Alan Morton-Smith
Mindreign.com
22/09/2009
This year’s Emmy Awards were held in Los Angeles on September 20, in recognition of excellence in prime-time television. Started in 1949 to honour shows made locally in the LA area, it has subsequently expanded into a national event, and is considered to be the television equivalent of the Oscars. Many news outlets commented on the fact that the event was light on surprises. The awards for best drama series, best comedy series, best lead actor in a drama, best lead actress in a drama and best lead actor in a comedy all went to the same winners as last year. This, it might be argued, is indicative of the rather conservative approach of the academy members who actually decide the winners. The best example of this might be the satirical “fake news” programme The Daily Show, fronted by Jon Stewart. A very worthy winner, but also the recipient of the award for best variety, music or comedy series for the seventh year in a row. As the Guardian put it, “it takes them a very long time to notice shows, which makes it hard for anything new or less hyped to break through”.
The power of the web
In the context of a significant proportion of the population with broadband across Europe and North America — ranging from 85% in the Netherlands to 60% in the USA — this approach might need to be radically rethought. People are accessing more TV content online than ever before, through sites such the BBC’s hugely successful iPlayer; Hulu.com, backed by News Corp, NBC Universal and Disney, and also via less legal means, such as The Pirate Bay. The ability to access content on demand, not bound by any TV channel schedules, is an idea which has been much-lauded for many years but is only now being fully realised. Combined with the ability to share clips and links in a very short timeframe, individuals and shows can rocket from obscurity to global recognition at dazzling speeds. Susan Boyle is the most impressive example of this, with videos of her — from her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent, various interviews, and her 1999 rendition of Cry Me a River — having been watched online over 100 million times since April, when she first arrived on television.
Indeed, the power of emerging media was recognised at the Emmys, with Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, a musical short film produced exclusively for internet distribution, winning an award. It consists of three acts of approximately 14 minutes each. They were first released online as individual episodes, with two-day intervals between each one being made available. Directed and financed by Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it cost just over $200,000 to make, which he had recouped by November of last year through sales on DVD and via the iTunes store. In a blog post, Whedon stated that, “We’ve been able to pay our crew and all our bills”.
Another interesting aspect of how power is shifting online is that, according to Bloomberg, television programmes such as The Simpsons and CSI are for the first time commanding higher advertising rates at web sites including Hulu.com and TV.com than on prime-time TV. Marketers are willing to pay more because these sites provide committed viewers who actively seek out shows. There are fewer adverts, and consumers are twice as likely to recall web ads, according to David Poltrack, chief research officer at CBS. That said, whilst web viewing and online advertising sales are increasing, they are still too small to replace traditional revenue sources.
Transition
Although the internet is undoubtedly becoming a considerable force in the television industry, we are still in a transitional phase, and a great deal of work lies ahead in establishing new, profitable ways of doing business online. The problem of how to do deal with illegal filesharing, for so long a problem for the music industry, is now becoming more critical for the TV networks as well. One key problem is the considerable time-lag between when series are broadcast in different countries, which often leads to fans, impatient to see the latest developments, taking things into their own hands. This could potentially lead to a similar approach taken by the film industry, where movies are increasingly given a single worldwide release date, in a bid to combat piracy.
Despite the success of Joss Whedon’s short film, with its low budget (by television standards) there will arguably always be a market for high quality, lavish productions by the likes of HBO, responsible for such series as The Sopranos and Band of Brothers. It will also be intriguing to see how public sector broadcasters, such as the BBC, recast themselves in this rapidly shifting environment. One thing is for sure, though: the great and the good who cast their votes for Emmy awards in years to come will have a far greater array of programmes to choose from than ever before. Here’s hoping they can keep up.
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