Two bits of news caught my eye this week. One was the depth of Martin Sorrell’s bath and the other was the forward order book for Pace Microelectronics. You might think these have nothing much in common, but bear with me.

Lets start with Mr. Sorrell’s bath. He’s well known for his ability to judge the market and has just revised his forecast for 2009. Rather than predicting a flat year Mr. Sorrell thinks his revenues will actually fall before they pick up in 2010.

And what about Pace Microelectronics. Well apparently they are seeing quite a demand for the new breed of broadband set top boxes. It would seem convergence is finally with us but perhaps not in the way that many predicted.

Both of these events are significant. But taken together I think they tell us a lot about the future for broadcasting in this country. To start with the loss of advertising puts a big hole in the business plan of most television channels – be they on-line or not. There simply isn’t enough advertising to go round and the idea that literally thousands of channels will be funded in this way is absurd.

And what about Pace? Well that’s interesting too. Because in my mind it finally signifies true convergence. As speeds increase more and more television will be delivered via broadband. That much we knew. But I don’t think the final destination will be a computer screen. It’s ironic really because the main beneficiary of the new technology will be the humble television set.

Which makes it all the more fascinating for folks like us. We have unlimited opportunities and can now bring a tremendous array of great content right to the viewers living room. But apart from the good old license fee the truth of the matter is we have no real idea of how to pay for it!