Re: Stranger Things
I just finished watching this last night and that was another well done series by Netflix. Network TV could use some time watching how they are doing their series so maybe broadcast TV can get better.
Network TV faces three BIG issues when squaring off against Netflix, Amazon, etc:
1- Network TV's budget is vanishingly small compared to what Netflix spent on Stranger Things - the biggest scripted shows on TV cost a few million per 'hour long' episode while Netflix spent approximately $12.5 million per episode of Stranger Things.
2- Network TV has ads, which break the flow of the show, and also cut into length. Each hour-long episode of Stranger Things is actually about 1.5x the runtime of your typical 'hour-long' network show.
3- Netflix is like HBO in that they don't have to consider the FCC broadcast rules.
Network TV is the dinosaur now and soon enough will be extinct. In fact, I don;t know a single person under 18 years of age that actually watches any shows on TV - they've literally grown up in an on-demand world and waiting until their favorite show comes on again in a week (or a few months) is alien to them. they're (generally speaking) uninterested.
With no inherent restrictions except budget, companies like Netflix, Amazon, etc are there production companies of the future. HBO really threw down the gauntlet with Band Of Brothers - they set the standard. And since Netflix, Amazon, etc don't rely on advertising, the immersion is much greater.
The networks are simply grabbing hold of whatever bits of vine they can while they are sucked down by the quicksand. It's just a matter of time until they are swallowed up at this point...
