Commentary

With TV Doing Lots Of 'Pulling,' What's The Damage To Viewers?

by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 4, 2010

What's going on with all this TV pulling?

Viacom has "pulled" "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" off Hulu.comm and WABC New York is threatening to "pull" its signal off Cablevision Systems Corp.

Why? Everyone is itchy about now-important new revenue -- money from digital platforms or retransmission agreements.

The bad news is that TV companies have become amazingly public about their moves. First there was the fight between Fox and Time Warner over fees, resolved at the beginning of the year. Now WABC-TV New York and Cablevision System are taking a turn, each with their own public relations campaigns.

We're guessing the noise around new monies for TV programming will only get louder as broadcast and cable margins continue to shrink. All to say there is more entropy that ever on the television landscape.

One area where there's somewhat less pulling is TV advertising. Many would say TV marketers are actually pushing TV programmers to do more for them - especially in the areas of integrated marketing and media.

One thing's for sure: No one is pulling away from the upfront.

Early returns are that broadcast and cable networks, even considering the recession and new digital platforms, are poised to get some modest price hikes and volume gains this upfront season. (Though probably still down from the upfront in 2008).

Viacom says its move to pull its shows away from Hulu.com has led to an "amicable parting" from the big premium video Website. Still, the facts are that "Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" were two of the most popular shows on Hulu.com.

It seems Viacom wants a bigger split of advertising revenue -- supposedly more than the 50% to 70% it already got from Hulu.

With all of these public moves, you have to wonder about the long-term effect on these entertainment brands -- ABC, Cablevision, and "The Daily Show."

TV companies could be digging themselves bigger holes - forcing the exodus of loyal customers, or future apathy. When TV "pulls" because of sometimes-complicated business stories, will viewers just become apathetic?

Or will they just pull out?

tv, video

2 comments about "With TV Doing Lots Of 'Pulling,' What's The Damage To Viewers? ".

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William Hughes from Arnold Aerospace, March 4, 2010 at 3:10 p.m.
I "Pulled Out" of Cable TV over three years ago. The Proliferation of "Unscripted" Programming, along with Increased Advertising, finally got to the point where I decided I had better things to spend my Entertainment Dollars on.
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Walter Graff from Bluesky Media, March 4, 2010 at 3:17 p.m.

Most don't care. There are plenty of other channels to watch until the squabble is over. And of course, you have other options. An antenna for one where it is FREE!!! If you live in a good location you can enjoy crystal clear digital TV of the same local channels that cable TV charges you for. Satellite is seeing a surge in customers due to the cost of cable. This story is more media hype to get their points across and in a strange way use it as a way to get better deals. But the public really doesn't care as much as any media outlet thinks, because in the end, it's just temporary.