5 Things Cable Needs To Reinvent Themselves

 It's no secret Cable TV is dying a very slow death.To be honest a lot of it is the cable industry and respective networks fault. While I personally believe linear TV still has a place, and while not the juggernaut it once was. 

Can still survive in modern media. There are several things the industry could do to breath new life into itself. So I decided to be a media pronogsticator, and share what I think the industry needs to do to stay afloat.

5. Go Back To Brand Identification

Once upon a time, USA network welcomed characters, TNT knew drama, while TBS knew funny. Oxygen was very real, MTV which at one was a pop culture juggernaut as much as cable network. Had several slogans from I want my MTV to we're music, we're MTV and many more. ABC Family (now freeform) presented a new kind of family.

You dont see that with cable networks really anymore. BET has a slogan and it's where Black Culture lives and that could be up for debate. However at least they have something to help brand their network.

Thats missing in todays world and shows fans, the owners of these networks no longer care.

4. Make Compelling Shows For Cable

In the media landscape we live in, every streaming service has programming exclusive to that service. The same can't be said for Cable TV, it is rare you find a original cable TV show and thats the only place you can watch it.

If USA or TNT release a new original drama, its on peacock, HBO Max or Hulu the next day. Make Compelling shows Cable Only viewing and the tide may change a bit.

3. Stop Relying on Reality TV

I get it reality TV has a space in the media ecosystem. Compared to original productions, they are relatively cheap to produce. And people love the drama that comes with these shows. They are entertaining low brow, drama filled shows. Many with traditional character and storyline tropes.

However since they focus on real people, audience members eat it up. Networks like VH1 and Bravo are really only surviving because of their reality shows. However, at some point you have to branch out and not put all your eggs in the reality TV basket.

2. Reinvent The Cable Business

The fall of cable TV can't be solely blamed on streaming. Yes, streaming took over and many conglomerates that own these networks focused on building their own streaming app to compete with Netflix. Thus innovation, competition, and all those buzzwords went out the window. Cable networks and the industry have just been floating by since at least 2017-2018ish.

Now its time for the industry as a whole to look at itself and rebuild, reinvest, and reinvent itself for the future. The days of 500 plus channels are over. Networks that were created to serve a niche audience can't survive. The one EXPENSIVE base package for a host of channels you'll never flip to are cables Achilles heel. People are just sick of paying for a bunch of channels they'll never tap into.

Expensive ass boxes to get the cable signal. Come on at this point, they should send a fire stick ish device compatible to a particular provider and viola you have cable. 

With so much money and jobs relying on the cable TV. I'm not understanding why they just twiddle their thumbs while streaming eats them alive.

1. Cater to Gen-Z

As an older Millennial (39) it took me a minute to realize, Millennials were no longer the demographic companies are fawning over. Gen Z is now the primary demographic with Generation Alpha fast approaching on their tails. These generations like quick content, they can easily digest and keep it moving.

To be honest I'm not sure how you can combat that in long form storytelling. However I do think there are ways to bring them in. Quick adverts about network programming that resembles the short videos on tik tok and YouTube. 

Fill programming up with podcast esque shows, podcasts have taken over the daytime talk shows our grandparents watched space. It's time cable networks lean into that to their advantage.

ESPN has done it with the Pat McAfee show, what's taking other networks so long to do something similar to their targeted demographic? MTV wastes precious time slots on Ridiculousness reruns, why don't they produce original podcasts with modern musicians and stars of the past?

Cable hasn't moved forward with time or the new millennium, in a long while.

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Where Cable Went Wrong And Continues To Go Wrong

 

Recent entertainment headlines have highlighted, just how bad things are for traditional and cable TV. First Warner Bros. Discovery realized they were in shits creek with no paddle, when the NBA awarded a TV package to prime video over them. Then WBD and Paramount released figures and shared they were $9 billion and $11 billion respectively, in writes off due to their portfolios of cable networks no longer cutting it.

On the surface it may seem like streaming is leaving cable in the dust. While they maybe true...not so fast. The streaming wars that kicked off in the mid 2010's are losing steam, due to overstaturation and price increases with the content not meeting the price. Disney recently announced price hikes for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Pissed maybe an understatement for most people when they heard the news.

 While they keep raising prices. Companies have started to reevaluate can their individual platforms survive on their own or do they need to partner up? Many of these same companies are losing sleep over declining cable revenue which was their bread and butter at one time.

Both streaming and cables decline point to a lack of innovation in the media conglomerate world, namely a lack of rethinking cable television. Now cable TV and streaming operate in two ecosystems, streaming is mostly subscriber and ad based. Cable networks rely on ads and "subscriber fees" they charge cable carriers to broadcast their network. 

When Netflix took off and people were cutting the cord in droves. Cable networks and cable companies most owned by conglomerates were too slow and neglectful to adapt. They operated and continue to operate in this more is better mantra that was the ideals of the 90s and 2000s eras of excess.

500 plus channels of mainly niche programming, when people only watch 10 if that and don't have time for much else. Cable networks also got lazy and started rotating "marathons" of the same show. USA network and MTV are notorious for that. Instead of streamlining networks, they kept the status quo while still charging insane monthly premiums. They also pushed a lot of content to streaming, even hard to find content.

Besides today's viewership mostly on the web. People just do not want to switch between 40 channels, and not being able to find one thing that interests them. It's annoying enough on streaming apps.

In order for cable to truly survive, they not only need to reinvent cable. They need to minimize the saturation of cable channels and improve the cable experience and price for consumers. Cable TV is now in survival mode and if they want to keep eating, they have to get their ass up and go to work.

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A Zordon Origin Film? I'd Watch It

 

We live in a age where intellectual property (IP) is king, companies love mining from the archives looking to revive a property or use characters to spin off something new. Especially in this streaming environment, where streaming services constantly have to churn exclusive quality programs to justify people continuing to pay for them.

