TV Talk: Media companies prioritize streaming services over cable

If one thing became clear about the TV business in the past year, it’s that media conglomerates are more interested in their streaming services than in their legacy broadcast and cable networks.

Viewers can see it in the diminishing number of original series on basic cable networks (particularly among scripted shows) which coincides with more streaming services coming online. Networks that have dabbled in and dropped original scripted programming include A&E, Bravo, CMT, Discovery, E!, MTV, TV Land and WGN America.

The increase in unscripted shows on cable and broadcast, especially game shows, can be attributed in part to the pandemic but also because they’re cheap and networks would rather save their expensive, scripted series for streaming.

Why invest more in, say, Disney-owned cable network Freeform, if the Walt Disney Company sees the future is in streamer Disney+?

It’s why the successor series to Investigation Discovery hit “Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda,” the Kenda-hosted “American Detective,” debuted this month on discovery+ and not on cable’s ID.

That’s not to say cable networks will disappear tomorrow. Instead it will be a long, slow slide into irrelevance as networks wring advertising dollars out of linear channels for as long as possible. But media conglomerates are unlikely to invest heavily in these cable networks going forward.

You can see the priorities of WarnerMedia, headed by Murrysville native Jason Kilar, in the decision for a “Sex and the City” follow-up to stream on HBO Max, not HBO where the show originated. In fairness, anyone who subscribes to HBO can get HBO Max as part of their HBO subscription, so it’s not exactly the same as new episodes of “Restaurant: Impossible” premiering on discovery+ instead of on its former linear TV home, Food Network, which has been the case since the beginning of January for this program and other shows from Discovery Networks channels.

Other instances of media companies prioritizing streamers over their established linear networks include AMC debuting “The Salisbury Poisonings” and “Gangs of London” on AMC+ months before the shows would air on the linear AMC channel; Disney’s announcement that after “Genius: Aretha” premieres on National Geographic Channel this year the “Genius” franchise will move to Disney+ just as “The Right Stuff,” announced as a Nat Geo linear series, moved to Disney+.

WarnerMedia sees its future so squarely in HBO Max that it says it will premiere the entire 2021 Warner Bros. movie slate on HBO Max the same day these movies come out in theaters in the U.S.

Why is this all happening? The rise of streaming services such as Netflix, coupled with cord-cutting (98 million homes had cable/satellite in 2016 versus roughly 74 million today), led media conglomerates to conclude that the future of home video entertainment will be via broadband, not cable.

Just as millions of Americans ditched landline phones in favor of cell-only phone service, so too have consumers, particularly the younger ones, dropped cable in favor of subscribing to a streamer.

There are several types of streaming services: On demand subscription streaming services (Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, discovery+, Amazon Prime Video, etc.), which cost $5-$15 per month, and live streaming services (fuboTV, Hulu Plus Live TV, AT&T TV, YouTube TV, etc.), which start at around $60 per month. (Live streaming is closest to cable as it offers access to familiar networks, including local channels in some packages.)

Another option is free, ad-supported video on demand services such as TubiTV, IMDbTV and Pluto TV.

To access streamers, a viewer needs a Smart TV or a device that connects to an older TV via HMDI cable (Roku, Fire TV stick, Chromecast, etc.).

Cutting the cord and opting for a live streaming service often starts out less expensive than cable but as consumers add on-demand subscription streaming services the cost can quickly near or sometimes exceed a traditional cable bill, but the flexibility (no contract to subscribe to on-demand streamers Netflix, Disney+, etc.) and convenience (no cable equipment for most live streamers) has helped ratchet up cord-cutting.

More fallout from the rise in streaming:

— Cable network El Rey, which once produced original scripted series, shuttered on Jan. 1. Last week NBC announced its NBC Sports Network will close at the end of 2021 with its marquee programming (NHL, NASCAR) migrating to USA Network this year, helping to bolster USA, as other programming moves to streamer Peacock in 2022. These two are sure to be followed by others. The cable universe will continue to contract.

— Some media conglomerates have less interest in owning TV delivery systems. WarnerMedia is looking to sell AT&T’s DirectTV.

— Even over-the-air stations have lost some appeal. Earlier this month Variety predicted the parent companies of ABC, CBS, Fox or NBC might decide 2021 is the year to exit “the local broadcasting game and sells its station groups.” (In Pittsburgh, ViacomCBS owns KDKA-TV and WPCW-TV).

The TV times, they are a-changing, like it or not.

Renewed/revived

NBC renewed its “Weakest Link” reboot for a second season and “The Blacklist” for a ninth season.

Apple TV+ will bring back international thriller “Tehran” for a second season.

Netflix renewed period drama “Bridgerton” for a second season. Production begins this spring.

Fox will revive “America’s Most Wanted” in March with Elizabeth Vargas as the host.

Channel surfing

Moviemaker.com named Pittsburgh the No. 3 best small city/town for filmmakers to live and work in behind Santa Fe, N.M., and No. 1 New Orleans. … The third season of former NBC series “Crossing Lines” debuts at 10 p.m. Feb. 8 on cable’s Ovation TV. … Ad-supported, free streamer Pluto TV has launched two new channels, BBC Food and BBC Home. … NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” returns this weekend with five consecutive weeks of live shows beginning with John Krasinski as host and Machine Gun Kelly as musical guest; Dan Levy hosts Feb. 6 with Phoebe Bridgers and Regina King hosts Feb. 13 with Nathaniel Rateliff. … In March wrestling streaming service WWE Network will cease to exist as a stand-alone service as its content migrates to NBC streamer Peacock. … WGN America will rebrand as NewsNation on March 1 and expand its weeknight lineup of newscasts by two hours beginning at 6 p.m. … “Modern Family” reruns will stream on Hulu and Peacock beginning Feb. 3.