FX’s John Landgraf on a la Carte Cable’s Threat to Hollywood’s Creativity

During a far-ranging discussion at TheGrill, FX Networks CEO John Landgraf discussed the push for a la carte cable programming, saying it would be a big threat to Hollywood’s creative community, cable industry — and ultimately a disservice to the consumers — if it took place.

“I think it’s a risk to the whole ecosystem,” Landgraf said at TheWrap’s fourth annual Media Leadership Conference, in Beverly Hills, adding that it was a threat to the creative process. He estimated that half the jobs would disappear if the current model went away. “If that happened, you’d see the greatest recession in the history of Hollywood.” While he acknowledged “a certain amount of genuine consumer irritation” over the current cable model and its resultant prices, he insisted that it’s still a relatively cheap form of entertainment and that the current way of doing business is essential to a financially viable entertainment industry.