Have You Ever Watched Italian Primetime TV?
February 12th, 2009
Lots of live-to-tape variety shows. Girls in short skirts and low tops with big smiles. Guys with glasses holding mics and clipboards. Music acts and comedians with props. Great for the in-laws. Low cost programming that does big numbers.
Sound like some of the programming we’re increasingly seeing on network TV in the states? Get ready for more. A lot more.
Great article by Michael Hirschorn in the Atlantic about the future of broadcast network programming and the inevitable decline in high-production value, scripted, serialized shows.
It’s worth reading the full article, but here’s the short version courtesy of The Business Insider:
The serialized format is “a flawed way of telling stories on network television now because of the advent of the DVR and online streaming.” This makes scripted television riskier than ever before. A show like Heroes can be a nine-figure gamble.
As the television advertising market softens, content owners have [turned to] foreign syndication, DVD sales, and merchandising. But these markets are plateauing.
The only thing network television can uniquely offer is immediacy. Leno’s content is hypertimely. SNL, or a show that shares its DNA, will appear regularly in prime time. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Today show started appearing in the 8 p.m. slot.
Expensive shows will become independent of the networks. Networks will become “distribution platforms,” — as a premiere in a movie house now serves to market the DVD, or sell products.
This will mean fewer traditional television shows in the mold of Heroes. HBO and Showtime may loom even larger. Viewers will pay for quality. Those who don’t will get the television equivalent of AM talk radio—cheap, live talk.
Tags: atlantic, broadcast, primetime
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February 13th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Damn. It seems like television has gone full circle back to the 1950s, when scripted shows were the exception. There’s even talk of having single-sponsor shows again (like “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”) because of what TiVo has done to commercial viewing.
February 16th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Great article. I have a problem with one line, though:
“The exceptions (Twilight, Pixar movies, American Idol, Britney, 24, anything Oprah likes) are huge and will remain so, since people clearly will always like to congregate around shared cultural experiences.”
Doesn’t that describe the engine that has fueled the Hollywood hit making machine for a century? I don’t disagree that the landscape is permanently altered, I do, however, believe that great programming will remain great programming. The problem lies within the studio bureaucracy, and therein lies the true promise of the digital revolution–democracy!
February 26th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
It’s an interesting concept. My question is this - are we only looking at Network TV (meaning the Big 4)? Because if we widen our view and encompass cable TV, the outlook gets much more interesting. Those outlets have become huge growth areas for the production studios, and are routinely distributing high production value, high quality scripted content. The HBO model (think Sopranos, Sex And The City) is being replicated by FX, USA, TNT - all to great effect.
February 26th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
I should also add that I’m a HUGE fan of some of that cheap content - avid fan of Biggest Loser (and their integrated sponsorships are genius).
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February 20th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
You know… it comes down to what the people want, what rates. Low cost TV is what the production houses are always looking for and if it rates, then that’s what we’ll get.
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