TV is dying, says co-creator of ‘Lost’
Cory Bergman November 15th, 2007
Damon Lindelof is the co-creator and head writer of the television series “Lost,” which means he’s a member of the WGA and currently on strike. It also means his NYTimes editorial about how “TV is dying” due to DVRs may be a bit over the top given current circumstances, but at least he’s honest: “I will probably be dragged through the streets and burned in effigy if fans have to wait another year for ‘Lost’ to come back. And who could blame them? Public sentiment may have swung toward the guild for now, but once the viewing audience has spent a month or so subsisting on ‘America’s Next Hottest Cop’ and ‘Celebrity Eating Contest,’ I have little doubt that the tide will turn against us.” True enough. He sums up the WGA’s argument in one paragraph: “If money is made off of my product through the Internet, then I am entitled to a small piece. The studios’ greed, on the other hand, is hidden behind cynical, disingenuous claims that they make nothing on the web — that the streaming and downloading of our shows is purely ‘promotional.’ Seriously?”
Adds Rocker in comments: “The studios are trying to make a business of it, but losing money right now online while also seeing their offline business downtrend. Meanwhile, the WGA is another snout at the trough, looking for $ before there are any profits. Problem with this is, IMHO, they have no skin in the game. Studios are investing $. Media professionals in other fields are being forced to adapt, learn new skills, take on new responsibilities, etc. The writers haven’t been asked to lift a finger… they just want more cash…”
13 Comments Add your own
1. Gorman | November 15th, 2007 at 7:12 am
Whose fault is it that we’ve had to put up with the same crappy crime procedurals and mom-and-pop sitcoms for the better part of a decade, at least up until the last couple of years? Whoever had the lesser impact on this will get my sympathy, not that it matters much.
The nets were dying long before the strike. It’s not the DVRs, it was the fact it’s taken so long for the nets to even acknowledge their impact. Take Jericho. I like many people watched it over DVR, and it was canceled because if it’s live ratings.
And it’s not just technology. Up until the last year or so, if you wanted to watch something creative, your only outlet was cable, because anything unique on the nets were doomed for cancellation within weeks (see: Fox 1995-2005).
They’ve pushed us away just as much as we’ve moved away on our own.
2. Gorman | November 15th, 2007 at 7:13 am
“if it’s” Eesh. Today is grammar-free Thursday.
3. Rocker | November 15th, 2007 at 7:55 am
The studios are trying to make a business of it, but losing money right now online while also seeing their offline business downtrend. Meanwhile, the WGA is another snout at the trough, looking for $ before there are any profits. Problem with this is, IMHO, they have no skin in the game…studios are investing $. Media professionals in other fields are being forced to adapt, learn new skills, take on new responsibilities, etc. The writers haven’t been asked to lift a finger….they just want more cash. How about if the agreement is structured so they don’t get to feed now, but are not asked to forego future claims for a piece of the pie indefinitely. Table it for now while we still fumble around for the recipe card. They can line up for their slice when it’s getting ready to come out of the oven. Apologies for really torturing the metaphor.
4. Joe - fourhman.com | November 15th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Michael Eisner, is that you? (Or, at least, one of your assistants?)
5. Rocker | November 15th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Nope, just a line executive actually struggling with these real problems…trying to find business models that work.
Thanks for the compliment though. Has anyone stopped to notice that despite the mistakes Eisner made (Go? Ovitz?), and reviled and second-guessed as he was about staying focused on content and brand, it actually was the right strategy. Bob Iger is doing well so not to take anything away from him…but the stock finally showed some life shortly after Eisner left…because of steps implemented under Eisner (as Iger readily acknowledged).
6. Joel | November 15th, 2007 at 11:35 am
If what you’re saying is true that studios are losing money online. It won’t be long before they are profitable, let’s face it, studios will make huge profits off digital media in coming years.
7. coffee | November 15th, 2007 at 11:52 am
The whole situation is incredibly sad and necessary.
J. Michael Straczynski (in rastbm posts) has given a good description of how studios have been allowed to juggle the notion of “profitability” for a given project by shifting losses to the balance sheet from other areas of the company. If the bloggers I’ve read are correct, the settling of legal action about this accounting practice was part of the last contract negotiation. Now, studios want to ditch the residual model to go to a profit percentage model? Don’t blame them for trying but it’s not going to fly. The writers even dropped their request for a raise in the residuals on DVDs and the studios aren’t returning to talk. It’s all about new media now. I can see how the studios can argue about the costs of building the platform to enable profitable downloads/streaming. How expensive was it to sue file-sharing(stealing) companies out of the picture and change the climate of free downloading? Music portions of the same entertainment companies will never recover from that period. Sad all around. It will not end soon.
8. Olsen | November 15th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I know that the online revenue world is extra shaky these days, but the bottom line is this:
If you use a writer’s work, you pay them.
If the suits are ok with using content without paying the proper people, someone tell the RIAA to stop suing people for “stealing” music.
9. tdc | November 15th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
here we are 10 years into this and all the $$$ spent in “new media” has been an effort to control (or better yet kill off) the threat.
until there is a committment to allow the two to actually compete AGAINST each other rather than the web simply be an added value prop for an outdated delivery method look for this blood to continue to flow.
people (and more importantly ADVERTISERS) are leaving tv for a reason.
to think that a hot online template is going to drive ‘em back is a wild concept.
10. Allen | November 15th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
What are we going to do with all of the HDTVs that people keep buying when tv is dead?
11. Cory | November 16th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Play video games, duh.
12. Tonto Weinstein | November 16th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
The content will find a way to eyeballs if there is demand.
Don’t blame Tivo for killing network television, blame network television. Network television took a once fair system of entertainment for time and over the years, tipped it more into their favor by offering less entertainment, crummier shows and more advertising. Of course the viewer sough Tivo, it no only made things fair, it empowered them.
There will always be television, by the virtue of the author’s comments that it’ll come via the internet. He’s probably right, and there will be entirely new networks born in that realm who will be thirsty for content and willing to pay for it. There will always be money to be made in television as long as executives can wrap their minds around the fact that the viewer is now calling the shots. Appointment TV is dead, and you better offer the viewer more in order to be invited back into the home.
13. nickler | November 18th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
We are waiting for new Lost season ..
please hear us Creator !!
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