Future of Network Television

[klunderbunker]

Now first of all let me make this clear: I'm not talking about in the near future but more like 5 years or so.

Given the fact that there's now some insane amount of channels to pick from, the network channels (FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS) are becoming less and less important slowly. With so many channels to pick from on satellite or directTV etc., is there a future for network stations producing entertainment shows (as in scripted shows that aren't sports or news)? Sitcoms are rarer breeds anymore with reality shows having taken a lot of their TV time away. Combining those with game shows such as American Idol and Amazing Race, what does the future hold for these networks and their lineups? Will the traditional sitcom ever return to prominence, or is it in its dying days?

 

[FromTheSouth]

You forgot a major factor. The new Media Center on Windows 7 includes internet TV. There are a series of channels (some real, some net only) that offer scheduled programming. Of course, the shows do have ads to generate revenue, but with viewers being drawn away by more and more sources of stimulation, the networks aren't pulling the ratings to be able to charge for ad time, which is the sustaining power of television.

Network news is dead already. Fox, CNN, and MSNBC outdraw the network news 10-1. ABC abandoned their sports department, leaving that to ESPN. The network is not dying, but it is evolving.

Less revenue means more shows that are cheaply produced, i.e. reality shows. Why pay 5 actors a million dollars an episide when you can pay one average joe a million dollars once at the end of a season?

Americans do a terrible job of picking the shows they watch. CBS has exactly 418 different versions of CSI airing 24 hours a day, and people eat that shit up. Meanwhile, NBC produces Heroes, 30 Rock, The Office, Friday Night Lights, etc. and is last in the ratings. I don't get that.

 

[JGlass]

It's funny, I actually wrote a whole paper about the evolution of the sitcom for a class recently and one of the questions I tackled is if the sitcom is dying out.

In all honesty, there are still plenty of sitcoms on, and they're all pretty popular, but appeal more to niche audiences rather than mass audiences. For instance, the people who watch Ugly Betty probably aren't watching Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The good news about sitcoms is the people who watch them are a desirable demographic. Generally, sitcoms either attract the 18-34 demo (The Office, Always Sunny, formerly Scrubs), or women (Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, ABC shows).

Here's my personal belief: Reality television is totally and completely a fad. After a while, all reality shows begin to lose their appeal. Even American Idol has been losing ratings over the past few years (the numbers fluctuate, but overall I believe they've been decreasing). Shows like Survivor, Real World, Big Brother, none are as popular as they used to be.

Sitcoms, on the other hand, have been, and always will be a TV mainstay. Critics have thought the sitcom was dying before, then Friends and Seinfeld came out. I think as long as there is money to be made in television, there will be sitcoms.

I think the real issue is that there may not always be money to be made on television. Advertisers are growing increasingly hesitant to throw money at shows so they can run their commercials when they can now run them for less online. People aren't watching television like they used to. People will record their shows on DVR, watch them later, and fast forward through the commercials. Watching shows online is becoming popular too, and while there is still some money to be made by putting their shows on Hulu and Fancast, it's still not as much money as they made on real TV. It concerns me that this is happening, and I'm really not sure how it can be corrected.