Now first run and syndication are going around the locals
Steve Safran September 7th, 2007
More news from the land of disruption: ABC and Warner Brothers TV have done a deal that should worry the locals yet again. The new shows Big Shots, Men in Trees, Notes from the Underbelly and Pushing Daisies will stream on ABC.com online (as has been standard policy) for four weeks after broadcast. The disruption? Broadcasting & Cable writes:
In the second year of the deal, Warner Bros. has the rights to stream past episodes of the shows that previously streamed on ABC.com… Warner can stream episodes to unlimited outlets, but episodes will be branded ABC and promote back to the network.
So now locals that are used to milking syndicated reruns should be concerned that the networks are going around them twice: once in the show’s original run, and then again in syndication. Get into the original, local production business and you’ll always own your stuff.
13 Comments Add your own
1. !!! | September 7th, 2007 at 10:56 am
‘you’ll always own your own stuff.’ - We don’t need no stinkin’ synd, ALL NEWS ALL THE TIME! Are locals being forced into this?
2. Steve Safran | September 7th, 2007 at 11:05 am
There is no rule that says locals can only produce news.
3. Steve Boriss | September 7th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
See my post “First the AP, now TV networks are directly competing with their own members. ABC invades affiliates’ syndication business.” at TheFutureOfNews.com
4. Anonymous | September 8th, 2007 at 4:11 am
Saf, are you saying TV stations should start producing hour-long dramas? Half hour sitcoms? I can’t imagine how much that would suck. Even if it was a simple game show ala Power of 10 or Deal or No Deal, the production values would be a lot lower and the dollar values a lot smaller. I know I would be more likely to watch a network show on the other station. About the only successful local programming I can think of are news, public affairs, and truly awful talk.
5. Media Glutton | September 8th, 2007 at 5:07 am
“Saf, are you saying TV stations should start producing hour-long dramas?” I don’t think Saf is saying this. But mooching off other networks’ dramas is not the way to go, either. Local channels who don’t make any original content are worthless to both the viewer and society. Basically, these are channels that people with the Internet and access to DVDs will not watch. If you just show old shows, why would anyone make your channel appointment viewing? The entirety of broadcasting is changing, and syndication is sure to change with it.
6. Safran | September 8th, 2007 at 6:36 am
What he said. You need a mix, and you need to create content ONLINE. The point is not that every station has to start shooting sitcoms. It’s that they can’t rely on the revenue from those shows anymore and they need to get creative.
The reason you can only think of the awful local programming is because it is, indeed, awful. But that’s because it’s done to meet FCC requirements, not to make money. There are plenty of creative people who want to be creative. We have to let them.
7. thedetroitchannel | September 8th, 2007 at 8:29 am
it also is interesting when THE TALENT seeks to bypass the local affiliates too.
a high school friend is the man behind this one, maybe you remember him from full house?
cleanguys.tv
8. Anonymous | September 8th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Saf, can you at least offer a couple of examples of what content local affiliates should be putting in their primetime lineups?
9. Charles | September 9th, 2007 at 11:00 am
While it’s not exactly a winner by a long shot in it’s time period, one local Grand Rapids (MI) affiliate, WZZM, produces a show it calls “Take 5″ that does a lot of lifestyle features. It is in a local studio, they can sometimes get some bigger name guests and muscicians and it has a local bent to it. I’ve never watched it before, but I think that it’s a clever thing for a station to do.
Many stations DO go beyond the news (kind of) by having their own local political program(s). Again, a local affiliate, WOOD, has their own version called “ToThePoint” which tends to get some heavy-hitters, in local and state politics at least.
Neither program could, by themselves, carry those stations. But they are some good examples of *some* local independancy in TV.
10. tdc | September 9th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
see the broadcasting and cable cover story about MY network television for a few examples.
11. Anonymous | September 9th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Ok, for MyNetworkTV affiliates, I would say go for it. And coverage of local niche sports is cool. That might work even for major stations. The other show ideas seem just like paid placement vehicles, though.
12. tdc | September 9th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
hey, i was just pointing out examples for others to consider.
detroit (like many cities) used to crank out plenty of local programming.
check out detroitkidshow.com
13. Anonymous | September 9th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I appreciate that, tdc, didn’t mean to criticize you. I think just about every market had a local kids’ show. In our market, we had a guy who introduced old cartoons till sometime in the ’90s, when he was replaced with a morning news program. People were outraged, but the morning news program drew higher ratings. I wonder if some other variant of a local children’s show would work today, though.
Leave a Comment
(Please keep URLs out of the comment body or the spam filter will block you.)Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed