It’s a convenient excuse for saving money. But broadcast networks figure to greenlight way fewer pilots this year. At the height, each network is projected to make four dramas and four comedies, and most won’t even make that many (especially comedies). A couple of networks claim they now make pilots year round. Yes, but how many and how often?
And here’s the thing: When you develop fewer pilots you wind up with a Fall schedule that crashes and burns.
How do I know? Because networks have experimented with this forever. They’ll skip pilots and go right to series, they’ll just do ten-minute presentations, etc. And they always go back to the pilot model the following development year. Why? Because every single one of those experiments have failed.
Networks box themselves into a corner. They have very little new product to choose from and when those shows tank they have nothing substantial in the pipeline to replace them with. Does this take Einstein to figure out?
So what do they think is going to be different this time? The fact that they’re all doing it and not just one network? With audiences leaving in droves anyway, is this perhaps not the time to go with a model that has historically failed? It’s almost like the plot of THE PRODUCERS.
Add to that the network and studio (usually under the same ownership) interference and the chances of even making a great pilot under these circumstances is shockingly low. “Do we need the ‘Springtime for Hitler’ production number? We don’t think so. Take it out.”
As someone who grew up on network television and made his living in network television, it pains me to see how far it’s fallen and how little they’re doing to save themselves. I’d love to see a breakout hit on one of the Big Four. It would thrill me to have people make a point to watch a particular show on the night it airs. Yes, you can watch it anytime, but if you really like it you’ll want to watch it as soon it’s available. Streaming services can’t provide that. Networks can… or at least they could. And sorry to say, at the rate they’re going they’re never going to see that again. If they want to blame the pandemic, well... it's their fault for being metaphorical anti-vaxers.
38 comments :
I now treat most broadcast shows the same way I do books. They become available on a particular day and I can watch them whenever I want after that. If it's on my DVR, I can zoom past the commercials. If I forgot to record it, I can usually catch up to it on the app. It's the equivalent of getting a new book at the library.
And streaming shows give me content broadcast TV won't. Pretty soon I'll be able to watch a new STAR TREK episode virtually every week, all year round. Except now I don't have to plop down in front of the set at any particular moment. I can fit it into my schedule on a particular day or wait a few days. It was 55 years ago I could expect a new TREK most Thursdays. Now I still do, except there are four, soon to be five TREK shows in a particular year. Broadcast TV isn't going to bring me that, or the STAR WARS or Marvel shows, or HANDMAID'S TALE or OZARK or (fill in the blank yourself).
I think we're seeing the transition of creative original content going to streaming services and networks will be the place for reality TV, live sports (for now) and second runs of original content from their own streaming services (Peacock/NBC). The model you remember, unfortunately, is long gone, especially as you said the network/studio are under the same tent.
I'm really loving Abbott Elementary, Ghosts (funnier than the British original) and the Wonder Years reboot, so there's hope?
When will they learn? When they join the companies making buggy whips, leaded gasoline, and Betamax tapes.
I can't be all that unusual. I don't watch a darn thing on network anymore. If I want to see a program I'll either buy a season and watch on Apple TV or Amazon or I'll just use one of my many subscriptions.
Yeah, I'm late to the party, I just saw all of Cobra Kai and Animaniacs but so what? ( I use these as examples but realize that neither was on network TV).
Maybe I'm just an old curmudgeon, the guy who never saw How I Met Your Mother or Modern Family-but I'm also the guy who never missed The Mary Tyler Moore Show, WKRP, Taxi, or Barney Miller.
They are on their way to extinction, my interaction with NBC is watching MSNBC and if it weren't for Bob's Burgers or Family Guy I wouldn't have any Fox in my life.
When I was a fast food District Manager, my superiors wanted me to continually cut payroll. I was against this on a couple levels, most of all because the employees were promised a certain amount of hours and since I was the face of the company I was not going to be the one to renege. Rather than bring up the dishonorable way they were acting I assured my bosses that this was a fine plan, and while it would hurt for a week or two, in no time sales would drop due to substandard service and it would be down to the point the reduced staff could handle it easily (until it dropped again and they cut again).
I kind of see it like the music business, there was so much stupid money floating around, nobody thought it would end.
