Not Promising

[ithildin]

I've been reading Deadline Hollywood Daily, and this post on the mogul POV of the strike. Get a load of this:

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As for Chernin, Iger, Barry Meyer, Moonves, and also Zucker, they actually welcome a strike because they believe the 2007/2008 TV season is dead on arrival anyway. So many new shows are tanking in the ratings and/or going over budget and/or having production problems (Fox's Back To You, Nashville, K-VILLE; CBS' Kid Nation, Cane and Viva Laughlin (UPDATE: the first scripted new show of the season to be killed); NBC's Journeyman, Life and Bionic Woman; ABC's Cavemen, Big Shots, Dirty Sexy Money, and Pushing Daisies.) Even returning hit shows are losing their Nielsen luster (NBC's Heroes, ABC's Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy, CBS' CSI:Miami and Cold Case) that they feel this is as as good a time for a strike as any. As one mogul told me, "We can get rid of the overhead and regroup and rethink everything. If we were having a great year, it might be different. But we're not, and this is like an automatic do-over." As Les Moonves last week told his personal publicist (or is it apologist?), Bill Carter of The New York Times, "I'm not concerned about the state of CBS. I'm a bit concerned about the state of network television generally."

There's much more at the link.

Comments

[giandujakiss.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've seen that statement before, and I don't take it very seriously. Everything anyone says during labor negotiations is suspect. It's in the networks' interest, from a negotiating position, to make it appear that (a) they're not making any money off these shows and (b) it would be better if they could just stop producing new episodes. So you can't take it as truth.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

I'm not taking it as truth, I just found it interesting. We'll see if this is over by Thanksgiving or Easter. Could go either way. I remember how much the 1988 TV season sucked, so I hope it's Thanksgiving.

[boji.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm quietly reading and linking as well...

I can't help but see this as a carbon copy of what happened in publishing to the mid-list - the way conglomerate houses have basically chiseled away at the livelihoods of most authors (barring the very successful) and how it's the marketing men and not the editors that the power has now shifted to... *sigh*

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Seems to be a good analogy, I think.

[muses-circle.livejournal.com]

I read the entire article, and I can't help but wonder if the "moguls" aren't putting up some kind of smokescreen to scare the WGA into submission, with their attitude of "y'all do what you want because this season sucks anyway". Pfft, I call bullshit.

I do find it interesting, however, and now wonder if they'll turn around and use this as an excuse to flood the air with crappy reality shows and game shows, and turning to the writers and saying, "now THIS is what America really wants!"

I don't see that happening, though, because even "reality" television uses writers. Heh.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

It's definitely going to be interesting.