Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, June 26th, 2023

A look at Warner Bros. Discovery's impressive collection of zombie TV networks.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, June 26th, 2023.

WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY'S IMPRESSIVE COLLECTION OF ZOMBIE TV NETWORKS
I remember that a few years ago the conventional wisdom was the big media companies would shut down many of their less-popular cable networks. The thinking was that the companies would focus on their core assets and closing down some networks would decrease the size of the average cable bundle, making it less expensive and more able to compete with the digital upstarts.

As it turns out, the exact opposite of that has taken place. Media companies continue to offer their large bundles of mostly pointless cable networks as part of a "take it or leave it" deal during carriage disputes. The only slight change is that some of the most useless networks have been shifted from the main cable TV and vMVPD tier into add-on bundles. But there are still an amazing number of channels which only exist because even with a primetime audience in the low five figures, the combination of a few cents per subscriber from the carriage deal as well as some ad revenue provides enough of a revenue stream to keep the channel alive. Even if no one cares.

Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery both have a sizeable collection of channels which exist only as revenue-skimming television zombies. They don't have original programming, they are seldom even mentioned in corporate messaging campaigns. 

Here is a rundown of the Warner Bros. Discovery zombie channels, and I am including a couple of formerly vibrant networks which have been pared down so much they are essentially zombie-adjacent.

American Heroes Channel
AHC is the perfect example of a large media company's ability to use its size and negotiating strength in order to force cable systems into carrying networks which make absolutely no sense outside of the financial hustle. The network launched in 1998 as Discovery Wings Channel, with the programming focusing on planes and aerospace. In its early years, the programming included an hourly live weather segment from the National Weather Service.

In 2005, the name changed to The Military Channel, and the programming centered on a lot of military aircraft and related stories. In 2014, the network was rebranded again as American Heroes Channel. While there were a original productions in its early years, the programming for the past 5-6 years has been exclusively old programs featuring the military, stories of the Wild West and random programs with "America" in the title.

Cooking Channel
The network was launched by Scripps in 2001 as Fine Living and was targeted as a companion to the Food Network and HGTV. Scripps owned 69% of the network and Nexstar Media Group owned 31%. The programming was a more upscale mix of food, home living and travel shows and the channel spent a reported $100 million on original programming in its early years. The network was rebranded as The Cooking Channel in 2010 and it added a score of new shows from familiar Food Network personalities, including Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray and Emeril Lagasse. But since 2018, the number of original programs created for the Cooking Channel has steadily decreased. In the past year, only 4-5 original episodes are added to the network each month and they are from long-running shows such as Carnival Eats. 

Destination America
The channel launched in 1996 as the Discovery Travel & Living Network and the programming was a mix of food, travel and home improvement shows. The network was an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the rival Food Network and HGTV. Although very little of that programming found an audience. In 2008, Discovery relaunched the channel as Planet Green and it spent a reported $50 million on original programming. Many of the show were quite good, but Discovery executives never seemed committed to the idea and within two years, all of the original shows had been canceled in favor of assorted library programming.

The network was rebranded as Destination America in 2012 and was originally seen by Discovery executives as a possible competitor to rival Scripps Network's Travel Channel. But when Discovery acquired Scripps Networks Interactive in 2017, the programming was shifted to paranormal shows in order to differentiate itself from its now sister Travel Channel. But when the Travel Channel began shifting its programming to more paranormal shows the following year, Destination America shifted back to a lineup of lightweight house and travel programming from the Discovery holdings. The programming now focuses on 24-hour marathons of show such as Beach Hunters, Beachfront Bargain Hunt and Lakefront Bargain Hunt.  

Discovery Family
Given that kids programming is one of the stickiest types of television programming (as well as some of the most desirable for some advertisers), it's not surprising that Discovery wanted to get in on the genre. The company launched Discovery Kids in 1998, focusing on live-action science and nature programming. In 2010, Hasbro Entertainment became a partner in the channel and it relaunched as The Hub. Programming shifted to animated series such as My Little Pony and Transformers, along with some original live-action shows based on popular Hasbro-owned board games. In 2014, the was rebranded again as Discovery Family, with Hasbro now programming the network's daytime hours with animated reruns. While Discovery filled the network's evening hours with recycled episodes of Ultimate Cake-Off and Yard Crashers.

Discovery Life
Even for a zombie channel, the history of this network has been especially convoluted. In 2011, Discovery signed a deal with Oprah Winfrey that would give her own branded co-partnership network with Discovery. To do that, Discovery rebranded its Discovery Health network as OWN. But there were still viewers interested in some of Discovery Health's programming, so Discovery FitTV was rebranded as Discovery Fit & Health. The network was rebranded again as Discovery Life in 2015, with the target audience being women in the 20s and 30s. The network originally mixed some new programs like Sex Sent Me To The ER with older programming pulled from the old TLC library. In recent years, the schedule has been filled with decade-old episodes of I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant and Our Little Family. 

