Kevin Spacey on What's Wrong with Today's Television

"Television" has evolved.

On demand and ala carte is becoming more and more prevalent.

 

He's right on. Though people will still pay more for the experience of IMAX, etc, there is another subset of people who will pay more for NOT having the experience of having to go to a public theater. Personally if I can get a release day movie that I can download/stream HD to my home theater, I'll pay 5 times as much.

 

The American broadcast and advertising model is too beneficial to our retail, communications and economic infrastructure, and where they've failed artistically they've compensated for with editing based on qualitative and demographic research that maximizes viewer appeal and interest, and generates revenues that more than make up for the cost and somehow manage to create the one or two content packages that are consumed globally. Spacey's the most interesting and substantive of his class and generation of celebrities, but all I got on his part was skepticism or anxiety that their product wouldn't survive a pretty well-tested and validated broadcast production process; while Netflix, in the experimental stage and with completely different objectives in mind, was willing to take a risk that has initially paid off.

 

Save the ads for pro sports... Really the only reason to have a cable subscription nowadays anyways.

 

The only reason for whom? We have infinitely more channels and content, but somehow everything is still being watched and recorded for later consumption, then syndicated overseas and reproduced and resold digitally or on DVDs a year later.

 

So true, he is spot on

 

Commercials. That's whats wrong. Seems like there are more commercials on TV than there are shows. I'd pay more to not have commercials.

 

Yep. Nobody cares about watching anything live, with commercials, EXCEPT when it comes to live sports.

Only "network" show on currently that I try to watch close to live is breaking bad... And I still wait 15 min to start it to avoid commercials.

 

No, everything is being watched both live and taped, and then reproduced and redistributed worldwide, because the demand is still there; for content well beyond sports. That means commercials are still worthwhile and that the cable subscriptions and broadcast television consumption still has value for the bulk of consumers.

 

didn't watch, but there is nothing wrong with today's television. I remeber growing up with baywatch, mcgyver, simpsons, and murder she wrote. Awful. I attribute the DVD to saving television. got rid of stand alone episodes.

 

Apart from agreeing with almost everything he said, I came away from this speech highly impressed with his oratory skills. I wouldn't mind if he gave my eulogy 100yrs from now....:grin:
.......
.......
.......

 

you can pay 5 times the amount, but have an audience of ten people, and the movie industry thinks they've lost out on a profit