Tangent: I've heard Abbott Elementary is good. Haven't watched it yet myself.
Given the pandemic analogy:
Medical situation - COVID
Network TV situation (if the trend keeps up) - No vid
The broadcast networks have historically blamed everything but themselves for erosion which has been going on for decades. Trust me you know that I should know. I could write a dissertation on this.
This reminds me of a gag from Arrested Development:
TOBIAS: You know, Lindsay, as a therapist, I have advised a number of couples to explore an open relationship where the couple remains emotionally committed, but free to explore extra-marital encounters.
LINDSAY: Well, did it work for those people?
TOBIAS: No, it never does. I mean, these people somehow delude themselves into thinking it might, but.... but it might work for us.
I dunno, maybe the thought here is that they just didn't believe hard enough before and that this time it's bound to work, thanks to the power of deciding that it will.
Ken - this reminds me of the way I feel about Radio - I grew up on personality and local content driven entertainment on my radio in Los Angeles during the 60's and 70's - it was a proven way to engage listeners and reap the rewards of ratings success - Alas it is no more and they can't figure out why...???!!!???
I used to LOVE the start of the fall television season. Now I don’t even WATCH network television and haven’t watched a network show since…I’m not even sure. We cut our cable a few years ago and never looked back. I can’t be an outlier on this.
I dropped the last network drama I followed in after their 3rd schedule change, 3rd event-related episode delay and 2nd(?) unannounced decision to split seasons.
It's been renewed for two new seasons since apparently, but nothing ABC does will ever get me to try to follow their scheduling again.
I disagree that the streaming services aren't able to do appointment TV. Many of them do still release new episodes weekly and it isn't uncommon for fans of really hot shows to figure out what time they release and watch them as soon as they are available. That has been especially true for the Marvel and Star Wars series on Disney+.
If a show has enough buzz, the biggest fans want to be a part of the conversation as soon as possible.
But every fall a network announced "This year's big hit"....before the show airs....
So it seems that the streaming services have found the weakness(or caused it), and capitalized on it. So where is the big money? If I create a series, will I get more $$ on network television or streaming? I'm guessing network TV. BUT less of a chance to get picked up, so I go to streaming for less money, but a show. Is that a good summary?
Seems the networks just go for the cheap reality shows. But I agree with the above about Ghosts and Abbott elementary, I tape them now.
But, as always, a fix is to have more awards shows.
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I would hate to see network television go the way of terrestrial radio, trudging along with overproduced "hit" songs no one knows, or oldies everyone knows, in between very long ad breaks for local carpet stores, but I have a sinking feeling it's going to happen. If not already.
You really think making pilots will improve things? You know better than that. Cream always rises to the top, and "How I Met Your Father" will still end up on Hulu.
It was just a couple of weeks ago the news reported that film and television production in Los Angeles was not only back, but nearing record levels. So, if they're not shooting pilots then what are they filming? It could be that they're just completing projects that were postponed by the pandemic. But if that's not the case then why not shoot some new TV shows?
Another problem is that some shows may not require a pilot because they already had an internet presence. That is they see something on YouTube or other platforms and say, "That could be a series."
Speaking of pilot season, one of the things that all extras hoped for was to be regular background on a series. Pilot season was the best time for that because your chances were better if you got in at the beginning. And if you were really lucky those regular extras could get a line here and there. Or maybe even be promoted to "day player." Unfortunately, it never happened for me.
Good luck to those of you that are still at it.
M.B.
Among the current series cited, not one multi-cam sitcom was mentioned. Sad.
Not sure of why there's so much nostalgia for the commercial network model (which I grew up with myself). Back then, audiences were in the thrall of the network schedule; VCRs and DVRs provided the first break from that model and, today, streaming and on demand services allow viewers to watch at their own convenience rather the other way around. Network broadcasting is now just one content channel among many, and not a very convenient one at that--you also have to still sit through commmercials. Because of this, like many have mentioned, watching network TV is not even on my radar anymore...Ghosts is the first network show I've made a point of watching in many years (aside from SNL, which I noticed I can watch on Hulu. (I cut the cable--or rather DirecTV--several years ago now as well and replaced it with YouTubeTV, which essentially has unlimited in-the-cloud DVR capacity). Another reason networks may be struggling to find good content is because having a network show is not as much as a point of pride as it used to be. The streamers have more money, less restrictions and are not as beholden to "ratings" like the networks or the traditional 22-episode season.
