Last week we posted a column that encourages TV stations to create original, local and “shareable video” to compete in a new world where network programming is increasingly built-into nearly every TV and widely available on tablets, mobile phones, and of course, your laptop. And for stations losing Oprah, the urgency is even greater.
Today the New York Times has a story about WLS-TV, the station where Oprah’s show began as an original production in the early 80s. WLS is working on a new local show to replace the Oprah Winfrey Show. While details are few, GM Emily Barr says she wants the show to take advantage of Twitter and Skype, to name a few. “Whatever the ‘ittering’ thing of the day is,” she said.
Meanwhile, it seems that quite a few stations are a little miffed at how aggressively Oprah is plugging her new cable network, OWN, inside her very costly syndicated shows. Deadline Hollywood reports that some stations are even refusing to pay for a few episodes. For local TV stations that have aired her over the years, it’s been a wonderful ride. But it’s time to move on and take programming chances again, aimed for a social, mutiplatform world.
