why i’m worried about the future of tv.
normally, this week would be tv upfronts season—but since that’s no longer physically possible, i’m worried the tv industry won’t survive these times.
upfronts are the splashy events held by major tv networks three weeks into may to showcase their upcoming show programming and garner advertising interest. it’s one of the most exciting weeks of my year (it’s heaven for a tv nerd like me) because we get a sneak preview of all the new pilots and shows that we can anticipate in the fall. the bulk of ad spend for tv happens “up front,” so most of the tv advertising money moves during these upfronts events and dictates the health of the network for the coming year.
this year, we don’t have upfronts.
no upfronts means no confidence from advertisers and ultimately no ad contracts. this year, we don’t have new shows in the fall either. we’ve lost two months (and counting) of precious filming time. many current shows weren’t able to wrap up their current seasons. most new shows haven’t been able to film since their pilot pick-up.
the entire function of upfronts is predicated in these networks having new and flashy shows that might entice the pockets of advertisers. but given the uncertainty and destabilization of traditional film/tv production, nothing new will be coming in quite a while. thus, advertisers are disincentivized to spend. that’s *really* bad for network tv. this could potentially paralyze the tv industry and threaten tv has a platform for media and content. this forces the hand of traditional tv networks to think bigger and innovate; most significantly, shifting their viewers to digital surfaces (where many ads are also moving) or diversifying their offerings.
so perhaps this is where streaming services and digitally-native studios completely unravel the traditional tv network. viewers focus their attention elsewhere. ad buyers fundamentally change their model. legacy media continues to sink.