Is This the End of the Fall TV Season? Or the Start of Something Else?

On March 6 I published a column titled amp8220Have We Seen the Last of Upfront Weekamp8221 It was tied to cancellations of events by Fox News and Freewheel amid rising fears of coronavirus which was in its very early stages Seven months of cancelled seasonal events for the media have followed and the end date for quarantines and compromises remains evasive to all Circumstances prevent us from saying for certain whether the 2020 Upfront season ultimately progressed to anyoneamp8217s satisfaction without the dozens of annual presentations and parties that define it for so manyInstead the industry continues to innovate and redefine how it does business all the while finding ways to stay alive and attempt to thriveamp160The result has been a new approach to something very old In a safer saner world that wouldnamp8217t be so terrible I feel that the amp8220traditionalamp8221 Upfront season had in recent years slipped way out of alignment with how executives conduct business and how people consume content It is entirely possible that given the severity of the big break from tradition this year anything resembling the collective Upfront Week extravaganza may not return It may be replaced by different events at different times during the spring but who can say Digital publishing and social media now make information about new and returning series and network schedules available to advertisers not to mention the public at large before those events take place anywayFor now the annual fall television season is underway such as it is Despite the Herculean efforts of certain consumer publications to try to generate some sense of overall excitement though not much is happening Is this due to the pandemic or the fact that the traditional fall season is as outdated as Upfront Week or bothMany cable networks and streaming services donamp8217t bother to align their business or their outreach with the old broadcast model Most of them especially the streamers have done just fine during our endless bummer of a summer and are continuing to do so I suspect they would do so even without a pandemic keeping people at home For cable and streamers alike every season is fall season Every month is important They donamp8217t blow out most of their new product in one autumnal or midseason blast They keep it coming all year roundAnd now the broadcast networks are doing exactly that or putting forth a very close simulation of same I should note that in terms of gearing up certain productions and reinforcing schedules during what has snowballed into a devastating pandemic they all deserve praise regardless of how one feels about the traditional season In recent weeks NBC has offered the final exciting episodes and season finale of its annual summer sensation Americaamp8217s Got Talent the season premieres of The Wall andamp160American Ninja Warrioramp160and the premiere of theamp160revampedamp160The Weakest Linkamp160the arrival of ABCamp8217s Dancing with the Starsamp160with new host Tyra Banks and the return of CBSamp8217 reliably escapistamp160Big Brother and Love Island among much other new andor carefully packaged repurposed programming on the Big Threeamp160Meanwhile there is sudden new life across the board at Fox where a combination of returning unscripted shows such as The Masked Singer and a number of scripted series once intended for midseason but wisely held back have been put together to resemble a amp8220fall seasonamp8221 Together their efforts have kept broadcast television alive Sports along with coverage of the upcoming political debates and presidential election chaos should also keep them kickingThe point is that broadcast is on the one hand having a fall season despite everything that has happened and on the other it isnamp8217t with new and returning series scheduled to roll out not in the days ahead but rather the weeks and months to come Indeed this is actually the preferred model of The CW which seems always to be ahead of the curve in matters concerning broadcast and digital Years ago it began delaying its new and returning shows until October in order to avoid competing with the giant death match in which CBS NBC ABC and Fox engageFurther The CW has for years been adding aamp160selection of new scripted content to its summer schedule It did so again this time aroundamp160To put this another way on The CW new series premiere throughout the year unencumbered by an outdated model and stale traditions The punishments of the pandemic may find the other networks following suit Weamp8217ll see what 2021 bringsClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Is This the End of the Fall TV Season? Or the Start of Something Else?

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Ed Martin

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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Is This the End of the Fall TV Season? Or the Start of Something Else?

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