A New Road

The latest writers’ strike has led many viewers to become further disillusioned with primetime networks and with network programming in general. Then came the cancellations. Many popular shows were cut short. Moonlight, October Road, Men in Trees, Jericho, Blood Ties. The list goes on. There are only so many primetime slots and only so many types of shows that draw the immense viewer base that networks desire. This limiting structure results in cancellations that are not good for the networks, for viewers, or for ad agencies...

Consequently, viewers are turning away from primetime networks and moving toward alternate media sources like Netflix, youtube, and other web based distribution methods. Ratings are down and fewer commercials are being watched on primetime television due to the influence of DVRs. Viewers are looking for original, quality content and are tiring of reality shows. More than ever they are looking for loyalty and desire that networks finish out the shows they start.

While this is a negative picture, I believe that networks can become more competitive, increase viewer satisfaction, and optimize ad effectiveness by adapting new practices in line with the digital media age that we live in. Networks can achieve this by expanding existing media and creating new content for web and mobile distribution. These shows could be produced in such a way that their distribution could be expanded from web/mobile to primetime distribution or vice versa based on popularity.

Pilots for new series could be produced for web/mobile distribution and then ported to primetime television if they proved popular enough. If these shows did not fare well by primetime standards they could then be switched back to web/mobile distribution.

October Road would make a good test case for extending the distribution of an existing content. This is a show that encourages social community and has a loyal fan base. It has brought people to the internet that otherwise wouldn’t be there. It draws a certain audience and keeps them. It is authentic, immersive, moving, and has attracted millions of viewers despite poor marketing and inconsistent product placement.

A third season of October Road could be developed and released on the web and to mobile devices in daily “minisodes.” These minisodes would be limited to about four minutes in length. Brent Friedman of Electric Farm Entertainment (EFE is pioneering the production of media content for web/mobile delivery) estimates that this is the approximate maximum based on current bandwidth technology and availability. Brent further mentions that as bandwidth technology and availability expand, this number would increase (Interview with Brent Friedman - Part III).

October Road is particularly well suited for this process because its episodes break down extremely well into 4 minute segments. These segments could be watched in daily doses or altogether at the end of the week.

This delivery method would allow for more precise and effective ad placement. It would help ad companies target specific people groups and help them to know more precisely who is watching their commercials. It further would allow them to craft commercials in such a way that they do not interrupt the viewer’s experience.

October Road was co-produced by one of the big advertisers (GroupM) and their interests appear to align nicely with web/mobile based distribution. For more information on this, see the article from cnn, "Walk softly and carry a big checkbook".

All of these factors make October Road an ideal candidate for this type of expansion.

Shows expanded or created in this manner would become residual advertising properties, lending themselves toward repeat viewing. These shows could then later be syndicated to other territories or to other networks.

Getting back to the larger picture, network programming currently emphasizes popularity. As a result, original content often ends up being stymied, creativity is often squelched, and tv ends up becoming saturated with “reality” shows and unoriginal remakes.

Web/mobile based delivery and scaling of media has the potential to account for those limitations in a new and very exciting manner. It allows the creation of unprecedented original media content. This would not do away with primetime programming, but instead promises to enhance and complement it. Networks should be accountable to deliver the goods to their viewers and should have a mechanism in place for doing so. Everyone wins. New stories can be told...in their totality!