable, antenna, or whatever. Unless you can pick the station up over antenna, regular TV usually costs money, usually in the form of a cable subscription. For example, a Spectrum Business TV Subscription would be $60 a month (for the first year(when bundled)) for all channels, excluding premium channels.
Corporate television is much different. Us hoi polloi can't just tune into it. Usually a specific device is installed, allowing the business to connect to the channel. The content is more focused on being entertaining than being good. Instead of actual shows, you have stations bringing you viral TikTok moments, the most unpolitical news possible, and drone stock footage. Thrilling stuff. The closest thing to describe them to would be the filler channels on services like pluto.tv.
So, why is this becoming so popular? There are a few reasons, but cost is one of them. The companies that make the channels usually just offer the streaming devices for free, and profit by showing ads on the channels. With the exception of sports, there isn't really a reason for businesses to be paying for cable. Nobody is at a business to watch television. Much more recently I have just been seeing businesses purchase a season of a show on YouTube and just let that auto play.
Another reason is that these stations are customizable. For example, they have features that allow you to add your own promotions during the commercial breaks. Plus, the specific channels mean its less risky to have them playing. You don't always know what is going to come on live television, but with corporate television they're just going to continue streaming the most boring content through their feed until they go bankrupt. Also, these stations don't usually require audio, and are usually optimized for huge television screens that just exist to fill a space.
So... this isn't a big deal. Everyone is just going to continue doing whatever they do on their phones instead of watching the TV. However, it is a little sad to see, and it's weird being surrounded by "content" that exists to fill a space.