TV is on the brink of breakout bankruptcy

[newyawker99]

The July Fourth fireworks are long over, but network programmers have yet to create any of their own.

For the first time in five years, there's no sign of a summer breakout hit, as ABC found in 1999's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, CBS discovered with 2000's Survivor, NBC had with 2001's Fear Factor, and Fox mined with American Idol last year.

There's no secret to why the genre appears to have run its course: Executives say a glut of programs, hastily ordered during Joe Millionaire's heyday last winter, offers rehashes of tired formats to viewers accustomed to novelty.

"We've hit the saturation point," says Fox scheduling chief Preston Beckman. "What was a novelty six months ago is now becoming just ho-hum."



TV

[Az]

1. You say that like its a bad thing

TV has become the hammer to stun the public on their way to the abattoir. Marketers struggle to achieve their goal of pinning the public in place while they spray paint their eyeballs with ads. A dull listless unthinking audience is what they want. Their programing reflects this. Skeptical critical thinking is verboten. If you applied critical thinking to their ads they would be lost in a heartbeat.

The TV had a potential to be a great tool. Corporatism ruined it. The sooner we shuffle the carcus off the better.

[DrGonzoLives]

3. Hey, don't lump Adult Swim in with that!

That's quality programming.

[Az]

8. Thats not network

The primary source of income for Cable is the subscriber. Thus they are not as driven by the marketers.

[BiggJawn]

2. Well, it's been morally bankrupt for years...

What, no tired old CRAP for them to recycle? nothing in the pipeline like "Jessie's Heros" or "My Mother, the Bradley"? No
"Here's the story, of a man named Cheney, who was hiding a fortune of ill-gotten wealth..."???

Gee....I just gave them 3 great ideas, and here's another one:
"World's Grossest Carny Geeks"...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. You mean the public is wising up?

The networks so do not get it!

A year or two ago, the president of NBC complained that they could never put on anything like The Sopranos because they're not allowed to use as many cuss words. This only showed how clueless he was, because I don't know anyone who watches The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, or Oz just to hear people say "fuck." (Although if that were your wish, you would be amply rewarded. :-) )

HBO is drawing audiences because it is by subscription only and therefore does not have to pander to advertisers. It gives its writers, producers, and directors creative freedom, and they use it in wonderful ways.

[supernova]

5. Don't lump Food Network in with that

or Home and Garden Television. I find them vastly more entertaining focusing on one subject, that the commercial networks.

The networks have to pander to advertisers moreso than the audience. Cable networks pander to niche viewers (Food TV watchers like me!) so they do a better job.

[thermodynamic]

6. I thought it was TV in general, not just "Reality" TV

I mean, it's not just a glut of programs - it's a glut of mediocre programs all vying for everybody's attention and all at once. Rather a downside to rampant capitalism; things get so out of control that the pace cannot be maintained. As things unravel, those in control will start to do more things to ensure their grasp on the public is maintained.

Thank God all these programs are such rubbish, Heaven help us if all these channels had something popular to contribute and nobody had enough VCRs to tape them all. :eyes:

Cable TV hasn't helped either despite its ludicrously high prices; all it does is show old porgrams whose footage has been cut 10 minutes per hour-long episode to make way for even more commercials (gee, I thought the price of cable reduced or negated the need for commercials...).

[newyawker99]

7. I agree thermo!

I mean, it's not just a glut of programs - it's a glut of mediocre programs all vying for everybody's attention and all at once.

I stopped watching broadcast TV a while ago. I was tired of the same stale shows copying each other. Unless they can come up with something more interesting, I will stick with cable TV.

[thermodynamic]

11. Interesting

If basic cable weren't so outlandishly priced, I'd probably try a 'premium' station like HBO. "The Chris Rock Show", for example, is outright fresh and hilarious. (I bought both 'best of' DVDs).

And often anything good produced on broadcast networks is cancelled without being given a chance because it's always a matter of instant ratings. "Firefly" was one of those shows and we all saw how they ruined "Sliders"... FOX seems to be more willing to scrape the bottoms of barrels for ideas as well as well as trying an idea, having the execs warp it into something they psychotically think is popular, then ditch it when it proves to be worse than how it originally was.

But I don't want to FOX-bash as they did have the fresh and witty "Family Guy" (until they waited too long to renew it, after which all the good writers had left...). ABC has shows like "Two guys, a girl, and a pizza place", "Darma and Greg", "8 simple rules for dating my teenage daughter" and other shows which stay on the air for years. Again, they're scraping barrels but their barrels are more mainstream... The last thing refreshing ABC aired was "Ellen"'s 5th season, forget the critics who called it "too gay". Not every episode was "too gay" and some, *gasp*, didn't have the gay issue at all. (the one where she becomes a DJ is gay-reference free and is utterly hilarious and I missed the taping of the original run, dammit!) But the critics and religoius nuts caused ABC to can it, but at least there was a shining moment... :-(

[newyawker99]

12. I hate when they do this....

And often anything good produced on broadcast networks is cancelled without being given a chance because it's always a matter of instant ratings.


:argh:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

9. The corporations that have chased independent producers and

decent actors and writers from television with cookbook reality shows and a lack of any real creative movies of the week have no one but themselves to blame.

I can't tell you the number of writer friends I have in LA who have emmy awards and other recognition for excellence hanging on their walls..really excellent writers who have worked on projects all would recognize and they can't get arrested in Hollywood right now!

[SOteric]

10. Amen to that!

They truly have themselves to thank for this little bind. I have no sympathy to offer them.