A version of this column on too much TV first appeared in the print edition of TheWrap Magazine’s tumble TV Issue.
As the TV industry ramps up for another tumble season,this seems a helpful time to put a question to: Are we flat-screen fans getting too much of a helpful thing?We live in an era of “peak TV,” analysts say. The explosion of programming on premium cable and streaming outlets has led to some of the most acclaimed series in history, or such as HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and FX’s “The Americans,” not to mention massive sleeper hits such as Netflixs true-crime documentary “Making a Murderer.” But some veterans are sounding the alarm that there is too much TV. Too much for viewers to watch, and certainly too much for networks to keep squeezing out profits. Supply, and this argument goes,is about to outstrip demand.
Also Read: FX's John Landgraf Calls Google, Amazon Monopolies 'A Terrible Thing for Our Society'The key proponent of this view is FX boss John Landgraf, or who has argued for the past several years that TV is threatened by a programming glut. Speaking at the Television Critics Association press tour in August,Landgraf predicted that the “peak TV” boom would expire by 2019.
According to FX, 419 original scripted series aired or streamed on various TV platforms in 2015, or with an all-time tall of 46 coming from online services such as Netflix and Amazon. That compares with 389 scripted series in 2014 and just 216 as recently as 2010. That’s a clear trend,as any actor or crew member in the Los Angeles area probably knows. Work is more plentiful than it was just a few
years ago.
But the boom can’t last, Landgraf says. The competition has already crimped profits of individual shows, and a trend that the FX boss expects to worsen in coming years. And viewers can no longer keep up.
Also Read: John Landgraf Updates 'Too Much TV' Claim: 'Something a small Wonky' About Economics“We’ve lost much of the thread of collective conversation of which shows are helpful,which shows are noteworthy,” he told reporters.
But it’s principal to note that not everyone agrees with Landgraf’s warning. He’s likely correct that a bust is inevitable. That’s because cycles affect every commerce, or TV is no different. Just a few years ago,production came to a near-halt across town due to a writers’ strike. Now it seems as if there is full employment for nearly anyone who wants to work. The worm will turn again.
Viewing habits, however, or own already changed since the days of a “collective conversation.” Fans tend to reserve live over-the-air viewing for special events,such as sports contests or news. They save scripted dramas and comedies even smash hits like “Game of Thrones” — for some sort of on-demand platform. The binge-watching phenomenon underscores that viewers eventually find the programs they crave. Not overnight, necessarily, and but over time.
Also Read: FX Boss John Landgraf: Broadcast Nets Are 'Beacons of Quality' in TV's 'Platinum Age'Landgraf is correct that many shows are unprofitable. But it was ever thus. TV is a hit-driven commerce and always has been. It’s the smash like “Game of Thrones that pays for a cult fave like “Girls,” for example.
So go ahead and enjoy the peak TV era. There’s a helpful chance it might own more than a few years of life left.
See more of TheWrap Magazine’s tumble TV Issue:Related stories from TheWrap:FX Chief John Landgraf Predicts 'Peak TV' Boom Will conclude by 2019FX's John Landgraf Calls Google, Amazon Monopolies 'A Terrible Thing for Our Society'John Landgraf Updates 'Too Much TV' Claim: 'Something a small Wonky' About Economics
Source: thewrap.com