On the other hand, what good is a pilot if the showrunner is the creative force behind '2 Broke Girls'?
I always wondered why multiple scripts aren't just commissioned instead. Judge the consistency/progression, and make decisions based on that.
They're not making new shows period. Every other day yet another revival of an old show is announced. The latest I read about is a put pilot for Life Goes On (I had to Google what a put pilot is).
Networks are now in the business of cannibalizing their own back catalog. I'm amazed they haven't tried to reboot or sequelize Taxi or Kate & Allie yet.
I've enjoyed a couple of episodes of "American Auto" that I've caught. But it's basically "The Office" at a car company.
I'll also agree with some others here that "Ghosts" was a pleasant surprise. Naturally, it's an import. The surprise is that CBS/Port & Wiseman haven't ruined it like the folks over at "Call Me Kat." I can't say this CBS version is better than the BBC "Ghosts," however. Those original episodes are on HBO Max and are worth checking out. The cast that plays the ghosts is much funnier than the American version, IMO.
-- Since Nielsen can now track when a recorded episode is watched, I wonder how much attention the networks give to the "live plus 7 (days)" ratings vis a vis the live ratings. Maybe they can also track the number of times a show was watched on demand?
-- Re: "Ghosts", check out on the Interwebz the video of the cast learning they were renewed. They gathered, in costume and in character, for a "Happy Valentine's Day!" clip. Then the producer said, "One more thing. Rose (McIver, the star), can you say, 'Come back in the fall, because we've just been renewed for Season Two!'?" The cast then started screaming, jumping and hugging like a sports team that just won in overtime.
I know streaming media was talked about 30 years ago. Because back then I heard a talk from someone from what was then called Apple Computer explaining the obstacles (data compression technology and getting high speed internet into homes-the "last 100 feet" issue). So the networks had a few decades to figure out how to adapt. I guess they decided the only option was to become a small part of a large media conglomerate and accept whatever leftovers were offered.
Early last year was able to watch some NBC shows online for free. Late last year, went online to watch some shows and all of a sudden I had to provide what cable company I used or suggested I use Peacock instead. I said "Fuck this". I guess they didn't want me as a viewer, delayed or not. Well, this post made me try again and now it's back to being shown on the NBC website. I can only assume that a lot of people must have howled like hell at them because it's back to being shown for free on their website[with ads, of course]. I know a boatload of people that have dumped their cable because prices have gotten outrageous....some people told me their bill basically kept going up every three months to where they just had the unpaid or a few paid channels and it was costing them $150-200 a month. So the dumb-ass cable people will probably wind up in the same boat as the networks.
I'm down to THIS IS US as my only network show. Need to feel my softer, emotional side.
Then I stream 1883 to feel my bad ass, pioneer side...
Ken, I for one couldn't agree more.
IMHO, once the networks let go of The Office, Lost, and The Middle, they became too terrified of their own shadows to live. It seems today there's nothing available there anymore but true crime newsmagazines, hyper-scripted "reality" TV, Law & Order SVU plus its constant spinoffs (ALL THREE of these formats follow identical formulas week after week after week btw), and 'new' sitcoms that were flavorless and stale even before their pilots aired. (I love Pat Heaton like you do, but if she gets a 19th bite at yet another half-hour comedy, I'll scream.)
I'd love to see a return to the 1980s/90s days of innovation in every genre. Would today's honchos ever even greenlight Miami Vice, NYPD Blue (I still miss Steven Bochco something fierce), or Late Night With David Letterman? My hunch is they wouldn't because they don't look, sound, feel, smell and taste like everything else. Instead, the networks constantly promise big things, and never deliver. I'm sick of it and until someone somehow breaks the calcified mold, I think they're ultimately doomed.