Motor Trend
The channel began its life in 2002 as Discovery HD Theater, billed as the "first 24/7 high-definition basic cable network." Programming was a mix of HD programming from other Discovery networks. In 2011, the network was rebranded as Velocity, which featured automotive programming targeting an upscale male audience. In 2017, Discovery partnered with the owner of Motor Trend Magazine on a new look for the channel, which was renamed Motor Trend. The primary point of the linear network was to push viewers to the direct-to-consumer streaming service Motor Trend On Demand. It's unclear how well the streaming service is doing, since Warner Bros. Discovery decided last year to no longer include subscription numbers from the service in its quarterly earning reports. What new programming the linear channel has added in recent years is programming that was originally produced for the streaming service.

This was quite a lengthy rundown, but I spent the time doing it to illustrate just how crazy the current linear TV carriage situation is for consumers. There is absolutely no reason for any of these networks to continue to exist. Other than a combination of lethargy and petty greed.

SAG-AFTRA TALKS WITH THE STUDIOS MAY OR MAY NOT BE GOING WELL
In a video released over the weekend, SAG-AFTRA leaders said the talks with AMPTP have been "extremely productive" and promised to reach a "seminal deal." Which outside observers took as a sign that a deal might between the two sides might be close.

But Variety just posted a piece that argues substantial differences remain between the two sides, especially when it comes to performance-based residuals:

One of the key stumbling blocks is the issue of a viewership-based streaming residual, which was also on the list of demands from the Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike against AMPTP companies since May 2.

SAG-AFTRA has proposed a bonus on top of the standard residual for the most-watched shows. But the AMPTP has refused to go along with that.

One of the challenges is getting a common metric that would work across all the streaming platforms. Each platform measures views differently, and they also consider that data top-secret.

If this sounds familiar, it's an issue I've been writing about a lot over the past few months. Linear TV ratings are a very different situation than the "viewing" numbers provided in the streaming video world. In part because audience size doesn't have the same weight in a subscription-driven service that it does on linear television. And then there are the challenges in just compiling data across multiple services that has equal weight and validity:

DGA leaders have suggested that it will take widespread adoption of advertising in streaming to generate reliable viewership metrics, though even that might not solve the issue for creators.

I'm not going to do another deep dive into this topic again, but the fact that DGA representatives so misunderstand how data collection takes place in an AVOD environment is troubling. It's not the same as a linear ad market, which is one of the many things that complicates the issue of tracking audiences. 

I agree with everyone who is arguing that creatives should be able to financially rewarded for helping to create a popular title. But especially on the WGA side, there are things that should probably be a higher priority, including the size of writers rooms and improving the span issues related to short seasons and the extra-long delays between seasons which seem to be the increasing norm in the streaming world. 

PENSKE MEDIA CUTS AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF JOBS
This has already been an odd week for entertainment news outlets. First there was the really strange prospect of a possible merger between The Ankler and The Daily Beast. And then this morning, The Wrap reported there had been an unknown number of layoffs at Penske Media. The number of layoffs appear to be small  - at least for now - but The Wrap is claiming Penske's entertainment outlets massively missed their last quarter's revenue targets:

As TheWrap previously reported earlier this month, the layoffs were expected at THR after Penske Media publications, including THR’s sister entertainment trade site Deadline, missed its revenue targets last quarter. PMC insiders told TheWrap that THR missed its Q1 2023 sales goal by 75%, while Deadline only hit 30% of their Q4 2022 revenue goals. A Penske rep said the numbers were “extremely off and don’t make sense.”

At any rate, there has been company-wide belt tightening alongside reduced expenditures. A staffer at Variety previously told TheWrap the trade publication has slashed travel and freelance budgets. And multiple staffers said that the PMC publications are on a hiring freeze.

The Wrap has always fancied itself as a Penske Media rival, so it's not surprising it reported on this news. But I did find this little nugget buried in the story interesting, since it seemed to suggest The Wrap is having revenue challenges of its own:

The financial pressures PMC is experiencing are not unlike those shared by other publications currently, including TheWrap, as a result of lowered advertising buying amid an unstable economy, a writers’ strike and potential for work stoppage by additional Hollywood unions, as well as the overall financial impact of COVID-19.

ODDS AND SODS
* Remember all of that industry buzz when it was discovered the new interface for Max lumped writers, producers, directors and other creatives under the generic term "creators?" Well, it's a month later and whilethe social media outrage is gone, the creator tags still remain.

* Warner Bros. Animation's DC Super Hero Girlscan no longer be purchased via many major streaming services. 

* Only in the 1970scould a British singer in blackface have a hitcovering ABBA's "Honey Honey"

* A look atJim Stafford's vaguely homophobic 1970s hit single "My Girl Bill."He was also the star of the short-lived summer variety seriesThe Jim Stafford Show.

WHAT'S NEW FOR TUESDAY:
* Gotham Knights Season One Finale (The CW)
* Superman & Lois Season Three Finale (The CW)
* Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music (Max)

Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.

SEE YOU MONDAY!

If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.