Martin Sorrell, the Sultan of WPP, has a pet peeve. He hates -- hates -- being told “No, we’ve tried that.” Whether it’s regarding an
acquisition, a media strategy, a financial hedge, or a new-business pitch, he is uninterested in an objection to a given idea solely on the basis of a previous failure.
Because conditions change.
The Newton PDA was an embarrassing bellyflop for Apple. It did not stop the development of the iPhone, because
of the Internet, processor speed, wireless bandwidth and so on. Google Glass was a failure, but Augmented Reality will have its day…soon. The Cubs couldn’t possibly win a World Series
until the farm system provided the talent.
Jackie Mason had a comedy career. Then he didn’t. Then he was a Broadway sensation. Then he
wasn’t.
Richard M. Nixon. Online retailing. Electric cars. Tattoos. White supremacy.
Conditions change. And
as such, in view of recent events, I offer the broadcast networks a modest proposal. It was noted recently that the networks are
evaluating programming with different eyes. Amid steep audience declines, prime-time shows that were deemed ratings failures a few years ago suddenly look like going propositions. "American Idol," for
instance, had run out of steam at Fox. But ABC is trotting it out at the Upfronts.
Meh is the new wow.
Some
certainties remain. Live is better than scripted for viewing in real-time. “Reality” is cheaper than scripted, because…duh. Yet the scripted stuff keeps coming, on a bet that
increasingly looks like buying a Powerball ticket. Yet all of the networks save Fox own live, real, popular franchises that aren’t offered to prime-time audiences.
Late-night talk shows. Stephen Colbert. Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy Kimmel. Seth Meyers, even Conan O’Brien on TBS. Maybe it is time for them to be liberated from the
late-night ghetto.
Yeah, yeah, I know. When NBC was stuck with its Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien dilemma, it stripped Leno at 10 p.m. in a ham-fisted attempt
to save face for itself and its talent, block other nets from poaching Leno and going head-to-head and maybe even walk away with a win-win. What happened instead, of course, was a
lose-lose.
But that was then. This is now. All that has changed since is how chat-shows are consumed, cross-promoted, nuggetized and creatively
produced. Not only have conditions changed, but all of the conditions have changed. Including the political ones, which have turned late-night comedians into oracles.
Consider "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee." She’s pulling 2.5 million viewers on TBS. That’s TBS, with a T. At 10:30 p.m. It also amounts to half of
ABC’s prime-time average for last week. It is 20% higher than Fox’s prime-time average.
Much of the talk-shows’ audience gains
are directly attributable to the Trump presidency, who for topical comedy is the POTUS with the Mostest. And sure, he won’t be around forever. But 3 2/3 years is a long time. He could outlast
broadcast altogether. To paraphrase Les Moonves, he may not be good for America. But he could be the savior of prime time.