It's not for nothing that the most successful primetime TV shows of the past have been called "must-watch TV." In the late '90s, NBC's "ER" attracted more than 30 million viewers every Thursday at 10 p.m. At the show's peak, medical dramas had nearly 40 percent viewership, meaning that 40 percent of those who watched TV during that hour were tuning in to watch the Warner Bros. TV series.
Today, such an achievement is out of reach for any TV show except the Super Bowl. Viewers watch TV in a very different way now than they did 25 years ago, and they have their own schedules.
In order to grab the audience, the streaming media has invested heavily in introducing a series of short and concise episodes with A-list stars and high production costs. Traditional cable TV has been overshadowed by nearly a decade, with ad-free, big-budget programming from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and others capturing much of the attention of viewers and the industry.
Viewers, critics, award ceremonies, and other parts of the industry have shifted a great deal of attention to prestigious streaming shows, while the world of broadcast and cable has dropped off the spotlight. The new six- and eight-episode series, which are a steady output of streaming, are designed to draw viewers away from the "old forces" and get people to sign up for the new service – and it worked.
But as the streaming business matures, concerns about consumer "churn" increase—those short orders making it easier for viewers to cancel their subscriptions.
As advertisers, web executives, and talent head to New York this week for their annual pre-web pitch, they're confronted with the unexpected: Streamers who quickly destroyed the old network TV model now want to emulate it.
That includes embracing TV commercials, which is why outlets like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video feature up Pre-Pitch Week, a four-day marathon where the largest networks give gorgeous pitches to advertisers at venues like Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.
Streaming has jumped on the fray, doing what the Big Four TV networks have been doing for decades: showing off their merchandise to ad buyers who spend billions of dollars a year on TV commercials (CBS ditched its traditional pre-pitch sessions last year, so they'll miss out).
This isn't the only playbook from the old TV era that streaming has reinvented for this new era. While this is different from the old cable bundling — a dual revenue stream that conglomerates have relied on for decades — the recent news that Disney and Warner Bros. are exploring bundling Disney+, Hulu and Max together feels at least like a throwback to those days. (On Tuesday, Comcast announced that it would also launch a streaming bundle with Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+ at a big discount.) ）
But at the pre-pitch session, one might notice that some of the new shows that the streamer will be showcasing look very similar to the ones that have driven the radio lineup since the dawn of television. Live events? Netflix is making a big push into this space with specials like The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady. Big sports deals? Amazon owns Thursday Night Football, and Amazon is also reportedly aggressively fighting for the NBA.
《Thursday Night Football》
On the series side, the intense cost-cutting within the industry over the past 24 months has inspired streamers to re-examine formats that were once seen as "abandoned" in the pre-streaming era.
At least one TV network executive, who asked not to be named, was amused by all this. "Unfortunately, those tech companies came in and caused so much trouble and basically learned the lessons that television has learned over the last 50 years." He said. "Obviously, radio and television are dying. But it's still a good lab and you can still get the next great show. There's a lot of chaos, and it's basically like reinventing the TV. ”
It may not be 1997 anymore, but some of the things that drove the business back then are still relevant. Think long-lived medical, police, and legal dramas, multi-camera sitcoms filmed like stage plays on a low budget, plenty of game shows, and a consistent schedule of season premieres and finales. It turns out that many viewers crave familiarity when looking for viewing options.
Peter Friedlander, head of screenplay series at Netflix USA and Canada, believes that these types of shows have been streamed since the beginning — critics and media writers just pay more attention to the prestige of streaming works. "There's a very exciting expansion of what you can do on TV, and I think that's a result of the streaming era," he said. "I think we're still going to have a traditional TV narrative, but it's expanded. I know people are watching medical shows and sitcoms, and other types of content...... Balance is important. ”
Of course, big tickets, Emmy battles, high-end shows aren't going away. But in streaming, they're now balanced with original (not just acquired) programmed dramas and sitcoms that don't look obtrusive on broadcasters and can last longer than three seasons with eight episodes per season.
Channing Dungey, chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group, said: "I think it's a healthy shift. "What's exciting right now is that there's a little bit of room for everything. There's definitely a craving for a slightly more traditional way of storytelling. People are looking at procedural dramas in the streaming space in a way they didn't have before. ”
If you need a reminder that viewers still love the "dating TV" they binge-watched on cable decades ago, check out the list of most-watched shows on streaming. Many of them come straight out of the air: "NCIS," "Grey's Anatomy," "Friends," "The Office," and "The Resident" (yes, a lesser-known medical script that aired on Fox for six seasons became Netflix's number one show earlier this month). Then there's the basic cable TV show that swept everything last year, "Suits."
"NCIS" is about to air its twenty-first season
These are TV shows – not six-episode dramas with expensive movie idols and budget-destructive effects. These are the shows that have driven the industry since infancy: hits with staying power, with enough episodes to build a library of more than 100 episodes that generations of viewers can continue to enjoy.
The Old Guard of TV continues to produce series that American viewers love to watch on the Old Guard Network. The newcomer Suspect Tracking is a real hit on CBS, while the NCIS, FBI, Chicago Police Department, Emergency Call and Law & Order series are still alive and well.
