Less television from the networks = more local shows?

From the AP:

[NBC CEO Jeff] Zucker told analysts at a media investor conference [Monday]... that NBC is considering cutting the number of hours or perhaps even the number of nights it provides programming. - “Zucker says NBC may scale down programming hours”

I recall when the TV network feeds weren’t a 24-hour-a-day thing: In the late 50s the typical weekday began at 8am (7am for the Today Show), paused for an hour at noon, paused again from 4pm to 7pm and then finished at 11pm (except for the Tonight Show, which started at 11:15pm and finished at 1am). Weekend programming was even sparser. Stations filled their remaining hours with a mixture of old movies,^[1] cartoons, a few locally-produced programs, and syndicated-on-film off-network shows like Official Detective, The Lone Ranger, and Robin Hood. The few non-network independents got by with a mix of sports, more movies, and, as time went on, off-network reruns. And most stations were off-the-air overnight. So stations don’t absolutely need the nets, although having an affiliation makes filling all those hours much easier.

Having said that, I’m not sure what to make of this:

Several affiliates welcome the possibility, and said Saturday night seems like a logical place to give local content a shot. NBC affiliates board chairman Michael Fiorile was pleased to hear Zucker raise the possibility. “The affiliates asked NBC to do this last summer,” said Fiorile, who seemed somewhat surprised that Zucker had not brought it up sooner.

Affiliates stressed that producing local programming isn’t cheap, but it is a differentiator in the vast landscape of viewing options. “Our niche these days is localism,” says WSAZ Charleston-Huntington (WV) General Manager Don Ray...

If they’re really talking about producing local programming, well, I wish them luck. Don’t get me wrong: “Local” is good. “Local” can generate tremendous followings.^[2] But “local” takes an enormous amount of money and resources to be done right,^[3] especially when compared to what it takes to throw a switch on the satellite receiver. And most affiliates are unready. They lack the personnel and the facilities to do anything beyond an occasional special event. Then there’s the problem of selling enough advertising to cover the costs. And the weak economy militates against staffing up in anticipation of some (uncertain) future reward.

So my prediction is that while network cutbacks may result in more shows “originating” from local facilities, most of those shows won’t really be local. Expect local news to get more time (it’s quick, easy, and only incrementally expensive). Possibly high school sports- which require facilities, but are extremely marketable.  We may get to see a few more old movies. The rest? More Cops, more Judge Judy, and (in unrated hours) more “Paid Programming.” And, possibly, more hours of test cards.

A “renaissance” of local broadcasts? Not gonna happen.


(Loosely) related:

Via: IP (Zucker) and Hear 2.0 (affiliates)

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Today’s WTF moment, courtesy of the Harvard University English Department

“There is no such thing as writing that is indigenous or ‘native’ to England...” - Harvard University’s proposed new undergraduate English curriculum, as quoted by Inside Higher Ed

Via:  Insty

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First domino?

Tribune Company in Chapter 11.


Elsewhere:

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Hey! It’s December 28...

Mark your calendar now!

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Dr. Who and the “pretentious windbag”

The Twisted Spinster has a plan for at least one of them.


Elsewhere:  C.G. Hill is taking nominations for future candidates.

(In the interests of posterity, Andrea’s entire post is reproduced in the extended entry, as she has a nasty habit of periodically diappearing her blog.)
more...

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How to write an apology letter

Wow, we messed up.

Our saving grace is that you, our customers, cared enough to let us know we were being idiots.

We're as happy to have you as customers as we are embarassed that we ran a testimonial from Lon Horiuchi.

We printed off every email about this, rolled them each into a ball, and threw them at the employee who included the testimonial.

We're really sorry!

To show our contrition, we are offering 5% off to anyone who places an order for delivery in 2009 who mentions our poor taste in testimonials between now and December 31.

In the future, we'll pay more attention to who we use to talk about our products.

Respectfully,
The management

Unfortunately, that’s not what they wrote.

Backstory here (and here).

Via:  Tam

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Starve, too

Not just freeze in the dark:

It all started in 2007 when the United States Supreme Court ruled that the gases emitted by belching and farting livestock amounted to air pollution.  The EPA has now taken that ruling and decided to tax livestock operations that have more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs at the following rates; $175 for each dairy cow, $87.50 for each beef cow and $20 for each hog.

Let's see, the pork producers in my area have been losing between $20 to $30 per shipped hog all summer long what with the high price of corn that none of us corn farmers were able to get or lock-in for our harvested grain.  Add another $20 on top of that loss and, Hell, they should be able to fly in their corporate jets to Washington and ask (with a straight face) for a bailout from Congress. - Frank James

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Oldest Ever Lolcat Found

She’s from 1905.

From: My Cat Wears Clothes, via: I Can Has Cheezburger, via: C.G. Hill

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“Unless this case is overturned, it is time to get off the Internet completely.”

Implications of U.S. v. Lori Drew:

If violating a web site’s terms of use is criminalized by the CFAA^[1], have we not given private companies the ability to write the criminal laws?  Do you feel safe if they are allowed to arbitrarily decide what is or isn't criminal?  And then change it whenever they feel like it, without notice to you?

Perverting existing law to catch someone who isn’t covered. Oh, and violation of the CFAA is another one of those felonies.

Brought to my attention by: Daily Pundit
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December blogmeet - make your preferences known

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