TV's Awful Decline

[MediaZone4K 1509]

On 5/28/2023 at 10:02 PM, mrschimpf said:

It's stupid because press conferences were designed to digest events during the day and be part of a rundown later instead of being covered live, but it's too late to go back to that form of distribution.

Exactly!!! It almost seems like current events go out of their way to occur during daytime soap broadcast times, lol. GH gets pre-empted heavily!

 

Someone made this obvious statement but it stings. We really went from FREE quality television giving us 24 episodes a season, to a paid model scattered across streaming services (with eight to 10 episodes having long breaks between seasons) plus the cost of internet. Despite the modern advantages, it almost feels like we've regressed.

Edited July 1, 2023 by MediaZone4K

[bmasters1 377]

On 4/13/2023 at 9:02 PM, VHSgoodiesWA said:

Give me an old John Wayne or Perry Mason/Raymond Burr classic any day. Cheers, Seinfeld, Home Improvement too. The Conners is one of the few first-run sitcoms left that still follows a classic comedic format, not modernized and PC. It's been the trend for a good 10 years and especially took over during and post-Covid.

 

And I will always treasure Emergency! on DVD as well, especially in that that hit 70s NBC medical/action series w/Mantooth, Tighe, Fuller et al. was very much just about the work, both with the firemen and paramedics of Station 51, and with the doctors and nurses of Rampart General Hospital (that Chicago series that NBC has now doesn't come close).

[MediaZone4K 1509]

Didn't know where else to post this, I see "The Change Up" (2011) is airing at 11am ET on "E!" with a TV-14 rating. 

 

I'm surprised that a movie with such bold full frontal nudity is allowed to air in the daytime on basic cable with such small black censorship bars. How did this make it past the FCC?

Edited July 8, 2023 by MediaZone4K

[appleachian 128]

FCC has no jurisdiction over what airs on cable channels. 

[MediaZone4K 1509]

On 7/8/2023 at 12:35 PM, appleachian said:

FCC has no jurisdiction over what airs on cable channels. 

I had thought that the FCC had no authority over subscription channels like HBO. 

 

It surprised me to see that movie air because I thought basic cable channels could only do such a thing at night.

 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by MediaZone4K

[tyrannical bastard 3443]

1 hour ago, MediaZone4K said:

I had thought that the FCC had no authority over subscription based services channels HBO. 

 

It surprised me to see that movie air because I thought basic cable channels could only do such a thing at night.

 

 

 

Only longstanding standards and practices adopted by the cable networks and their parent companies.  Since these channels are merely jukeboxes to air programming stuffed and covered with ads and promotional snipes/bugs, what's the use anymore?  They still exist because ESPN/Sports networks and live news channels are the ONLY reason cable and pay TV remains a thing. 

 

Once ESPN goes rogue, it may take pay tv with it, but it's high cost may put it in the same bind that Diamond Sports got into.

[Megatron81 179]

The basic cable you can hear the F-Bomb a lot more than decades ago they have relax than in years past and also censorship orgs have moved onto streaming services, than cable or broadcast primetime TV. Little Demon did get attacked by The PTC & 1Million Moms which doesn't have 1 million members last fall. Otherwise, both leave cable & over the air broadcast alone. I think that over the air The Big 4 should try and talk with the FCC to let the F-Bomb fly since they use the other swear words which I don't believe are swear words other than the F-Bomb & and the C word.

[MediaZone4K 1509]

On 7/10/2023 at 11:53 PM, Megatron81 said:

The basic cable you can hear the F-Bomb a lot more than decades ago they have relax than in years past and also censorship orgs have moved onto streaming services, than cable or broadcast primetime TV. Little Demon did get attacked by The PTC & 1Million Moms which doesn't have 1 million members last fall. Otherwise, both leave cable & over the air broadcast alone. I think that over the air The Big 4 should try and talk with the FCC to let the F-Bomb fly since they use the other swear words which I don't believe are swear words other than the F-Bomb & and the C word.