At this week's pre-launch, even broadcast networks are leaning toward more of these shows, such as Fox's lifeguard action film "Rescue: HI-Surf" and NBC's multi-camera Reba McEntire sitcom "Happy's Place." Also, here's a most back-to-basics example: after the multi-camera Big Bang Theory spawned the single-camera Little Sheldon, the show's spin-off (George and Mandy's First Marriage) returned to the multi-camera world.
Law & Order
Craig Elwich, president of Disney Television Group, said, "Whether it's a programmed drama or a family-friendly comedy, radio programming has never gone out of style. The group includes ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals. Now, these deep libraries, radio programs have a unique ability in the long term to drive streaming platforms. Especially Hulu, you see our performance on Rookie Cop and Grey's Anatomy, a new generation of fans is pouring in and consuming tons of shows and enjoying them because they're timeless. It's a format that's still relevant and enjoyable. ”
From a business perspective, streamers are also realizing that while the long-lived program dramas they have acquired from radio and cable can please some of their subscribers, making some of their own shows is a great way to stop subscriber churn, and those larger orders don't need to break the bank.
Dungey, chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group, said: "People call us and talk about family dramas and the staples of past broadcasts. "Streamers are also interested in the comedy side, and they want 'hard humor'; not that more dramatic comedy is disappearing. But streamers realized they wanted to have a more diversified portfolio. ”
John Wells, the creator of "ER: Stories," is the producer who brought the procedural format into a new era. He and "ER" veteran R. Scott Gemmill is updating what they did for radio 30 years ago into the streaming era, with their upcoming Max series, The Pitt. "The Pitt" is a medical procedure drama produced by Warner Bros. Television and starring "ER" alumnus Noah Wyle, for whom Max has booked 15 episodes. The show's budget is around $5 million per episode — a low cost by recent standards.
Kathy Blois, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, said: "In a way, this is an experiment. "But if anyone knows how to build an affordable, well-made, gripping play, it's John Wells. The idea was, let's try 15 episodes and see. Can people stay watching for 15 weeks? If you do, it's a big win. ”
Broise makes no secret of the obvious – Wells' proven track record of delivering high-end theatre on budget is The Pitt's selling point.
"It's not $20 million per episode, there's no huge special effects or anything like that," Blois said. "There are ways to make a show on a budget that is still engaging, fun, and entertaining. John and Scott, in particular, would do so; These skills were born in the era of network television, when you were doing 20 to 24 episodes a year. ”
There are many more of these shows on the way. Warner Bros. TV also produced Chuck Lorre's multi-camera sitcom, starring stand-up comedian Leanne Morgan, which has been booked for 16 episodes by Netflix (which previously had a massive reservation in the late 2010s blockbuster sitcom Ranch). Netflix also just ordered its first medical series, Pulse.
"I think what's happening is that people are realizing that in order to keep people signed up and reduce churn, you need programs that viewers can connect to, that show up in a timely manner, or long enough that consumers feel like they need to keep subscribing," Wells said. ”
As a storyteller, Wells prefers a larger canvas to tell a longer story about the lives of his characters. "I do think there's a real need," he said. "Viewers love watching those shows, at the level of quality they expect from a streaming service. And doing multiple episodes is certainly a valuable part of the financial calculations for everyone. ”
"The Story of the Emergency Room"
Broise emphasized that, like "ER" back then, "The Pitt" is not a medical soap opera. That's part of what drew Wells to The Pitt — he could take advantage of the freer content restrictions in streaming to delve into the harsh realities of emergency room life and people's interactions with the health care system.
"You don't have the same criteria to meet," he said. "One of the things we're excited about with The Pitt is that we can go back and tell medical stories that look like what's really going on in the hospital and how people interact with the healthcare system."
Longer seasons allow producers like Wells to split production costs and reduce the cost of a single episode.
"If you're trying to be financially responsible, the more episodes you have, the better off you're doing," Dunge noted. "But it's more than that: it's building a library and building the relationships that the audience wants to build with those characters. Our hope here is that over the course of 15 episodes – which is twice as many as most streaming shows right now – by the end of that season, viewers will feel connected and familiar with these characters and eager for a second season to arrive. ”
As streaming services continue to mature, they are starting to revisit and adopt certain models of traditional TV programming in order to attract and retain viewers' interest. This shift in strategy reflects the streaming platform's deep understanding of viewers' needs and its rapid response to market changes.
Streaming platforms have changed viewers' viewing habits by offering short episodes, high-cost productions, and ad-free programming, disrupting the traditional TV model. However, with the development of streaming media, the high-investment production model has brought greater pressure on profitability.
After an initial high investment, streaming platforms began to focus more on cost-effectiveness, producing more episodes to reduce subscriber churn. This shift in strategy reflects the streaming platform's focus on long-term sustainability; Embracing TV commercials, participating in annual network pre-presentations, and mimicking the business model of traditional TV networks, this shift meant that streaming platforms were looking for new revenue streams and competing with traditional TV networks in the advertising market; Increasing emphasis on audience feedback as a way to adjust your content strategy. This audience-centric approach to content creation helps improve the quality of the show and audience satisfaction, which leads to user retention.
These trends show that the streaming industry is adapting to changing audience needs and market conditions by combining traditional and modern elements to achieve sustainable business growth. As technology continues to evolve and market conditions change, streaming platforms will continue to explore new content creation and distribution strategies in an effort to maintain their leading position in the highly competitive media industry.
编译自variety：《The Re-Reinvention of Television: Streamers Dust Off Some of the Old Broadcast Playbook for a New Era》