Comments on: Some Thoughts on the Upfronts

By: Amanda Lotz

Amanda Lotz — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:24:39 +0000

My sense when I was researching this was that those engaged in the processes also felt they were outdated or didn’t serve many well but that changing the system was just too massive or that it was impossible to get everyone on the same page to make changes.

By: Jeffrey Jones

Jeffrey Jones — Thu, 27 May 2010 01:12:28 +0000

Jonathan’s points not withstanding (for I agree), I do read in your comments, though, something that reminds me of Washington/politics–kind of a “this is the way the game is played” logic that makes sense to the players, but not always to the reality of those outside the system or even in relation to contemporary reality. People often talk about the mass delusions that drive Hollywood/cultural industries and Washington/politics as being similar. This might be a case in point.

By: Amanda Lotz

Amanda Lotz — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:40:05 +0000

Good point about institutional support, Jonathan. I think that remains something to watch. My sense is that “Thursday” night also doesn’t mean what it used to.
And the tuner thing (and schedule) is especially interesting with cable. I really appreciate the cable tendency of replaying at a later hour and later in the week as a solution to schedule issue.

By: Jonathan Gray

Jonathan Gray — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:05:10 +0000

“in years past I would pour over the new grids with the glee of a child on Christmas morning”

I admit to still doing so. Like you, a DVR largely runs my television viewing now, but a few things still make that schedule important:
1. My DVR can only record two things at once, meaning that some shows are damned from the get-go because they’re up against TWO shows I like.
2. Enough people don’t have DVRs to make a show’s place in the schedule relevant still, even if only to show what a network thinks its chances are (when the show’s on Friday night, for instance, I take that as a fairly bad sign of its institutional support.
3. They’re still just beautiful to look at. This is perhaps just evidence of my love of tidyness, but schedules visually suggest an order and planning that otherwise seems lacking from television 🙂