Ehhh... I like that broadcast remains mostly clean. I don't think shows should have to curse or have explicit sex scenes in order to be good. A good drama can stand on its own without those elements. We've all seen how low standards can go when they're relaxed (example the VMAs).

[nycnewsjunkie 1395]

1 hour ago, MediaZone4K said:

Ehhh... I like that broadcast remains mostly clean. I don't think shows should have to curse or have explicit sex scenes in order to be good. A good drama can stand on its own without those elements. We've all seen how low standards can go when they're relaxed (example the VMAs).

I somewhat understand this opinion, and also acknowledge that it’s possible for some shows to use swearing as a bit of a crutch, but to me, that’s a problem of bad writing, not the existence of swear words. You could also argue that a complete ban on swear words makes certain shows unrealistic. Can you really suspend your disbelief about the average CBS police procedural when you don’t hear the occasional F-bomb flying around?

 

I understand having no explicit content before, say, 9pm, but I still think a complete ban is unrealistic in 2023. Although, given the fact that we’re about to experience a drought of scripted shows, this is probably a moot point. Oh well, get ready for Deal or No Deal: Electric Boogaloo.

[MediaZone4K 1509]

Surprisingly, MTV was airing music videos and a marathon of Behind the Music in celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. They even had a TRL like audeince show at 5 PM ET. It was teriffic, felt like I was watching Fuse from a few years ago. It was the first time in years that I watched that channel for hours. Sadly, the schedule for tomorrow is a whole lot of Ridiculousness.

 

Niche programming! Wish thise days could return. Maybe then there'd still be a reason to have cable.

Edited August 12, 2023 by MediaZone4K

[MediaZone4K 1509]

In this age of cord cutting cutting, this could have been an opportunity for broadcast networks to regain some strength (if not for streaming). Sadly we're running out of syndication options. It's went from too many talk shows to not enough.

 

With the boom of excessive newscasts, gone are the days when you could keep your TV on a local station for hours without changing the channel.

 

I'm sure station executives don't expect the same audience to sit through big news blocks like 4 to 6:30 PM. They're most likely banking on a different audience tuning in at the top or bottom of news hours.

Edited August 18, 2023 by MediaZone4K

[AdamTheJ 87]

I Do realize that what I’m about to bring up seems to be old, but I honestly have to say that syndication should try American versions of UK game shows, like (cough) Pointless, and keep it an hour length. I’ll bet it would be a decent lead-in to the news. I’ll bet CBS wouldn’t mind it on most of their O&O’s at 3pm, before the 4pm news. I say it’s better than 48 Hours or Dateline reruns. Otherwise syndication would be going through the motions to a point where it ultimately dies.
 

Now, IF you’re wondering why I want this to be in syndication, IF you put it on a network, it is likely they’ll dumb it down to a point where you’re so turned off that you ultimately prefer the UK counterpart. But what if you wanted to Be on the UK counterpart, well unless you’re a British citizen, you cannot be a contestant on it, and you don’t Have all the time in the World to be a UK citizen. Another Slap in the face, right there.

 

Oh, as for why I say most of the O&O’s, KDKA’s 3pm news, I’m sure is #1. So, in Pittsburgh, it would have to be on WPKD.

 

Sorry for my stance on US counterparts of UK game shows, but Dumbing Down US counterparts turns me off, and it is unlikely Who Wants to be a millionaire will ever come back. I wish that would, and With a live audience.

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by AdamTheJ

[Brain 81]

On 1/3/2023 at 6:52 PM, MediaZone4K said:

As the article suggests, cord cutting isn't the sole issue. Cable networks seem to be clueless that they've abandoned their niches in favor of saturated content: reality shows and sitcom reruns. MTV & VH 1 don't play music videos anymore, TLC lacks educational content in favor of Honey Boo-Boo, and umpteen channels show Friends. Not to mention the original content channels produce seems watered down compared to their old offerings: examples BET, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon network. Audiences aren't that dumb. Add to that, the heavy handed political messaging in shows. Viewers can tell when something is poorly written or cookie cutter and will turn away.