Oops, this rant went on much longer than I expected. Sorry. :-)
I'm now in my mid-30s and have never paid for any sort of cable TV. I have Prime (though that comes other perks), tried Disney+ for a month or three and had Netflix for years but don't now. There are so many great shows that have been made and there's not time to watch them all, but if I can buy a show on DVD I can watch it whenever and wherever (after ripping it).
No commercials, no subscription.
It takes me months to watch through Seinfeld, say, so buying it on DVD ends up being cheaper than paying for it via Netflix for four months (this isn't true of every show but it is for an awful lot of them). And by purchasing the DVDs I get the full versions of the episodes without four minutes being slashed from each!
Why is anyone watching network television anymore?
It doesn't help, that the networks take off about 5-6 weeks during the holidays. THAT'S when families are together, watching TV! If you look at the air dates of sitcoms in the 70s, some had original content on Christmas Eve. Of course, the old network seasons usually ended in late March.
Also, I am sick of the random network repeats. Netflix drops entire series to watch at leisure. (Granted, I am a binge-watcher.). HBOMax drops the next episode each week, on a specific day, for the entire run.
I wonder how all of these NBC "interactive" dramas are going to play individually in syndication? "SVU" and "Organized Crime" had major crossovers this year. You pretty much had to see both, to understand several of the episodes. I dunno...
Oh I assumed that the networks killed the network programming - why put the good shows on 'free' broadcast when you can make $15/month per customer for streaming?
In addition to the network interference, it's a Death Spiral with short episodes, lower ratings, lower revenue, then even shorter episodes to accomodate more commercials. Rinse, Repeat.
For what I view, there hasn't been a great sitcom since The Middle. I basically watch re-runs of old sitcoms, sports, or documentaries. I tried watching The Neighbors and Bob the other night - My God. Movies are also sucking - if I see one more Batman....
Why is anyone watching network television anymore?
Because its free. Much of the TV audience doesn't know that there is still broadcast TV. Ads try to sell you antennas like they are are new technology or something. There are more over-the-air channels than ever where I live. Sure there are commercials but I was paying $100/mo to watch 1-2 channels on cable, with commercials, before I realized how stupid that was.
I watch 3 true crime channels for free instead of Discovery ID
Networks still get the biggest ratings, even with lame Chuck Lorre shows because its free.
I haven't watched broadcast TV, on a regular basis, since the 1990s. I discovered British comedy and never looked back.
After years of considering it, I cut my cable last month after Spectrum raised my bill by another $25.00. Now I just have internet. It was actually an easy decision, once my partner and I figured out that the only things we watched on cable was Jeopardy, local news, and reruns of old shows on stations like MeTV. I hadn’t actually followed a network show since probably the fifth season of Big Bang Theory. We would catch promos for upcoming network offerings, and it was either some abysmal sounding comedy full of people being shitty to each other, or yet another incarnation of an already-existing franchise (have they made it to “CSI: Council Bluffs” yet?).
It won’t matter in the long run, though. In a decade, a few megacorporations like Disney are going to own every scrap of entertainment in every medium, and they’ll control your viewing habits just as thoroughly as the networks did for years. Maybe even moreso, since streaming seems to be replacing actually owning physical media containing the shows you like. What happens when Disney and Netflix and Amazon own 90 percent of every type of media production and every platform and every library of content, and the ISPs that provide your internet? We aren’t being freed from the networks; it’s going to be more like “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”.
I don't like Big Bang Theory and don't think Jim Parsons is funny but I love Young Sheldon. The Wonder Years is very nicely done though not all that funny. I'm glad Ghosts brought zany farce back to TV. I know you didn't like it and that's fine, perhaps one day you'll expand on that. In marginal defense of The Neighborhood, the two brothers are my favorite characters - without them I'd be much less interested in watching it. Beth Behrs is as attractive as she is unfunny.
Cord Cutting continues to grow. This will speed up the process that's already been sped up by the likes of "The Masked Singer" and "I Can See Your Voice".
So, SNL is going to now have repeats for a MONTH??? #$%@ NBC.
The (not so) big four live off the NFL, and to a lesser extent, other live sports events.
When was the last time there was a big buzz about a brilliant new show that was airing on a traditional network. You remember, a real game changer... The '90s? Friends, maybe. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? American Idol?
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