The Revolutionization of the Television Industry

The television is being revolutionized. Advancements in technology have resulted in high-definition images that enhance the viewers experience, while the Internet and iPod have made it possible to no longer watch television on a television. Combined with DVRs and Tivo, one is no longer even restricted to network scheduling. The rise of HBO and Showtime, meanwhile, as well as cable channels like FX, have increased programming options while reducing network ratings. Television is an industry in flux with rapidly changing paradigms, and alterna-tv.com is focused on covering those changes.

—alterna-tv.com

 

Abrams and Whedon Give FOX a 'Cutting Edge' Boost

They created two of the most memorable television series on The WB, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Felicity. They then went on to develop additional shows for other networks—Firefly for FOX and Alias for ABC—and while each series was critically acclaimed, neither drew significant viewer ratings. They even directed back-to-back episodes of the NBC comedy The Office, prompting Kristin Dos Santos of E! to declare them “the two best TV directors alive.” And they are considered to be amongst the most innovative and groundbreaking television producers of the Twenty-First Century.

J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon now have one additional thing in common as well: both will return to the small screen with two of the most highly anticipated new series of the 2008-2009 television season, Fringe and Dollhouse. FOX Entertainment President Kevin Reilly, on whose network the shows will air, told The Hollywood Reporter that “we have high expectations” for Fringe, while adding that he was “confident (Dollhouse) will become the next tent pole series for FOX.”

JUNE 2, 2008 (READ MORE)

For NBC Universal, The Times They Are a-Changin'

For NBC Universal, the media and entertainment conglomerate formed in 2004 following the NBC/Vivendi Universal merger, the recently settled strike by the Writers Guild of America was the perfect catalyst for much needed change in the television industry. Speaking at the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) convention in late January, CEO Jeff Zucker compared the work stoppage to a forest fire, and while he acknowledged the damage caused by the strike he also noted that “fires fertilize the soil with new ash and clear the ground, often setting the stage for robust growth.” For Zucker, however, that growth stems from a major shake-up of the television industry’s standard mode of operandi that has been in existence since the medium’s inception.

“We are in the middle of a wrenching analog-to-digital transition marked by game-changing technological developments and profound shifts in consumer behavior, all of which demands a re-engineering of our businesses from top to bottom,” Zucker said. “We’ve needed to do this for quite a few years now, but there was no real sense of urgency behind it. Inertia kept things moving in the same direction, a gentle downward slide disguised by a strong economy and robust ad market.”

FEBRUARY 25, 2008 (READ MORE)

The Television Will Be Revolutionized, and Vice Versa

The television industry has been a relatively stable medium, with production, distribution, scheduling and advertising formulas established in the early 1960s and holding steady for close to four decades. Even the advent of cable and subscription services like HBO and Showtime, although affecting the overall level of network audiences, had little effect on how the industry conducted business. This decade, however, has seen astonishing changes in all aspects of the medium, and those transformations are both outlined and discussed in Amanda Lotz’s recently released book, The Television Will Be Revolutionized.

Lotz divides these advancements into five areas: technology, creation, distribution, advertising and audience measurement. In the days of old, for instance, one could only watch television on a television, but recent years has seen a multitude of technological advancements, such as the DVR, Video-On-Demand, portable devices like the iPod and even a growth in mobile phone capabilities, that allow television viewing to no longer be limited to the home. More importantly, the audience is no longer a slave to the scheduling whims of network executives, as these new devices allow for the viewing of a television show any time, as well as any place, one is inclined to do so.

JANUARY 28, 2008 (READ MORE)

Writer's Memoir Serves as Historical Analysis of a Television Era

Writer Jeffrey Stepakoff came to Los Angeles in 1988, which put him in the proverbial “right place at the right time.” The concept of “quality television,” given birth with Hill Street Blues and further advanced by St. Elsewhere, thirtysomething and Moonlighting, had recently raised the medium from embarrassing enjoyment to guilty pleasure to literary enchantment. Stepakoff had originally aspired for the life of a New York playwright but saw his career move in a different direction when Hollywood producer John Wells (China Beach, The West Wing) lectured at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh about working in the entertainment industry. Stepakoff was sold, and recites his adventures in Billion-Dollar Kiss: The Kiss That Saved Dawson’s Creek and Other Adventures in TV Writing (Gotham Book, 2007).

Stepakoff arrived in LA during the longest writers strike in Hollywood history, but by the time that labor conflict ended the television industry was primed for an explosion that would make the TV writer a hot commodity. Profits from syndication zoomed in the 1990s, with more than a billion dollars for ER and Friends while Seinfeld earned over three billion, and every network and production studio in town was willing to spend whatever it took to find shows that could reach such a financial stratosphere. The birth of new networks (first FOX, then The WB and UPN) and the rise of cable channels (HBO, Showtime) only fueled the high levels of television production. And when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, leading to the end of Soviet Empire shortly thereafter, a market that was once closed suddenly opened as the previous state-owned media monopolies gave way to privately-owned television stations hungry for American-made content.

JANUARY 14, 2008 (READ MORE)

Television Fans Unite In Support of Striking Writers

Five hours and fifteen minutes.

That’s how long it took for the smallest seed of a campaign by television fans to support the striking Writers Guild of America to take root and grow. It was November 5, 2007, the day before the strike was set to commence, and it happened on the Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) weblog whedonesque.com. The discussion thread where it all began reads something like this:

“Kinda short notice, but anyone interested in getting up a collection and sending some pizzas over to the front of Universal Studios?” (C.A. Bridges, 1:57 CET)

“If somebody sets up a Paypal and offers to order the pizzas it should be good to go.” (gossi, 2:15 CET)

“I talked to the guys at my regular pizzeria…. They said they can have a large order ready any time around lunchtime as long as it’s called in in the morning.” (dreamlogic, 4:37 CET)

“OK, stop sending payments. I’ve got enough for the pizza.” (dreamlogic, 7:12 CET)

NOVEMBER 26, 2007 (READ MORE)

ADDITIONAL ALTERNA-TV.COM TELEVISION INDUSTRY ARTICLES:

The Recent Rise of Independent Television Festivals Article examining the latest component of the current television revolution, with emphasis on the Los Angeles-based Independent Television Festival as well as the New York Television Festival (November 19, 2007).

Are Local Newspaper Television Critics Still Needed? Opinion piece that analyzes the viewpoints of Rick Ellis, co-founder of AllYourTV.com, and Robert Bianco from USA Today, using Pittsburgh Post-Gazette critic Rob Owen as a focal point (September 17, 2007).

Welcome to the Third Golden Age of Television Opinion piece on why this decade is among the best in television history (September 3, 2007).

Veronica Mars, In Memoriam Opinion piece questioning why television can’t nurture intelligent shows regardless of their ratings, using the cancellation of Veronica Mars as a catalyst for discussion (Flak Magazine: June 20, 2007).

The Legacy of Joss Whedon Article on the tenth anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the man who created it (Flak Magazine: March 8, 2007).