Future of Cable TV

Quote: Fleastiff

Although some might say that was prostitution, its clear it would be really great acting!!

Here is the scene that treads the fine line between product placement and blatant prostitution.

Does Netflix CEO Reed Hastings' annual salary of $3 million seem a bit low for a company whose shares outperformed every other stock in the S&P 500? I'm not typically prone to complain that executives are underpaid, but compare Hastings' modest salary to what CBS pays Les Moonves: $62 million. Yes, yes, I know, CBS is a much bigger company with more revenue, profits, assets, etc etc. (Maybe a better comparison is Yahoo, whose CEO makes $36 million.)

Speaking of CBS, it's a bit of a misleading to describe the network's relationship with Netflix as "competitor." Netflix is also a customer of CBS: Netflix pays them $250 million to air programs from their archives.

Quote: reno

Does Netflix CEO Reed Hastings' annual salary of $3 million seem a bit low for a company whose shares outperformed every other stock in the S&P 500?

Speaking of CBS, it's a bit of a misleading to describe the network's relationship with Netflix as "competitor." Netflix is also a customer of CBS: Netflix pays them $250 million to air programs from their archives.

Well his salary was upped to $6 million this year. Netflix is probably an overvalued stock as it doesn't really make heaps of money.

Netflix is usually seen more of a "competitor" to HBO.

But Time Warner who owns HBO, also owns Road Runner Cable, plus Turner Broadcasting System, The CW Television Network, Warner Bros., Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Adult Swim, and CNN. So right now they are very invested in cable TV. They are unlikely to want to spin off HBO-GO into a standalone streaming product like Netflix if it upsets the corporate bottom line. However, if they sell their cable company, they may be open to exploring more internet options.

I don't know what fifty million views on YouTube is worth financially but I'm sure its "quite a bundle".

Perhaps this is the future of Cable TV... a merger with the internet delivered content.

Tatia Pilevia's First Kiss, discussed elsewhere on this board in the What Movies thread, has hit 50 MM views. There was minor flack about its being a promo for a fashion merchandiser's new collection of Black and White Mix and Match wardrobe stuff, but most people enjoyed the cinematography of a simple shot of twenty strangers and their ten awkward first kisses.

It doesn't matter what commercial tie ins you have... once you have 50MM viewers your electronic rate card skyrockets.

Quote: Fleastiff

I don't know what fifty million views on YouTube is worth financially but I'm sure its "quite a bundle".

Youtube revenue was $5.6 billion last year. If 12 billion unique users visit YouTube each year, and they make $5.6 billion that is fifty cents per visitor. So someone is making some money on a video viewed 50 million times. It may not be the person who made the video, however.

This guy who was clever enough to make this video "Chèvres en équilibre" provides an opportunity for 8 million people to see an advertisement provided by youtube. I doubt the guy who made the video is making a lot licensing the use of the video.



That is compared with $5.9 billion revenues from ABC for Disney. Now ABC has less revenue than the other networks since all the sports are on ESPN.

Disney's cable division was more than twice as high with $14.453 billion (of which about $10 billion is ESPN group).

But the big difference is the cable division's operating expenses are 58%, while the broadcast's operating expenses are 87%. Operating income on the cable division is over $6 billion.


CBS chief says network could go all-Internet if Aereo wins

I think it's an empty threat. I don't see why CBS can't live stream it's show on the internet with a 3 hour delay. That way they can still get away with asking for retransmission fees from cable companies.

It's just possible that NBC may be reversing it's 17 year slump on SITCOMS. It's two mid season replacements, About a Boy and Growing Up Fisher are it's most popular shows behind Blacklist. About a Boy stars David Walton who has played the exact same character in three previously failed NBC sitcoms. Growing up Fisher stars Jason Bateman , J.K. Simmons, and Jenna Elfman who have been successful comics in the past.




The 1997-98 season was a milestone for NBC. It carried over 11 sitcoms from the previous year, after just finishing "Wings", and introduced 6 new sitcoms (for 17 sitcoms in one season). All the new sitcoms failed immediately, and one by one the old ones were cancelled. Almost all the sitcoms since then were failures or mild successes.

#	Pilot	Weeks	NBC Sitcom	Final
final	1990-04-19	371	Wings	1997-05-21
→ 1	1997-04-10	45	Fired Up	1998-02-09
→ 2	1989-07-05	463	Seinfeld	1998-05-14
→ 3	1995-09-13	142	The Naked Truth	1998-05-25
→ 4	1995-09-21	189	Caroline in the City	1999-04-26
→ 5	1995-03-21	216	News Radio	1999-05-04
→ 6	1992-09-23	349	Mad About You	1999-05-24
→ 7	1996-09-19	224	Suddenly Susan	2000-12-26
→ 8	1996-01-09	281	Third Rock from the Sun	2001-05-22
→ 9	1997-03-04	338	Just Shoot Me	2003-08-16
→ 10	1994-09-22	503	Friends	2004-05-06
→ 11	1993-09-16	557	Frasier	2004-05-13
1 →	1997-09-24	4	Built to Last	1997-10-15
2 →	1997-09-25	18	Union Square	1998-01-22
3 →	1997-09-25	145	Veronica's Closet	2000-06-27
4 →	1997-09-25	18	Union Square	1998-01-22
5 →	1997-09-28	16	Jenny	1998-01-12
6 →	1997-10-08	69	Working	1999-01-25

I watched every one of those first 12 shows. Now I watch
nothing on network TV until I can see 5 seasons in a row.
As god intended..

I wonder if a DVD or something could be marketed entitled "New Season" with one episode of all the new season's shows. A description of the shows and a way of keeping track what you've watched and an instant way to reprogam your VCR or whatever.

Quote: Fleastiff

I wonder if a DVD or something could be marketed entitled "New Season" with one episode of all the new season's shows. A description of the shows and a way of keeping track what you've watched and an instant way to reprogam your VCR or whatever.

DVD? What is this, the 2000s?

And VCR? The networks don't want viewers your age. :-)

Quote: AZDuffman

DVD? What is this, the 2000s?

And VCR? The networks don't want viewers your age. :-)

DVD disk sales peaked in 2004, and fell 30% (by number of disks sold) in 8 years. As people are more likely to purchase the expensive blu-rays, revenue has remained almost steady.

VCR tape sales peaked in 2001. I suppose some people are using them for time shifting, but I don't think you can purchase new movies in that format anymore.


Starz (revenue $1.631 billion) seems the most likely Premium Network to sell an internet version of it's package not requiring cable television first. It's holding company has almost no investment in cable , and it's only risk is pissing off their current distributors.



Showtime is owned by CBS and is the second most likely premium to be sold separately.



HBO is a subsidiary of Time Warner. If TW sells it's cable division to Comcast, I would suspect that the sale would come with some agreement that HBO not distribute HBO-GO for some number of years. After that they will probably sell it as a stand alone package.