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posted by LaminatorX on Wednesday September 02 2015, @12:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the diamonds-in-the-coal-pile dept.

John Koblin writes in the NYT that there's a malaise in TV these days that's felt among executives, viewers and critics, and it's the result of one thing: There is simply too much on television. John Landgraf, chief executive of FX Networks, reported at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour that the total number of original scripted series on TV in 2014 was 371 and will surpass 400 in 2015. The glut, according to Landgraf, has presented "a huge challenge in finding compelling original stories and the level of talent needed to sustain those stories." Michael Lombardo, president of programming at HBO. says it is harder than ever to build an audience for a show when viewers are confronted with so many choices and might click away at any moment. "I hear it all the time," says Lombardo. "People going, 'I can't commit to another show, and I don't have the time to emotionally commit to another show.' I hear that, and I'm aware of it, and I get it." Another complication is that shows not only compete against one another, but also against old series that live on in the archives of Amazon, Hulu or Netflix. So a new season of "Scandal," for example, is also competing against old series like "The Wire." "The amount of competition is just literally insane," says Landgraf.

Others point out that the explosion in programming has created more opportunity for shows with diverse casts and topics, such as "Jane the Virgin," "Transparent" and "Orange Is the New Black." Marti Noxon, the showrunner for Lifetime's "UnREAL" and Bravo's "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce," says there has been a "sea change" in the last five years. "I couldn't have gotten those two shows on TV five years ago," says Noxon. "There was not enough opportunity for voices that speak to a smaller audience. Now many of these places are looking to reach some people — not all the people. That's opened up a tremendous opportunity for women and other people that have been left out of the conversation."


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  • (Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday September 02 2015, @01:22AM

    by looorg (578) on Wednesday September 02 2015, @01:22AM (#231062)

    It's somewhat interesting to note they complain about there is to much on TV and then with their next breath they admit that there is a huge challenge in finding original stories. They don't see the connect here? There is not an infinite amount of quality to go around if you have to push out content to umpteen channels around the clock - story, writing, acting, visually or whatever metric you like. Perhaps the audience doesn't want to watch the same story (or remake) again and again and again. So putting up clones, copies, sequels, prequels, spinoffs or whatnot wasn't the best idea they ever came up with in TV-land. Next year there will be another couple of channels on and more streaming/downloading/whatevertheycomeupwithnext and that needs content to. Quality will start slipping eventually.

    Then we have not even touched on the issue of how audiences watches TV anymore. The old viewing habit of a certain day in a certain time slot seems to erode. HBO, NETFLIX, AMAZON etc are putting nails into that coffin with releasing seasons the same day instead of dragging it out over months. Then there are all the indie and amateur shows on like youtube etc; some of those are quite entertaining. People adapt to the way they like to watch it - I'll admit that this weekend I watched 10 episodes of Narcos; it was fairly good and entertaining. That means there wasn't really time to watch much or anything else. I don't mind the shows, they can be entertaining or relaxing. I just don't want to be locked into to viewing it when they want me to view.

    Then there are all the non-TV forms of entertainment that are "stealing" their eyeballs. Let's not even go there, that path just seems filled with infinite amounts of competition.

    On the other hand are these not the people that talk about how important it is with diversity and many different views and culture and all that? Seriously. Can't have the cake, eat it and complain at the same time about the pieces getting smaller.

    http://old.tvrage.com/narcos [tvrage.com]

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2015, @01:32AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2015, @01:32AM (#231073)

    On the other hand are these not the people that talk about how important it is with diversity and many different views and culture and all that? Seriously. Can't have the cake, eat it and complain at the same time about the pieces getting smaller.

    (a) The industry is not a monolith and (b) The pieces aren't shrinking because the monoculture is fracturing, the monoculture is fracturing because the pieces are shrinking and in response they are desperately seeking out heretofore unexploited audiences.