Two things that have popped into my head are the search engine and the origin of movie stars.
The early public internet had a similar clutter problem. Those of us who were on the WWW before Google remember the challenge of finding something relevant or usable and the way Alta Vista, Lycos, Yahoo, Excite, and others tried to innovate and find a good way. Maybe someone will figure out a streaming series search engine. If you know the name of the series you want to see there are lots of websites that will tell you where it’s streaming. My go-to is the IMDB app. We need some kind of reverse service where you enter the kind of show you’re looking for and the engine can recommend some series. The early movie business had a similar problem when they started releasing lots of movies and they came across as clutter to audiences. In his book Gods Like Us, Ty Burr talks about the solution movie studios inadvertently came upon. They found out that audiences were forming attractions to the actors and they could sell movies by selling the stars. People would go see the new Pickford or Valentino movie no matter what it was called or what it was about. I have no idea how it ties to the streaming business but it was a solution to the clutter. On Sat, Sep 24, 2022 at 11:16 PM 'David Bruggeman' via TVorNotTV < [email protected]> wrote: > I think there's definitely a need for a 'smarter' TV guide/website/app > that can work across the streaming platforms to curate suggested viewing > based on minimal input. A quarterly roundup of new programs, comparable to > those new season special issues of TVG or EW (back when it wasn't an > overblown aggregator), might be good value added as well. It would be a > lot more useful than the occasional pieces on what's leaving "insert > streamer here" this month. > > My guess as to why this hasn't been done yet is that the necessary > information on streamer offerings is difficult to aggregate and navigate, > either by way of the code or the tendency of streamers to keep most viewing > information in house. > > I think the issue with TV ad delivery also affects network offerings, > though it may be more keenly felt with streaming. I've been catching up on > the Simpsons in advance of tomorrow's season premiere, and there are at > least half a dozen Fox shows that were advertised from the 21-22 season > that I had no idea even existed. > > David > > On Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 07:53:34 PM PDT, PGage < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > As you say, a lot of the ads for streaming are for the service itself, > perhaps highlighting a few top shows. But there are a lot of good to very > good shows on streamers that are almost word of mouth. It took me almost a > year for AppleTV+ *Severance to register on my radar, which I loved and > would easily have shown up on even a minimal profile if my preferences. > > On Sat, 24 Sep 2022 at 7:10 PM 'David Bruggeman' via TVorNotTV < > [email protected]> wrote: > > I think breaking through the clutter has been an issue since at least the > time Mad Men became a thing, but it's definitely harder. This is just my > anecdotal experience, but I see a lot more ads for streamers and > streaming-only programs online. I do see some on TV, but it's mostly Hulu > promoting its sports offerings, or the streamer being advertised is the one > linked to the channel I'm watching. > > The multiplication of viewing options has made the magic number for what > makes a 'hit' show much smaller. Yes, a hit show on broadcast TV will pull > in a lot more than one on a cable channel or a streamer. But prestige TV > needs big buzz more than big numbers. I think this will remain the case, > as the consolidation of streamers doesn't automatically mean it will be > easier to find programs, or that the search mechanisms will be effective in > pushing viewers to other shows they would stay with. > > David > > On Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 11:18:32 AM PDT, Tom Wolper < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > I missed Mad Men in its original run and recently started watching it on > Freevee. I’m amazed by the writing and the intricacies of the plot. If he > can bring that level of show to Roku that would be fantastic. > > On the other hand, I don’t know how any series can break through the > clutter anymore. Every so often I browse through my streaming platforms and > there are dozens of new shows and they don’t look appealing. > > On Fri, Sep 23, 2022 at 1:05 PM Mark Jeffries <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Charlie Collier, the former AMC exec who masterminded that channel's entry > into prestige TV and has been CEO of Fox Entertainment for the last four > years, picking up the slack after Murdoch sold 20th-Century Fox to Disney > and cementing at least part-ownership of the bulk of Fox's programming (not > to mention greenlighting "The Masked Singer"), is leaving Fox for a similar > position at the streaming stick maker, who is trying to be a player in > programming: > > > https://www.thewrap.com/charlie-collier-fox-entertainment-exit-roku-media-president/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking_news_7018671 > > Collier's late dad Chet was the long-time head of Westinghouse > Broadcasting's syndication operation, hiring a kid named Roger Ailes to > work on "The Mike Douglas Show" and after retirement from Group W acting as > a consultant and eminence grise to Ailes at America's Talking and Fox News. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/1780694582.165114.1664075810022%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/1780694582.165114.1664075810022%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. 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