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Could this be the beginning of a crack in the façade of the TV and its accompanying upfronts? How will buyers have any faith whatsoever that shows that they think they will be buying will be around? Some shows get cancelled every year by natural selection, but if shows start having shorter and shorter life spans, what will be the point? The networks will have to use the money for the upfront parties on actually hiring writers and actors again and maybe creating series that are worth watching over the longer term. But if not, what does this mean for online?
Live action and/or motion picture content, video content or whatever we want to call it, will always find a place online. Some series have already moved to online-only distribution. Major networks are releasing shows for online viewing as the credits roll on TV. Some producers and directors are going straight to online to expose their talents. Check out my favorite, "FlushTV," about a family of Detroit plumbers, at www.flushtv.com. The iTunes store has hundreds of shows, ready to watch. Slingbox makes your PC a TV anywhere in the world. Are the TV guys paying attention?
TV is dying a long, slow painful death. Forget about the :30 spot being dead, I'm talking content here. And when the next generation of viewers is fickle enough to leave something like "The O.C." behind, future shows are going to have a much harder time garnering any of these folks to comprise a worthwhile mass audience that a buyer will want to buy. When it finally happens, I'll be here at my PC, watching YouTube and texting "I told you so" to whomever will read it.