Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, December 6th, 2022
Differing views of the future of streaming video.
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, December 6th, 2022.
IMMIGRANT REPRESENTATION ON TELEVISION
Define American, with USC Norman Lear Center’s Media Impact Project, just released its third television impact study: Change the Narrative, Change the World: The Power of Immigrant Representation on Television.
The study looked at the portrayal of immigrant characters on 79 scripted television shows that aired between July 2020 and June 2022 and surveyed viewers on how four immigration storylines shaped their attitudes toward immigrants in the real world.
The findings? Immigrant representation on television has shifted in important ways — both positive and negative — since 2020.
Here are some of the quick takeaways:
* 40% of immigrant characters were associated with crime.
The number of immigrant characters associated with crime is at an all-time high. In 2020, we celebrated a dramatic drop in depictions of immigrant characters associated with crime. Unfortunately, the trend did not continue. In 2022, six times as many immigrant characters were featured in crime shows and procedurals when compared to 2020.
* 27% of immigrants on TV were AAPI.
Representation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) immigrant characters on television has more than doubled since our 2020 study. These gains are a step forward for Asian American representation; however, specifically Pacific Islander, or Pasifika, representation is lacking and is often erased from broader AAPI discourse.
* 2x as many Black immigrant characters were on television as there were in 2020.
The growing representation of Black immigrant characters is in large part due to the sitcom "Bob Hearts Abishola", from creator Gina Yashere. The television landscape also saw the inclusion of three Black undocumented characters, whereas our previous research found no representation.
* 34% of immigrants on TV were Latine, dropping from 50% in 2020.
Representation of Latine immigrant characters has plummeted since 2020, dropping from 50% in 2020 to 34% in 2022 – even though in reality, Latine immigrants comprise 44% of all U.S. immigrants.
A FEW MORE THOUGHTS FROM JASON KILAR
I'll be upfront and say that of all the media executives out there right now, my personal thoughts about the future of streaming align most closely with those of ex-WarnerMedia and Hulu CEO Jason Kilar. I tend to see the industry much more through his point of view than that of older contemporaries such as David Zaslav or Bob Iger. Those are smart people, but I don't believe they have the mindset necessary to navigate some of the very specific problems facing the media business in 2022.
I suspect Kilar has some limitations of what he can publicly say about the streaming business, given his negotiated exit from WarnerMedia when it was acquired by Discovery. So it was interesting to see Kilar provide the Wall Street Journal with an op-ed overview of the industry yesterday.
Most of it was predictably written on a very macro level, but I thought this possible future of the theatrical business was worth highlighting:
Sports leagues have the opportunity to increase their audiences by avoiding channel exclusivity and insisting on dual distribution of each game across the cable bundle and streaming. Expect a more aggressive focus across the globe toward free ad-supported models delivered over the internet. There will also be continued evolution at the cineplex, as theaters seek to strongly differentiate a great night out at the movies from an evening on the couch. IMAX and Alamo Drafthouse serve as inspiration, demonstrating cinema’s power to elevate films and their impact on us.
In addition to films, there is a substantive opportunity to enhance the presentation and communal experience of the most ambitious series by leaning into the theatrical environment. Imagine each episode of “House of the Dragon” exclusively projected on silver screens globally on a Saturday before streaming on a Sunday. It would also not be surprising if the length of a movie’s exclusive theatrical window becomes based on consumer demand for the theatrical experience rather than anything else (e.g., a movie’s exclusive run in U.S. theaters would remain in place for as long as its weekly box office stayed above $5 million).
I've long thought that theatrical business is inevitably moving towards a more business with streaming - assuming that all sides are willing to bend a bit. Flexible theatrical windows on all but the biggest titles, one-off and limited run screenings of high-profile streaming titles that resemble the events now being run by companies such as Fathom Events, which already runs programs such as the TCM Big Screen Classics.
Unfortunately, I don't have the editorial juice to grab an interview with Kilar, but I did swap a couple of questions with him on Twitter and I think they are worth including here:
THE GREAT NETFLIX CONTENT CONUNDRUM
Puck's Julia Alexander has a great piece on some of the nuanced choices Netflix needs to make as it attempts to balance creating content that satisfies its "super viewers" vs creating content that might be less popular overall, but more attractive to possible new subscribers:
A more valuable show, from a subscription growth perspective, may be Extraordinary Attorney Woo, a South Korean series that has garnered strong viewership (more than 400 million hours viewed) outside of its origin country. It bolsters subscribers in South Korea—Netflix’s only strong growth market over the past year is Asia Pacific, which provided 60 percent of the subscriber additions this past quarter. But more importantly, Attorney Woo is attracting new subscribers in different territories. It’s also simultaneously reducing potential churn among existing customers who might otherwise have tapped out.
We saw this same phenomenon recently with Fauda, an Israeli action series that wasn’t a massive global hit but generated stronger interest out of viewers who were at higher risk of canceling than their counterparts. In the end, this makes Fauda an incredibly valuable global title for Netflix. (Its fourth season drops in January.) None of these shows are Wednesday, but that’s precisely the point—even without the giant viewership number attached.
It's a very smart take and it's a reminder that the reasons for creating original content are more complicated than just "order super-entertaining scripted dramas." The larger you customer base, the wider the scope of your content needs to be in order to keep everyone happy. A global service such as Netflix needs huge hits such as Wednesday, but it also needs Troll, Snack Vs. Chef and Bling Empire.
ODDS AND SODS
* The Great British Baking Show co-host Matt Lucas announced today that he is quitting the series after three seasons. According to Lucas, he decided to step away from hosting duties after “it’s become clear” that he can’t juggle Bake Off with his duties presenting another British show, Fantasy Football League.
* Rob Tuck, the veteran ad-sales chief of The CW, is leaving the network as it moves forward under new ownership, according to a post from the executive on social media.
* CNN’s Headline News may seem thoroughly old-fashioned now that it’s dead. But its demise is a reminder of the creeping nature of media obsolescence.
* The Roku Channel has sealed a one-year deal to be the official English-language home for Miss Universe, which will stream live from New Orleans on January 14th, 2023
WHAT'S NEW FOR TUESDAY:
Bering Sea Gold Season Premiere (Discovery)
Delivery By Christmas (Netflix)
Liam Gallagher: Knebworth 22 (Paramount+)
Monarch Season One Finale (Fox)
Paul Goes To Hollywood Series Premiere (Cooking Channel)
Sebastian Maniscalco: Is It Me? (Netflix)
The Boss Baby: Christmas Bonus (Netflix)
The Checkup with Dr. David Agus Series Premiere (Paramount+)
2022 People's Choice Awards (NBC)
Unveiled: Surviving La Luz Del Mundo (HBO Max)
Who Killed Jenni Rivera? (Peacock)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU WEDNESDAY!
If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.