 

Broadcast tv is stale, it's current lineup of shows lack imagination compared to scripted streaming offerings.

 

Finally, we all know the problem with cable news. Sensationalism, hyper partisanship and toxic journalism that seeks to get eyeballs and reactions from viewers, rather than educating and informing them. With these poor choices, it's no wonder audiences are turning away from television. 

I think a lot of the issues with creative quality is the big element of industry politics being involved.

On 1/3/2023 at 7:46 PM, MediaZone4K said:

Rabbit ears analog was way better. I preferred the static over scratching and glitching from digital.

Yeah. Digital isn't always better in my opinion.

[Brain 81]

On 1/7/2023 at 2:21 PM, DirtyHarry said:

 

Two things screwed everything up: 1) the death of all the vaudeville people; 2) Norman Lear.

 

Before Lear, everything was just entertainment. Norman Lear with all his shows where he tried to make a social statements influenced too many others who seem to want to push their politics on everybody else. (Not to mention that many of us think that Archie Bunker has been partially vindicated after all these years.) 

 

But more importantly we've lost all those vaudeville people. Those people knew how to tell jokes and entertain and TV and radio reflected that. They're gone and I don't think the people producing TV today have the well-honed skills that those old timers had.

Well I do agree that a lot of TV and film push the politics of their creators to some degree, like Family Guy is one example. Now, content made just to do little more than shock is about half of what is on TV and film these days. Most shows in the adult animated genre have the same plot/character cliches and social/political statement humor (like inserting "God is just that big monster in the sky" every other week).

 

I'm not very strict or religious, but it's truth that movies and especially TV is gratuitously "risque" lately.

[Brain 81]

On 4/24/2023 at 1:24 PM, DirtyHarry said:

@MediaZone4K - local news is okay, but the national news media has become Pravda for the Deep State. Anything on the national level is not to be trusted anymore. All it is is talking points fed to the media from political flacks. 

 

The funny one is Hunter Biden, who is actually involved in illegalities, along with his dad, given a pass. But they gleefully go after Trump over and over again and can't find a thing. He may be the cleanest person to ever run for the presidency. Oh and we have that Scooter Libby and Valerie Plame thing. A nothingburger, but they started beating the drums. I have no respect for the national media at all. All these phony scandals have turned me off to all these people.

 

Scandal against Republicans and throw the book at them for jaywalking, Democrats always get a pass for major violations of the law. I'm not standing up for Republicans -- I hate the DC Republican Party, but that's what I see.

I will say this...both and all sides have their issues.

[Abraham J. Simpson 303]

There’s a lot of wistful, rose-colored-glasses nostalgia in this thread. And perhaps a bit of “get off my lawn” as well. 
 

Trying to apply the model of broadcasting from decades ago into today’s world isn’t going to work. The audience has changed. Technology has changed. Yet the broadcasters should operate like it’s 1982? How does that work?

 

The ecosystem is much larger, and people do not—and will not—watch content the way they once did. That’s not a bad thing; it’s the nature of the world. If you try to cling to the old ways, you’re hastening your demise. 

[tyrannical bastard 3443]

The silver lining for TV is when the digital bubbles start bursting.  Streaming companies are sucking away more content and jacking up the price because of it.  Then you have dumpster fires like Bally Sports, where sports teams are bailing out left and right, and in most cases, end up on linear TV once again.

 

But the amount of rehashed content on TV is quite alarming.  Who would have thought stalwarts like Judge Judy and Jerry Springer would survive in syndication as reruns after production of shows like these wrapped several years ago?

 

It doesn't help when you have shows like Mathis Court on TV while the OG Judge Mathis is still filling time in repeats....

