Networks Need a New Tune

NETWORKS NEED A NEW TUNE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] With viewer patterns changing, programmers can be forgiven for feeling that they have to retrain themselves on the fly. But despite all the inducements for viewers to create their own television experience, tens of millions of viewers -- most of us, in fact -- watch programs at the time they air, just the way we always have. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Indeed, it's the mass audience that made television so powerful in the first place. Eventually, as television blends with the Internet, words like “network” and “TV schedules” will be antiquated concepts. Watching television on your laptop won't seem exotic at all. The seemingly insatiable appetite for content is encouraging and will eventually provide new revenue streams. As the networks plan for the fall season, they are going to have to fortify broadcast enterprises that still attract billions of ad dollars, all the while figuring out how to make them relevant in a world where the viewer, not the network, determines the day and date.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6441521.html

* Lessons for the Fall Season
1) The Jury's Still Out on Streaming Episodes 2) Break Time Can Be Disastrous for Serialized Dramas 3) A Lack of Half-Hour Comedies Is a Serious Problem 4) Networks See the Light About Dark Dramas 5) Keep an Eye on Violence (Whatever That Means) 5) It's Upfront Week: Write Your Grids in Pencil
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6441342.html

* Sitcoms Are Dead! Long Live Sitcoms!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/14/opinion/14blum.html

* Exit laughing: NBC retreats from comedy
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i4...