Variety’s Brian Lowry writes today that while broadcasting as a concept as proven more durable than critics have predicted, the new TV landscape demands a passion-engagement strategy with viewers that few networks are committing to.
In today’s TV industry, networks walk a delicate balancing act. While marching orders continue to demand mass appeal from programming, the new growing revenue streams are coming from small but loyal groups of fans who are willing to pay for content through their platform of choice. Lowry writes that as far back as 1998, the volume-versus-engagement debate was waging, with super-producer John Wells (“ER”) claiming the way to success for TV programs in the future was by making sure “people are going to be desperately unhappy if it’s not on the air… It can be a relatively limited core, but if you’ve identified it, and you can sell it to advertisers, that’s a successful series.”
Read more at Variety.
Brief Take: Broadcasters are in the awkward position of continuing to appeal to a mass audience while seeking out new revenue streams from small but passionate niche groups. While the future lies with the latter, it remains to be seen how broadcast networks will make the transition.
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