Edited October 10, 2023 by tyrannical bastard

[Abraham J. Simpson 303]

The audience chooses what it chooses, and whether any one of us likes or detests it, that’s where we are.

 

There is still plenty of original syndicated fare that’s not Springer or courtroom shows, but when you’re the fifth or sixth place broadcaster in a world where your audience is also watching streaming, recordings, on-demand and the like, lower cost options are what you need to not take a loss. The advertising market has splintered and continues to splinter. There’s no going back. Spending money you don’t have and will never recoup isn’t going to work. 
 

 

[MediaZone4K 1509]

On 10/10/2023 at 9:37 AM, Abraham J. Simpson said:

There’s a lot of wistful, rose-colored-glasses nostalgia in this thread. And perhaps a bit of “get off my lawn” as well. 
 

Trying to apply the model of broadcasting from decades ago into today’s world isn’t going to work. The audience has changed. Technology has changed. Yet the broadcasters should operate like it’s 1982? How does that work?

 

The ecosystem is much larger, and people do not—and will not—watch content the way they once did. That’s not a bad thing; it’s the nature of the world. If you try to cling to the old ways, you’re hastening your demise. 

You are right, things change and (get off my lawn ahead) it sucks that that media change is happening in my lifetime.

 

BUT, most people (across several bubbles that I've spoken with ) agree TV sucks now...and subjective statement ahead: the change has largely not been for the better.

 

Viewing habits will evolve, change is a fact of life. I love streaming. The problem is content saturation and de-evolution. 

 

Watered down recycled ideas, endless reboots instead of original ideas, heavy handed political virtue signaling in shows, excessively graphic cursing and sex scenes.

 

I love the traditional tv model, I'm open to streaming, let's just make sure what we're doing now isn't crappier than what we had.

Edited October 11, 2023 by MediaZone4K

[Abraham J. Simpson 303]

Every generation seems to lament what those newfangled whippersnappers like. Bring back Milton Berle and Ed Sullivan. What the heck are music videos? Who wants to watch kids dance for an hour?

 

What hasn’t changed is the audience dictates the content. What people reject goes away.
 

And while sequels/reboots/rehashes of existing IP are by no means anything new in TV, they seem to get a disproportionate share of “there are no original ideas” when in fact there are many. Of course audiences familiar with whatever brand may gravitate toward checking it out; we’re human and like positive memories. If people stick around and enjoy the show on its own merits, great. But there’s plenty of original

ideas and creative twists on older ones (Stranger Things and Wednesday from Netflix come to mind as one example of each).

 

And all kinds of content from music to movies to TV has borrowed, some more blatantly than others, from

what came before.
 

Much of the original content from basic cable migrated to streaming as the audience did. Makes sense; follow the money. And it also follows that we’d see a big push early on for original content to give each platform an identity and a reason to pay up. That dust will settle and the investments will become more targeted into what proves to be working.

 

The broadcast model is dying. It’s not dead and won’t be for a while, but it’s on the way. It’s going to need to rely on a changing mix of programs to wring some remaining life out of it, and rely on streaming to pick up some of the lost audience. For now, it’s sustainable with adjustments. 

[MediaZone4K 1509]

What I don't understand is --- and someone educate me --- why can't networks (or studios) just not put things on streaming if they're so concerned about loosing an adience thus ad revenue?

 

This feels like a self created problem for the industry. 

4 hours ago, Abraham J. Simpson said:

Every generation seems to lament what those newfangled whippersnappers like. Bring back Milton Berle and Ed Sullivan. What the heck are music videos? Who wants to watch kids dance for an hour?

 

What hasn’t changed is the audience dictates the content. What people reject goes away.
 

And while sequels/reboots/rehashes of existing IP are by no means anything new in TV, they seem to get a disproportionate share of “there are no original ideas” when in fact there are many. Of course audiences familiar with whatever brand may gravitate toward checking it out; we’re human and like positive memories. If people stick around and enjoy the show on its own merits, great. But there’s plenty of original

ideas and creative twists on older ones (Stranger Things and Wednesday from Netflix come to mind as one example of each).

