A season to forget for TV networks (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

Los Angeles Times ^ | May 4, 2008 | Scott Collins

[abb]

AS REAL-LIFE broadcasters get set to announce their fall schedules next week in New York, they're still scratching their way out of a trench, otherwise known as the worst season in the history of the network TV business.

Not a single one of the new fall series broke through to a big audience, even the ones that looked can't-fail on paper, such as ABC's spinoff "Private Practice" and NBC's now-dead revival of "Bionic Woman."

Every network except Fox has posted significant ratings declines for the season.

Even as existing series have gradually returned from the three-month writers strike, viewers have, to the surprise and dismay of network executives, stayed away.

Through the first week of the May sweep, all the broadcasters, including Fox, have suffered double-digit leakage; ABC alone lost 24%. Thursday brought another basket of ill tidings, with ABC's once-formidable "Grey's Anatomy" and NBC's "ER" retreating to record lows. Meanwhile, the number of people watching TV overall is up 2% compared with last year -- which means that people haven't switched off their sets, they're just watching "other things" (the broadcasters' code language for "cable").

If all that weren't bad enough, programmers are nervously eyeing the possibility of another strike, as contract talks between the Screen Actors Guild and the studios appear nowhere near a resolution. A work stoppage could shut down production during the summer, throttling the networks' comeback efforts. That threat gives extra leverage to advertisers, who can argue that they're not about to spend top dollar buying advance ads for shows that may appear months late, or never.

Meanwhile, executives are often having to make their decisions about which new fall shows to pick based not on completed pilots, but rather quickly thrown-together "presentations" that are roughly half the length of a normal pilot.

snip

[abb]

By the end of this decade or shortly thereafter, television networks as we know them today will cease to exist. They will be just another url on the world wide web competing against millions of others.

Network evening newscasts will go dark after the '08 elections and their news divisions disbanded.

[abb]

ping

[Nervous Tick]

>> By the end of this decade or shortly thereafter, television networks as we know them today will cease to exist.

I know you’re only making a prediction, not stating a fact.

But I’m going to believe it because it makes me smile. And on a monday morning smiling is a GOOD thing.

[Joe Boucher]

24 hours a day, 7 days in a week. That’s 168 hours a week and I can honestly say I watch about 1 hour of shows a week on network t.v. cause they offer crap to watch.
Made in America with John Ratzenberger on the travel channel is about it, the rest isn’t worth ones time.
If the system failed tomorrow it would only enhance our society.

[abb]

I began making this prediction nearly two years ago. Caught lots of flak and had lots of arguments and so forth. Some folks said I was crazy; that TV networks would never go away.

Don’t hear near as much of that kind of talk lately, it seems.

[TomGuy]

Several of those ‘cable’ series attract record numbers of viewers.

The drawback is that they have very short seasons, typically 6-12 weeks. After the strike, some of them were only 4 weeks duration.

Their draw is that they are not the typical fare — not another Law & Order, CSI, ‘reality’ or ‘game’ show.

Cable isn’t without its problems, however. Some run the same set of movies over and over and over. [Out of the 10s of thousands of movies made over the years, one would think they would show some variety.]

Those major broadcasters use their cable outlets now to recycle that broadcaster’s tv programs. Thus, cable gets more Law & Order and CSI.

[50sDad]

Most of the time, it's old Britcoms, or DVD's as "background noise" while we do other things. One of my five computers is in the living room as a "surfing station", and most of the time, the Internet just has more to do that's interesting.

I can remember 20 years ago, the Powers That Be were all predicting that the Next Big Thing would be "interactive television", but the concept was it would be done by cable and you would get to choose the outcome of dramas by popular vote, that was about it. Well, the next wave arrived, but the Networks were all busy paddling around in the Kids' Pool.

[reagan_fanatic]

..and NBC's now-dead revival of "Bionic Woman."

I can't believe anyone thought that was going to work.

[abb]

ping

[TomGuy]

I can't believe anyone thought that was going to work.

Hollowwood has little originality. That is true even with their remakes and follow-ups.

Seldom does a remake or follow-up program or movie ever find the success of its predecessor. [Many of the movies don't even recover their production costs.] Yet, the industry keeps recycling the same ole program/tv concepts and they keep using the same ole plot-line scripts.

[captjanaway]

Agreed - maybe this season they can do a remake of “Wonder Woman”........

[Moose4]

I can proudly say that I have not watched network prime-time TV in many years, other than sporting events. I don’t watch TV at all in the evenings (I’m usually in front of my computer surfing or gaming) and when I am in front of the TV, it’s either on Disney or Noggin for the two-year-old, or Discovery, History, Nat Geo, or Military for me. I know that Discovery’s networks and NGC keep trying to shove this global warming crap down our throats, but if you can dodge that, there’s some really interesting stuff there. I’m a big Deadliest Catch and Dirty Jobs fan.

}:-)4

[Question_Assumptions]

It would help if they scheduled for viewers which means a whole season in a stable timeslot with a straight run of new programs instead of moving the show around in the schedule, showing 4 new episodes seemingly at random every now and then (not being in the TV ad business, my life doesn't rvolve around "sweeps"), and only showing a handful of episodes before deciding to cut off a series. If I didn't have TiVo, I would never be able to remember when new episodes are going to be shown and even then, I've missed episodes of things because they moved the timeslot to conflict with something else that I watch. And after shows like Firefly and Journeyman, I'm not sure it's worth the investment getting into a new show only to have the network cut it after a dozen episodes or so.

Also a few quick pointers for networks showing science fiction shows. (A) there are only enough science fiction fans to support one show during any timeslot. Moving your show into the timeslot with another science fiction show will likely only kill both shows. (B) In most cases, the campy old science fiction shows that science fiction fans enjoyed were campy by mistake, not on purpose. Making a show campy on purpose generally makes a mess that few people will want to watch. (C) If you have contempt for science fiction fans, they'll usually notice and won't watch your show.

