It really became clear to me when NBC announced what would be going to its streaming service.
Probably because, up until then, I didn't realize NBC was launching a streaming service.
That's when I began to fear there was no coming back for network television.
Should I have started worrying sooner?
Probably.
But culture, like everything else, is cyclical, and every time people write off the networks, they pull out the invention of reality television, or the rebirth of scripted, or This Is Us or something else to justify their existence all over again.
So even though streaming is more popular than ever, I assumed that the networks would eventually get it together, and start competing the best way they know how--
By copying everyone else.
But by that I mean--copying the kind of content on streaming. The nurturing of talent. The hands-off approach to creativity. The niche series.
It never occurred to me that they might just copy the medium itself and leave their first child alone in the forest.
NBC isn't the first to do this. CBS All Access was first. And maybe that's when I should have panicked, but there did seem to be some logic to the CBS streamer.
They were expanding on their pre-existing content with shows that weren't quite niche, but just a little too specific for a network that's become a deep ocean of procedurals and comedies without jokes.
The fact is, there are a LOT of hits on CBS, so it makes sense that there were shows they wanted to put on their network that just wouldn't be able to justify getting a primetime slot.
In the case of NBC...
I mean...
Have you watched NBC lately?
It is...a barren wasteland of talent shows, and, yes, This Is Us, but...
That's pretty much it.
Superstore and some of the comedies are great, but there are huge chunks of time devoted to shows like America's Next Ninja Dance-Off.
If you have literally anything else you could produce and you're a network executive--
Why wouldn't you?
Why ship it off to a streamer instead?
Especially when you're talking about Punky Brewster and Saved by the Bell reboots.
I mean, roll your eyes all you want, but surely those two are worth a slot on the mainstage when you consider the garbage that's already there.
But here's the thing--
I think NBC is giving up on itself.
And I think every other network is doing the same.
Disney owns ABC, but it also owns Hulu and Disney Plus, and it seems crazy to think that if a really amazing project comes down the pike, they won't just ship it over to one of those two streamers rather than put it on ABC.
Fox is...Fox, but there's also FX...
...And FxX or however it's spelled.
So many of these entities now have new mutations, that I can't help but be concerned about their original forms. The ones we're all supposed to have easy access to.
I grew up in the early 90's when network television was still the only game in town, but vintage television was also readily available.
That's why I credit The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Taxi for teaching me about good writing and good character development.
It's not crazy to think that shows like that--you know, like anything featuring Bob Newhart--would make it on the air today.
It's clear that the prevailing opinion is starting to become--
Send the smart stuff to a streamer where it can win awards and not have to worry about ratings, and produce everything else for the lowest common denominator.
That's a huge problem.
People should be able to experience quality content whether or not they can afford whatever it costs a month for all these streamers.
HBO just announced that Sesame Street will first be broadcast on its new channel HBO Max.
Why did HBO need a new channel?
They air original content two to three nights a week.
Wouldn't it be easier to just...fill up all those other blocks of time?
And it was already worrisome when Sesame Street was putting new episodes on a channel you have to pay for--now they're doubling down on that.
Yes, it's still available on PBS, but if you read between the lines, it's not crazy to assume that might change somewhere down the line.
Network television allows us, as a culture, to have a collective conversation--and have it in real time.
There is actual value to that.
It might sound stupid to say that something as simple as a cliffhanger can be good for us as a society, but since we all want to murder each other constantly, anything that we can talk about without ripping each other's heads off seems like pure gold to me.
Listen, I love streamers.
I love content.
Give me all the content.
I'm all for it.
And I get that we still have books and theater and movies, but television--
Television is an American medium.
It's where we all used to meet up, watch, and listen--provided there was something worth watching and listening to.
So don't give up on network television.
So many good things in this world are accessible only to a chosen few.
Good tv should not be one of them.
Probably because, up until then, I didn't realize NBC was launching a streaming service.
That's when I began to fear there was no coming back for network television.
Should I have started worrying sooner?
Probably.
But culture, like everything else, is cyclical, and every time people write off the networks, they pull out the invention of reality television, or the rebirth of scripted, or This Is Us or something else to justify their existence all over again.
So even though streaming is more popular than ever, I assumed that the networks would eventually get it together, and start competing the best way they know how--
By copying everyone else.
But by that I mean--copying the kind of content on streaming. The nurturing of talent. The hands-off approach to creativity. The niche series.
It never occurred to me that they might just copy the medium itself and leave their first child alone in the forest.
NBC isn't the first to do this. CBS All Access was first. And maybe that's when I should have panicked, but there did seem to be some logic to the CBS streamer.
They were expanding on their pre-existing content with shows that weren't quite niche, but just a little too specific for a network that's become a deep ocean of procedurals and comedies without jokes.
The fact is, there are a LOT of hits on CBS, so it makes sense that there were shows they wanted to put on their network that just wouldn't be able to justify getting a primetime slot.
In the case of NBC...
I mean...
Have you watched NBC lately?
It is...a barren wasteland of talent shows, and, yes, This Is Us, but...
That's pretty much it.
Superstore and some of the comedies are great, but there are huge chunks of time devoted to shows like America's Next Ninja Dance-Off.
If you have literally anything else you could produce and you're a network executive--
Why wouldn't you?
Why ship it off to a streamer instead?
Especially when you're talking about Punky Brewster and Saved by the Bell reboots.
I mean, roll your eyes all you want, but surely those two are worth a slot on the mainstage when you consider the garbage that's already there.
But here's the thing--
I think NBC is giving up on itself.
And I think every other network is doing the same.
Disney owns ABC, but it also owns Hulu and Disney Plus, and it seems crazy to think that if a really amazing project comes down the pike, they won't just ship it over to one of those two streamers rather than put it on ABC.
Fox is...Fox, but there's also FX...
...And FxX or however it's spelled.
So many of these entities now have new mutations, that I can't help but be concerned about their original forms. The ones we're all supposed to have easy access to.
I grew up in the early 90's when network television was still the only game in town, but vintage television was also readily available.
That's why I credit The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Taxi for teaching me about good writing and good character development.
It's not crazy to think that shows like that--you know, like anything featuring Bob Newhart--would make it on the air today.
It's clear that the prevailing opinion is starting to become--
Send the smart stuff to a streamer where it can win awards and not have to worry about ratings, and produce everything else for the lowest common denominator.
That's a huge problem.
People should be able to experience quality content whether or not they can afford whatever it costs a month for all these streamers.
HBO just announced that Sesame Street will first be broadcast on its new channel HBO Max.
Why did HBO need a new channel?
They air original content two to three nights a week.
Wouldn't it be easier to just...fill up all those other blocks of time?
And it was already worrisome when Sesame Street was putting new episodes on a channel you have to pay for--now they're doubling down on that.
Yes, it's still available on PBS, but if you read between the lines, it's not crazy to assume that might change somewhere down the line.
Network television allows us, as a culture, to have a collective conversation--and have it in real time.
There is actual value to that.
It might sound stupid to say that something as simple as a cliffhanger can be good for us as a society, but since we all want to murder each other constantly, anything that we can talk about without ripping each other's heads off seems like pure gold to me.
Listen, I love streamers.
I love content.
Give me all the content.
I'm all for it.
And I get that we still have books and theater and movies, but television--
Television is an American medium.
It's where we all used to meet up, watch, and listen--provided there was something worth watching and listening to.
So don't give up on network television.
So many good things in this world are accessible only to a chosen few.
Good tv should not be one of them.
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