 

And all kinds of content from music to movies to TV has borrowed, some more blatantly than others, from

what came before.
 

Much of the original content from basic cable migrated to streaming as the audience did. Makes sense; follow the money. And it also follows that we’d see a big push early on for original content to give each platform an identity and a reason to pay up. That dust will settle and the investments will become more targeted into what proves to be working.

 

The broadcast model is dying. It’s not dead and won’t be for a while, but it’s on the way. It’s going to need to rely on a changing mix of programs to wring some remaining life out of it, and rely on streaming to pick up some of the lost audience. For now, it’s sustainable with adjustments. 

Yes there are good ideas on streaming. And that's the crazy part...we went from getting good shows on free analog to paid subscription model puls the added cost of an internet connection.

Edited October 11, 2023 by MediaZone4K

[Brain 81]

5 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

You are right, things change and (get off my lawn ahead) it sucks that that media change is happening in my lifetime.

 

BUT, most people (across several bubbles that I've spoken with ) agree TV sucks now...and subjective statement ahead: the change has largely not been for the better.

 

Viewing habits will evolve, change is a fact of life. I love streaming. The problem is content saturation and de-evolution. 

 

Watered down recycled ideas, endless reboots instead of original ideas, heavy handed political virtue signaling in shows, excessively graphic cursing and sex scenes.

 

I love the traditional tv model, I'm open to streaming, let's just make sure what we're doibg now isn't crappier than what we had.

I'm a traditional TV lover and I also have a few of the streamers in my house.

4 hours ago, Abraham J. Simpson said:

Every generation seems to lament what those newfangled whippersnappers like. Bring back Milton Berle and Ed Sullivan. What the heck are music videos? Who wants to watch kids dance for an hour?

 

What hasn’t changed is the audience dictates the content. What people reject goes away.
 

And while sequels/reboots/rehashes of existing IP are by no means anything new in TV, they seem to get a disproportionate share of “there are no original ideas” when in fact there are many. Of course audiences familiar with whatever brand may gravitate toward checking it out; we’re human and like positive memories. If people stick around and enjoy the show on its own merits, great. But there’s plenty of original

ideas and creative twists on older ones (Stranger Things and Wednesday from Netflix come to mind as one example of each).

 

And all kinds of content from music to movies to TV has borrowed, some more blatantly than others, from

what came before.
 

Much of the original content from basic cable migrated to streaming as the audience did. Makes sense; follow the money. And it also follows that we’d see a big push early on for original content to give each platform an identity and a reason to pay up. That dust will settle and the investments will become more targeted into what proves to be working.

 

The broadcast model is dying. It’s not dead and won’t be for a while, but it’s on the way. It’s going to need to rely on a changing mix of programs to wring some remaining life out of it, and rely on streaming to pick up some of the lost audience. For now, it’s sustainable with adjustments. 

How much money would you say in the ballpark what the broadcast model is making compared to the first decade or so of it's existence? It's all relative numbers anyway.

[MediaZone4K 1509]

With local news, occupying much of local station's schedules,  surprisingly stations havent adopted a cable like discussion model (minus the arguing) to fill airtime. Much of what I've seen are straight  vo/sots and packages. 

 

I wonder how much of KTLA's heavy news product is discussion based--outside of mornings?

Edited January 4 by MediaZone4K

[Abraham J. Simpson 303]

There may well be exceptions, but by and large, they don’t need to do that. People are tuning in for quick hits, not long blocks. You can adjust the tone and story selection approach to provide different feelings at different times of day, but people aren’t looking for a local version of the cable primetime shows. 

[MediaZone4K 1509]

We haven't discussed award shows decline in this thread yet but the Primetime Emmys last night were actually good if anyone saw it! It was a well done retrospective of 75 years of tv with several cast reunions.