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The networks don't do specific promos for their shows (that is, stating the time to tune in) because so many people are watching the shows whenever they want (time-shifting, etc.). Some don't even state the day it airs, just the title and some non-specific clip that doesn't really whet the viewers' appetites. In short, the promos don't....promote very well.
For example, it bugs me to no end how the CW refuses to do "juicier" promos for its ratings-challenged Dynasty reboot. Instead of offering teasers about plot developments with an announcer breathlessly suggesting the fates of characters, they just do a ten-second clip of someone making a cute quip or a joke that doesn't give any idea what will actually be happening. They make the show sound more like a comedy than a nighttime soap. The claim (with some truth behind it) is that the CW does not care one bit if the show is actually viewed by anyone when it airs, since they make all their money off the Netflix deal where the show is streamed the next day. But the fact remains that as long as they're going to air promos of their shows, they should make them "work" by getting people curious about the show and make them want to tune in. It is a weird world indeed when a network carries a show (and renews it enthusiastically) but pays little to no attention to its ratings. We've been conditioned that TV shows live and die by those Nielsens, but that seems not to be the case more and more. It's about the streaming rights, the syndication deals. It's still show business, of course, but just different means of generating profits.
I still watch a LOT of regular cable TV & I never had Netflix, Hulu, etc. Only tried Netflix once ever for only 2 mos, 2 yrs ago & didn't care for the shows back then although the shows do seem better NOW.
Overall though TV is definitely not what it used to be. Back in the 80s & 90s, it was great!
Many cable channels used to be much better. Just one example, had IFC on our basic cable about 15 yrs ago it was a great channel with many obscure movies. Then we moved and didnt have it for many years. Now its back and its just endless sitcom and movie reruns that I never care to see again.
We have definitely entered another golden age of TV but the basic broadcast networks are all but dead creatively. Most of the programming is dreadful. It's pretty telling when the award shows pretty much shut them out.
with streaming we can watch the best of TV from all over the world. The best shows are on Netflix, Prime (with Acorn and Britbox) and HBO.
It's been years since I watched a program when it actually airs. Commercials? Never see them.
Only tried Netflix once ever for only 2 mos, 2 yrs ago & didn't care for the shows back then although the shows do seem better NOW.
It's a lot harder to find quality content on Netflix since they dumped their film/show ratings (one to five stars), because so many viewers refused to watch anything with less than four stars, replacing it with the stupid up/down thingy. I suspect, like the cable/satellite systems, their arm is being twisted to accept a ton of bundled subpar content by the content providers.
Unlike the cable/satellite providers, however, Netflix doesn't have an artificial scarcity "channel" model, in which a proliferation of low-cost (and low-brow) "junk" channels crowd out virtually any quality programming (with a, very, few exceptions, such as TCM). While they've added a lot of lower quality content, they still have a LOT of really good stuff. Beyond their "Netflix original" content, you just have to dig for it. Much of the good stuff are independent and international shows:
We have definitely entered another golden age of TV but the basic broadcast networks are all but dead creatively. Most of the programming is dreadful. It's pretty telling when the award shows pretty much shut them out.
with streaming we can watch the best of TV from all over the world. The best shows are on Netflix, Prime (with Acorn and Britbox) and HBO.
It's been years since I watched a program when it actually airs. Commercials? Never see them.
Cheers to the death of cable....
Who is watching television programs seems to matter more now than how many are watching them. The most watched shows get few if any Emmys or Golden Globes anymore.
We have definitely entered another golden age of TV but the basic broadcast networks are all but dead creatively. Most of the programming is dreadful. It's pretty telling when the award shows pretty much shut them out.
with streaming we can watch the best of TV from all over the world. The best shows are on Netflix, Prime (with Acorn and Britbox) and HBO.
It's been years since I watched a program when it actually airs. Commercials? Never see them.
Cheers to the death of cable....
I agree that network programming is formulaic and cliched. And the constant interference of commercials is tiresome. I watched Big Bang Theory until the end, and I am still watching old epis, until the show moves to a pay channel. But that is the only network show I have watched for years.
Location: West of the Catalinas East of the Tortolitas
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kyle19125
I remember the golden days of network TV promos for the upcoming season and this morning inexplicably woke up humming this one. Who else remembers? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXdsx2YN4AE
I must have watched a lot of ABC because I remember so many of those shows! The intro that sticks with me the most is the intro to The Rockford Files. Not only did I love the show, I loved the intro. Shows back in the 60's - 80's had long intros. Shows like The A Team, Remmington Steele (loved that show!), and others (I remember loving a show called Riptide) had wonderful, memorable intros. Now there are virtually no intros to TV shows, and the network "drama" shows are far from the well-written, well-acted shows I remember loving back then. That could just be perspective as I was only in my 20's in the 1970's and may have been more easily enthralled by network TV.
I found out that the phenomenon of networks changing their programming has a name - "channel drift". https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_drift
I remember watching the A&E network in the late 1990s when it was a lot like PBS and showed English murder mysteries.
Channel Drifting kinda ruined the appeal of Cable TV, IMO.
Some examples:
MTV is the first one I can think of. i'm old enough to remember when you would just turn on MTV and see music videos all the time. Now, I don't ever turn MTV on, but I'd be willing to bet they don't even play music.
Same could be said for VH1.
TRUtv has one of my favorite TV shows, Impractical Jokers. But that show started a trend of a changing TRU from being about documentaries and true life stories to being a comedy channel.
Speaking of Comedy, Comedy Central has remained true to it's roots of comedy, BUT has drifted away from original programming. Yes, they still have South Park, The Daily Show, Jim Jeffries Show and a few stand up specials from time to time, but most of their programming now revolves around old episodes of The Office and different movies.
The Travel Channel has another show I enjoy, Ghost Adventures. And they have like 75 other ghost hunting shows too. But I used to love shows that actually took the viewers to places.
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