Invitation to Watch TV & Cable Change

I received an invitation via email from the Total Living Network to attend the screening of a new film. The screening includes a live performance by the featured comedian Michael Jr. and illustrates one of the latest changes in the cable television community – repositioning broadcast/cable companies as storytelling studios.

In the early days of broadcast there were only a handful of channels available to watch. The audience had little choice in programming due to the few channels available in the area. In Chicagoland, we had greater choices including an educational station, a religious station, two local stations, and three network stations. With the later advent of cable, the choices jumped to 50 channels and a decade later to 500 channels. Today, there are thousands of channels available via the Internet.

Many in the television industry see the writing on the wall. Major networks are quickly starting up Internet channels to stay ahead of the curve before broadcast stations are circumvented by other sources of programming. Unfortunately, networks get paid very little for ads shown with programming on the Internet, causing great downsizing concerns similar to what the newspaper industry saw around 2002-2003.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what will happen to television during this next decade. The broadcasters, cable and wireless companies will become big dumb pipes for the information to flow. The production and storytelling companies will be quickly weeded out based on focus within key niche markets and the quality of story presented. The advertisers who make it all a reality will stop purchasing space from the big pipes and go directly to the quality storytelling production companies that build audiences based on the success of their stories.

New companies will emerge to aggregate the programs on a per use or monthly fee. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see YouTube, Hulu, NetFlix and others start charging according to this up coming model. The new players will also provide the information to you on the device of your choice, in the location of your choice, and at the time of your choice. You’ll no longer need to watch TV at just the right time or set the DVR for time shifting.

Regional settings will come into play as local businesses sponsor shows like NCIS, American Idol and the like within a ten mile radius of their store/restaurant. National sponsors will spend time looking for successful storytellers who can attract the right audience for their product. And, more product placement will happen to build the bond between key characters and the use of the sponsor’s products – drawing audience members to the product by way of their vicarious relationship with the key character.

This new model will make advertisers very happy, as they will be able to focus specifically on their primary audience. Quality storytelling production companies will be happy, no longer having to bend to the whims of the network executives. And, the audience will be happy to watch better quality shows with ads that actually interest them. While the audience and advertisers win big time with this model, it won’t be pretty until a new breed of storytellers replace numerous production, broadcast and cable companies.