Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, August 12th, 2024

So how about that fall TV premiere month?

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, August 12th, 2024:

SO HOW ABOUT THAT FALL PRIMETIME PREMIERE MONTH?
Depending on the broadcast network, we are 4-5 weeks out from the premiere of the new fall broadcast TV primetime schedule. So let me ask this question: "what new broadcast TV show are you looking forward most to seeing next month?"

Now, that's a bit of a trick question. Because I suspect most viewers - even viewers like yourselves who are hyper-engaged about what is going on in television - would struggle to name maybe more than one or two of the broadcast TV shows premiering this fall. Which is especially embarrassing given how few new shows are premiering this year.

You might know there is a spin-off of Young Sheldon on the way (although congratulations if you're able to remember the name). And MAYBE you've heard there is a Matlock reboot premiering. Even though it’s pretty much Matlock in name only. But what about Murder In A Small Town? Doctor Odyssey? Brilliant Minds? The Summit? 

While there are some exceptions, much of the promotion for the new fall season so far seems to pretend we're all living in 2004 instead of twenty years later. The broadcast networks are relying primarily on network TV promos, some modest cross-promotion with their streaming services, some morning show TV interviews and the usually PR quiver of print features in outlets such as TV Guide and AARP, along with pieces in the Hollywood Trades scheduled to drop right before the premieres.

Now to be honest, I understand the lack of marketing ambition. Times are tough, budgets are tight and no one has the time or the money to do some out-of-the-box PR efforts which might not bring a respectable return on investment. 

But that flip side is that because the current audience for scripted broadcast television is so small right now, it doesn't take a great deal of a ratings bump to make a huge difference in the fortunes of a show. So convincing 100,000 or even 200,000 new people to tune in is a huge deal.

And I haven't seen any indication any of the networks are making an effort in that direction. Perhaps the networks believe they can wait until the last minute to engage the audience in a new show. But given the myriad of viewing choices out there, that seems like a dangerous gamble.

BTW, the Young Sheldon spin-off series is entitled Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage.

TWEET OF THE DAY

IT'S A FINE IDEA....EXCEPT FOR THE PART THAT MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE
Spyglass's M.G. Siegler wrote a piece today arguing that consumers wanted something similar to an iTunes for TV: a central place where they could search for the shows they're looking for, watch them in a central app and subscribe to streaming services all within the same platform:

In order for that model to work, you would also need a simple way to cancel or "pause" any streaming service with one-click. Apple has normalized such behavior through the App Store and other services have had to follow. But they obviously all do so beyond begrudgingly. No one wants to productize churn. Whomever this productizer ends up being needs to productize churn for this to work.

Again, that's part of the key is all if this is to work. You need to be able to easily flip "on" and "off" various content channels depending on what you want to watch. We're already at the breaking point with too many streaming services. They're starting to consolidate and/or re-bundle, but that's going to be a process. And they're all going to want to process it in different ways before they actually recognize that none of this is going to get us to an actual promise land in terms of user experience.

This is one of those ideas that sounds like a good idea until you think about it a bit. Firstly, the last thing streaming services want is to make it easier for subscribers to unsubscribe. The subscriber churn rate for most streaming services is already much higher than it needs to be in order to turn a profit.

And then there is the idea of allowing some outside entity to handle the billing. That direct relationship with the consumer has a great deal of value. That's a primary reason why Netflix isn't part of things such as Amazon Channels. Smaller streamers are willing to trade Amazon's marketing might for some consumer info. Smart larger streamers do that at their own risk.

Let's also not forget that by its very nature, bundling your service means you're going to make less money. You generally agree to sell the third party app your service at a reduced price. And since you don't have access to most of your subscriber's data, you aren't able to upsell them other services or make other direct connections with them.

There are a lot of media industry hot takes that are along the lines of "why can't they do this thing which would be convenient for me, but terrible for everyone else's bottom line?" And when you've asked that kind of question, you've also pretty much also answered it for yourself.

ODDS AND SODS
* The 2024 VMAs will move to Wednesday, September 11th on MTV due to the planned U.S. Presidential debate on September 10th.

* Comedian Tom Papa has announced that his new Netflix special, Home Free, will premiere on the service on October 29th.

* Win or Lose, Pixar’s first-ever original series, will premiere Friday, December 6th on Disney+. 

* Merit Street Media, a television company started by talk-show host Dr. Phil McGraw, has laid off around 40 people from its 100-person staff. Perhaps rebranding himself as “Dr. Anti-Cancel Culture” wasn’t such a good move for the Philster.

TV INDUSTRY JOBS
Collider: News Editor (Remote)
Collider is looking for a News Editor to oversee Movie/TV content under the leadership of our Deputy Editor. The selected candidate will have tremendous career growth opportunities within the organization. Please note that this role does not involve video editing or script editing.

Collider: TV/Movies Reporter (Freelance, Remote)
We are looking for general Pop Culture/Entertainment  enthusiasts, though we are also looking for experts in particular areas:

• Sci-Fi (Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, etc.)

• Horror (Current, classic, and niche horror alike)

• Network TV (NCIS, One Chicago, Reacher, Bosch, Law & Order, other procedural series)

• Movies (Someone who can engage deeply with director news, casting news, industry news, etc.)

• General Film and Television (Someone with the ability to cover a broad range of entertainment topics, and good flexibility

TV One: Producer/Writer (Silver Springs, MD, Hybrid/Remote)
Minimum of 10 years’ experience at producer level for a national broadcast/cable network– experience with AA audience is a plus.  Experience promoting to women as the primary audience is a plus, and/or the ideal candidate must have the right sensibility to promote to the female target. Ad agency experience is a plus.

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

MONDAY, AUGUST 12TH:
* Celebrity IOU Season Premiere (HGTV)
* Houses Of Horror: Secrets Of College Greek Life Series Premiere (A&E)
* Solar Opposites Season Five Premiere (Hulu)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 13TH:
* A Boston (R)evolution (PBS)
* Assisted Living Season Premiere (BET)
* Crime Is Her Game Season Finale (MHz Choice)
* House Of Payne Season Premiere (BET)
* Matt Rife: Lucid - A Crowd Work Special (Netflix)
* 100 Day Hotel Challenge Series Premiere (HGTV)
* Tatorte: Bremen Series Premiere (MHz Choice)

SEE YOU ON TUESDAY!