I don't think people realize the extent to which TV networks are hurt when they carry public broadcasting. I think the estimate is that they lose a half-million dollars for a half day's programming.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I think that the problem with network television is that they cling to the whole business model like they are clinging to the side of a cliff.
Television is more of a business. You can't take as many risks, because there's so many channels now, and the advertising's dropping.
What's happened to broadcasting is that broadcasting really used to be... it used to have a very clear public service quotient. And it's more or less now. And it's been lost.
If the television market collapses - and it will collapse - then, it seems, there is too much regulation, and that's not a good thing.
I actually think there's a potential, a crazy potential, that network TV could become something valuable and worthwhile, just because of fear on the part of the networks.
Viewers don't care how big media companies are. They care whether they can dump those they don't like, whether because of lousy service or because of crummy shows.
Networks can typically invest tens of millions of dollars in the development of a pilot. And if they put the show on the air and it fails, that's all lost money. There's no monetization of a broken series.
You know how trends go with television. Next year, the networks might not be open to taking risks.
Lawmakers have good reason to want a healthy broadcast industry. Broadcast TV stations provide more than 186,000 jobs on an annual basis, which directly generate more than $30 billion in economic activity.
There are only a few TV networks that really invest in production in the way that I think they should. HBO, obviously, is one of them.
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