It would also be nice, in general, if the networks would produce more programming that parents might feel comfortable watching with their children.

[CIB-173RDABN]

It looks like the UNIONS are going to help kill off another industry. As is, a lot of work that should be done in Hollywood is now being done in Canada.

I do not say Unions will go away, only the work (and the paycheck).

[Dr. Scarpetta]

I recommend 'The Closer' on TNT.

[goldstategop]

If the actors go on strike, we won't see a fall season this year. Oh well.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Dr. Scarpetta]

I also recommend 'Monk' on USA.

[PapaBear3625]

Hollowwood has little originality. That is true even with their remakes and follow-ups.

When you have a corporate culture where guessing right means somebody else makes money, and guessing wrong means you're fired, nobody really wants to stick their necks out and propose something original

[newnhdad]

I think the “networks” will cease to exist in the current forms in 10-20 years. Communications will become more personal and less general. We will be able to tailor what we see and when we see it but it will be on a larger scale. When the telecomm and cable companies are able to utilize larger and faster datastreams, the sky will be the limit as to what is possible. It'll all be driven by advertising revenue and marketing demographics. Our great grandkids (my daughters are 3 and 1.5) probably won't have magazines probably will never know what it is to have newspaper ink on their fingers. As it is right now, my 13 year old nephew doesn't know how to use a rotary phone and has never seen a TV w/o a remote.

[TomGuy]

The Closer is a good program.

So is Burn Notice.

[TomGuy]

Apparently, John Cusack’s newest anti-war parody movie is tanking.

[Yet, they remain clueless.]

[Dr. Scarpetta]

So is Burn Notice (good).

I'll have to check it out.

[CIB-173RDABN]

If the actors go on strike, we won't see a fall season this year. Oh well.

---

I did not miss anything while the writers were on strike and I doubt if I am going to miss anything if the actors go on strike.

Unions are preventing the industry from adjusting to the new technology and new reality that they are no longer the only game in town.

I am old enough to remember when almost all television was live and the season forty to fifty weeks long. What are we at now, a season of 8 to 12 episodes and then continues reruns!

Add to that the increase number of commercials and it is no wonder people are no longer watching.

[PogySailor]

I’ve noticed that many of the current series are even reusing their own plots from prior years, with some minor changes. I think they have completely run out of ideas.

[abb]

related.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Television_44/Media_buyers_now_see_weaker_upfront.asp

Media buyers now
see weaker upfront

Two thirds of readers see sales up 2 percent or less

By Lisa Snedeker
May 5, 2008

At the beginning of the year, media buyers were expecting a strong upfront market for the coming season’s network shows, based in no small part on the strong scatter market, where ad inventory not sold during the prior upfront is auctioned off.

But that was before the effects of the writers’ strike played out in severe declines in the ratings as the networks ran out of original episodes of their top shows as the midseason got underway and began running reruns and poorly received reality shows.

Buyers now expect a far more modest upfront, with only slight increases, if any, in total sales over last year’s $9.3 billion.

snip

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Television_44/This_May_sweeps_a_far_muddier_track.asp

This May sweeps,
a far muddier track

Fox is ahead, no surprise, but it’s well down

By Toni Fitzgerald
May 5, 2008

This May sweeps, the real winner may not be who comes out ahead but who sees the smallest viewership decline.

Right now, Fox leads on both counts, but all of the Big Five broadcast networks are seeing steep decreases compared with last year.

snip

[VeniVidiVici]

Watching a few shows that came back after the writer’s strike I’d say they spent a little too much of their free time smoking dope. Either the story lines are not as funny or I’m being too critical. Haven’t decided yet.

[abb]

I think it has to do with opportunity, too. There are so many more things to do than watch TV. Internet. Games. Cable. Research on the web.

It’s the same with opinion pieces. I hardly ever read what conservative pundits have to say any more. It’s not that Peggy Noonan (or whoever) doesn’t write as well as before. It’s that I find much more on point conservative commentary here on Free Republic than anywhere else.

[BurbankKarl]

That Ben Silverman dude sucks ass...I can’t believe he still has a job.

Of course, what is up next? They are remaking “The A-Team”....I kid you not.

[SevenofNine]

OH MAN this too good

I going watch House other night I forgot about it I was too busy watching TCM

[SevenofNine]

OH YEAH MONK

What about Psych that good show

I been watching the Tudors on Showtime

[Yaelle]

CSI just had a very good story and plot aired last week. Zof course it doesn’t help that one of the favorite actors, William Petersen’s love interest on the show, left earier this season, and another main character was found slumped in his car with every illegal drug known to man last week (Gary Dourdan). But, hey, they had a nice episode....

[Publius6961]

Well, this is among the few good-news items in a long time,
But why is anyone surprised? I couldn't believe the crap they tried to palm off as "entertainment..."

Bling-bling yo-boys as comedy...
Let's glorify gangs, including illegals...
Bad acting reality "ghost" shows...
Glorify bad and corrupt cops acting tough and "heroically..."
Really really bad amateur hours...
Indiscriminate young hedonists and perverts living in groups of 4 to 8...

Imported BBC gay promotion action series...

Do I really need to go on?
I won't go into the really entertaining shows for normal people that didn't make the cut.

[RayChuang88]

I'm a big fan of the following shows on cable TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning (ESPN2 simulcast of ESPN Radio show)
MythBusters (Discovery Channel)
Modern Marvels (History)
The Universe (History)
UFO Hunters (History)
Shockwave (History)
Battle 360 (History--just recently concluded)