Commentary

Television In Reverse: Backing Up To A New Financial Window

 

Look forward to the day when the television model really turns inside out.

For all the buzz of premium digital video services, right now all the big money to be gained from advertising comes from the traditional TV market.

Sure, the Internet -- and Hulu, in particular -- can deliver cost-per-thousand three to four times that of traditional network, cable, and syndication. But overall out of pocket advertising deals are still crumbs to many. And sites like Hulu are still virtually a catch-up, rerun service of original network and cable prime-time shows.

Now comes a plan from those who want to revive two big-profile daytime soaps that will soon end on ABC -- "All My Children" and "One Life To Live." The first bit of interesting news was to start those shows as an original Internet series -- like on TV -- running five days a week.

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Now, more news comes from the production company Prospect Park. It wants to air reruns of the shows on cable after their online original episode run.

But taking big longtime TV brands -- these ABC soaps -- and reversing the financial and distribution model would break new ground. The original episodes would go to the Internet and then the after-market rerun rights to TV.

Perhaps this is part of the bigger and new financial model -- that traditional TV in some form is financially needed to make a seemingly expensive five-time a week show. Then again, perhaps as a pay TV model -- with say no advertising -- ardent fans could pay to see those soaps whenever and wherever. To lesser and more casual fans, a cable run would be good as well.

But word of warning here: Look what is happening with SoapNet, a cable network largely devoted to reruns of network soaps. It will close down at the end of this year because owner Disney-ABC Television decided that reruns of those shows -- after their daytime runs -- wasn't enough of a cable business. Soap fans were typically DVRing original network episodes for later viewing at their own convenience. They didn't need a cable network of soap reruns. By the way, reruns of "All My Children" and "One Life To Live" have appeared on SoapNet for years.

If convenience and ease rules the day with TV fans, than perhaps reviving soaps with reruns on cable isn't a good idea. But maybe any extra revenue -- whatever the size -- is needed for all this to work.

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