On Sat, Nov 14, 2009 at 1:56 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > Nothing special in this recap of the history of NBC, but it is worth > remembering, if only because the days of the big three are gone, as > are the days of broadcast vs. cable differentiation. And, if my > prediction holds up, the days of networks themselves are numbered. > > http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091114/ap_en_tv/us_nbc_past_and_future
This is interesting, and underlines the argument made by some that the Leno experiment is not about trying to save NBC as a broadcast network, but about transitioning it into the next kind of content provider. I wonder if there was a time when people criticized NBC for taking resources out of its radio operation and into television, saying that NBC was going to get killed in the Radio ratings, assuming those would still matter. A couple of small things - I am a little surprised that Tom Brokaw is the iconic name the AP chose to represent NBC news - I guess I would have gone with Brinkley, though e finished up with ABC, and kind of on a sour note. And does this passage imply that The West Wing was on Thursday? "In the 1990s, NBC's promotion team dubbed Thursdays as a "must-see" night of television. The slogan stuck because it was true. The network's run of memorable series including "Cheers," "Seinfeld," "ER," "Frasier," "Friends" and "The West Wing" represented a golden age. NBC was not simply the most popular network. It was the best. That seems more distant each year, and not just in time. " It seems like a paragraph talking about Must See Thursday has to at least mention Hill Street Blues, and maybe LA Law. The larger point about quality and popularity still works - though I don't think even in its best season TWW pulled in ratings like the 10:00 Thursday programs. The TiVo has already freed me from attachment to broadcast networks, or cable-broadcast distinctions (though I don't think we are yet completely past any meaningful broadcast-cable differentiation in terms of accessibility). In a sense I am already my own network; I have to keep aware of what is available, tell my TiVo to watch it for me, and then when I want to watch a program I don't check my local listings, I check my "Now Playing List". Assuming in the future I will be able to similarly capture content from the internet or cable, I will be fine. I would not deeply lament the fall of broadcast networks - except when it comes to the news divisions. Network news became a primary justification of the broadcasters use of the public airwaves. The beginning of the end of TV news credibility was when they figured out a way to actually make a profit out of news, and for that I blame Roone Arledge, and to a lesser extent Don Hewitt. But even in the post graphics age network news divisions had an incentive, and some sense of public responsibility, to deliver sober reporting of the day's events that the public could have some confidence in. Neither cable news, not internet news providers that operate independently of newspapers or television news divisions, have shown much promise in meeting this same public trust. I am not sure of the legal principles here, but I think we are in need of some new legislation or court decisions that place an obligation on cable or internet companies to also serve the public interest. CSPAN is great, but is no substitute for actual, and competing, news operations. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
