 |
 |
Over 400 scripted shows on TV
| December 17th, 2015 at 10:08:16 AM permalink | |
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 | EB pointed out that there are now over 400 scripted shows on TV. Looking back at the 1974-75 TV season (before cable only stations) there were slightly over 60 scripted shows on television, and the top 20 shows averaged over 21 million viewers apiece. The argument is that with so many shows competing for such small audiences (there are only six scripted network shows that average an audience over 10 million | I know that there are more on cable) that quality suffers. There are some terrible concepts for TV shows, but then there was always stupid shows on TV. Do you think we were better off with fewer than 100 television scripted series? Or will there always be a mix of the good and the inane? 2015-16 TV season
1974-75 TV season
|
| December 17th, 2015 at 11:43:32 AM permalink | |
| Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011 | 7 of the top 10 shows are ethnic or about women. In the top shows this year 1 is ethnic (and sucks) and 1 is about a woman (that also sucks). They teach in college that there are, I think, only 5 or 6 different themes for a TV show. So everything is just a variation on those themes. It's all personality driven now, but it always has been. Imagine All in the Family or the Cosby Show with anybody else in the lead role. Or Rockford, or Magnum, or Gunsmoke. Or TBBT with no Jim Parsons. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
| December 17th, 2015 at 12:30:20 PM permalink | |
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 | YouTube is bigger than any single U.S. cable network among the key demographic that includes those ages 18 to 49. AFAIK, advertising on YOUTUBE is still like a mini version of advertising on network TV. If a video clip is popular, you can buy advertising time on it. But in the future if people sign in, and provide enough demographic information (in exchange for a shot at prizes), it won't matter what you watch as they will be able to custom insert ads aimed at your ethnicity, age, income group, and sex. The business case for most scripted TV shows will vanish. Then we may drop below 100 series in a year, |
| December 17th, 2015 at 12:39:53 PM permalink | |
| Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011 |
On Youtube, it seems the more you watch in one session, the longer the commercials get. And they lose the option of making it stop in 5 seconds. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
| December 17th, 2015 at 3:55:59 PM permalink | |
| AZDuffman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 135 Posts: 18204 |
Call it "narrowcasting" or whatever else you like, media has changed and is not going backwards. We may well be in a golden age of sorts and not know it. In the 1990s the stars of "Friends" were making $1MM apiece to get major ratings. The future is smaller, independent productions getting 100M-5MM hardercore fans. A guy can make how-to videos on YT and scratch out a living with low barriers to entry. A cable network can make a "Breaking Bad" and ride it for a few years, building a network around it. We are better off now. Lots of crap out there, but anyone can find a niche show they like. Fear not the coming shakeout. The President is a fink. |
| December 17th, 2015 at 9:25:05 PM permalink | |
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 |
I made this post in December 2014.
So just a year later the count is up over 400 scripted shows. |
| December 18th, 2015 at 12:49:24 AM permalink | |
| Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011 |
90% of it is pure crap. It's like the pulp fiction novels churned out in the 40's, there was a huge market for dreck. Netflix is especially guilty, have they ever turned down a story idea? Seems unlikely. Bloodline is good, I'm sure they'll F Up the 2nd season. Other than that, there's nothing on Nflix I'm looking forward to. I watched 8 min on the cowboy movie and tried to forget it, was not successful. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
| December 18th, 2015 at 3:23:55 AM permalink | |
| AZDuffman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 135 Posts: 18204 |
A point to remember is how many episodes of the new shows are there? Back in the days of network they ordered 22 new episodes for a season, running them twice each. Now, seasons can be most any length on streaming, but 7-12 is more common. On TV which has seasons you need that 22 to fill a year. Netflix just makes enough episodes of OITNB to tell that year's story, and in fact when you binge that is a nicer amount to watch. More variety, less filler. The President is a fink. |
| December 18th, 2015 at 4:18:04 PM permalink | |
| Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 |
That's a good point. A lot of cable series are very short. I was watching "Haven" on sci-fi or streaming. They just completed their sixth set of 13 episodes since their premier on July 9, 2010 (i.e. 6*13=78 episodes). In the old business model, they would have shot more episodes to make it sale-able for syndication. Now, 78 episodes is enough. But the problem is that there are such long breaks that you forget what the storyline was about. Viewership started at 2.34 million and ended up at 530 thousand. It's like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (The Fringe), which is the world's largest arts festival, with the 2014 event spanning 25 days and featuring over 3,193 shows from 51 countries in 299 venues. There are so many shows, that it is difficult to decide what you want to see. Who would think to watch 12 Angry Men staged using comedians in the roles of the twelve jurors. |
| December 18th, 2015 at 5:26:54 PM permalink | |
| Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 |
If they're going to us comedians, they should cast only six. That way they have to be twice as angry :) Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |