January 25, 2023
Surprise Byproduct Of Pandemic: A Reprieve For Broadcast TV
- by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, May 20, 2020
As consumers begin shifting from an initial crisis phase to a more “normal” and sustained period of the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts are beginning to project some of the longer-term effects on media. After months in which many consumers were staying-at-home, there has been one surprising and unanticipated change in their …
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A delayed sentence is not a reprieve.
@Douglas Ferguson: Literally, the definition of reprieve:
re·prieve
/rəˈprēv/
Learn to pronounce
verb
cancel or postpone the punishment of (someone, especially someone condemned to death).
"under the new regime, prisoners under sentence of death were reprieved"
Similar:
grant a stay of execution to
pardon
spare
acquit
grant an amnesty to
amnesty
let off
let off the hook
respite
Opposite:
charge
punish
noun
a cancellation or postponement of a punishment.
The likely result, after a proper vaccine is developed and things settle down, is that those who are still employed outside their homes---or going to school-----will do so--and their TV consumption will return to normal also. The interesting things to ponder concern the possibility that a significant percent of the former workforce may not find their old jobs waiting for them and there is a high probability that many of these now permanently unemployed folks will continue to watch daytime and early evening "linear TV" content---in effect, counteracting some of the overall loss in viewing time that has been developing for the last five or six years. Also, as the work-from-home movement expands, with many more persons engaged either full or part time, this, too, will stimulate TV usage. In both cases, I would expect "linear TV" and AVOD---which will include many transplanted "linear TV" shows---like local news---to gain viewing expsures---again compensating in large part for primetime losses to SVOD fare.
Joe's and Ed's points are certainly factors. Another possibility is more firms offering early retirement/buyout packages, resulting in a moderate increase of persons viewing in the 60+ cohort. Do you think networks will be ordering more episodes as a buffer to the possibility of another production lockdown in the late fall, winter?
Broadcast TV is having a moment. Sadly, the ad revenue is as well in the opposite direction. I do think the broadcast network news broadcast summaries will continue to appeal to people as they are increasingly turned off by partisan cable pundits. I know many folks who have discovered OTA broadcast TV for the 1st time in an effort to enhance their viewing choices and save money. The diginets are a nice surprise for first time in a long time broadcast TV viewers, however, if the broadcast community can only offer subpar or old re-run library product on these outlets then this too will wear thin quickly. It's time for broadcasters to fully embrace their multi-channel role and offer things that pay tv / cable can or will no longer offer their still shrinking audience base such as tired reality, pandering paranormal and for some perplexing reason, "All Alaska all the Time" programming strategies. Broadcasters have a window of pportunity to keep young viewers. Many underserved niches such as documentaries, travel, lifestyle, etc. Will they do answer the call? PS a re-run isn't precieved as a re-run if someone hasn't seen the 1st run.