I was watching the 2017 Power Rangers movie recently, which deserves more love by the way. It got me thinking, why hasn't an Zordon movie or series been created yet?

As the thousands of years old mentor of the Power Rangers, Zordon has a lot of story to tell before he was banished to that chamber. Particularly during his battles against Rita Repulsa on his home planet of Eltar. The mythology of the series has alluded multiple times he was a legendary wizard, warrior and commander. 

It was briefly mentioned in the original series, it was mentioned in the 1995 Power Rangers film, and the 2017 film changed things to Zordon being a ranger himself. In 2016 Boom Studios released a comic book series that gave Zordon an extensive backstory.

Incorporate the best of his backstory from the various properties. Include his allies starting with Alpha 1 down to Alpha 5,  Dulcea (from '95 movie), and even King Lexian (Masked Rider series). Notable villains such as Goldar, Rito Revolto and Lord Zedd along with Rita Repulsa have to be included too. And it could make for an very entertaining story. 

I believe Paramount has the rights to the Power Rangers franchise, they honestly could make it an animated film like the upcoming Transformers One movie. Or make it a animated series and release it on Paramount Plus to entice subscribers and content is king. If they don't see the value, I'm positive Netflix would and scoop it right up.

If someone ever makes this an reality I'd watch it.

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Don't Sleep on Physical Home Media Discs

When Covid-19 hit earlier this year it turned the world upside down. Due to various lockdown measures put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus, more people are at home watching TV. Since many films and television shows had to halt filming during the height of the pandemic, viewers have either binged watch shows that have been on their "to watch" list for quite some time or revisit old programs. And their are several options out there to watch programs on cable,  Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Prime Video, and CBS All Access. There are specialty streaming services such as BET plus, ESPN plus, WWE network, UFC fight pass and a host of more. In the middle of the pandemic two conglemerates have released their streaming services WarnerMedia with HBO Max and NBCUniversal with Peacock.

Even with all these programming options, and vast libraries of films and programs to choose from. I've found myself resorting to my good ol collection of movies I've gathered over the years to watch. Many times when looking for something to watch, I either get tired of watching the same old stuff, get tired of searching for something to watch, or what I want to watch either isn't available or you have to pay for and the movie is 10 years or older. And, I've reached my streaming service max and refuse to get any additional ones.

I said the hell with all of that and  I'll just dust off the collection. I've recently watched movies like Strictly Business, Little Big League, Hangin' With the Homeboys, Camp Nowhere, Above The Rim and Street Kings among a few others. For some reason  they all popped in my head randomly and I said I want to watch them. all hard to come by on streaming services or Cable plays them edited or wants you to rent or buy. Thank god I have all of them on DVD.

 As technology and cloud services have advanced, downloading and streaming movies have quickly outpaced physical media. It's understandable as digital copies reduce clutter in the home, but for me there is something about getting up and inserting a blu ray or DVD into the player. I just love the idea of grabbing a movie I haven't seen in a long time, popping it in and watching it. Some may say you get the same feeling with streaming, I'm willing to fall on the sword that it's not.

Ever since I was a kid if I had extra money I would go buy a VHS, what I want for christmas? a few movies of my favorites or a movie I've never seen before but likely will enjoy. To this day if I stumble across relics like Suncoast or FYE I'm likely to be in there a while. I've built a nice collection of films, and never intend to let them go. I even held onto a few VHS for nostalgia purposes.

Streaming maybe the present and the future, but home media definitely has a place in the ecosystem of entertainment. If you have a few physical discs or actually like building a collection, hold on to them you never know when having those movies will come in handy. 

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Last Dragon Revival

 Reboots, reimages, and quasi-sequels are all the rage now. On the flip side streaming video on demand is rapidly becoming the king of good quality content. With demand for quality content so high, streaming providers have to dig deep for original content and the archives to see what can be bought back.        

          

  After watching season 2 of Luke Cage this past weekend, an idea popped in my head. One of my personal favorites The Last Dragon needs to be bought back as a tv series. The Last Dragon is a cult classic and had a perfect blend of campiness, comedy, and action. Not to mention classic lines like “Who’s the master?” and “Won’t you teach me some moves.”, and everyone was trying to find the glow. There has been talk for years of doing a reboot of the Last Dragon but nothing has ever came about with it.      

  YouTube Red’s recent hit “Cobra Kai” proved there is a market for older properties that are bought to modern times and  provided a blueprint of how it could be done. The tv series could pick up during the present day 30 plus years after the events of the movie, and feature Leroy Green better known as  Bruce Leroy helping a student become the master of the 21st century.

   Since Bruce Leroy was oblivious to everything around him that didn’t involve martial arts, it would make for hilarious situations of him still being oblivious in today’s high tech world. Throw in a engaging villain much on the level or better than Sho’nuff, that both Bruce Leroy and his student can face off against and it would be TV gold.

    Now that black nerds and geeks are accepted more within our community, the show could also be a showcase of that subculture, how diverse and vibrant it is,  and just how much the Asian culture influences a lot of us. The movie provided a little insight but the show could dig a lot deeper.

    Unfortunately with the deaths of Vanity, Julius Curry, and Leo O’Brien, iconic characters such as Laura Charles, Sho’Nuff, and Leroy’s little brother Richie could not be reprised. The characters could be given good backstories as to why their not in the series but still exist in the world. On the flip side we could catch up with master wannabe Johnny, his little brother, Mama and Papa Green, Keisha Knight Pullliam could make a cameo as the younger sister with the ever changing name, we could even see what Eddie Arcadian has been up to all these years.

     All the ingredients are there to make a TV show semi-reboot of the Last Dragon a success. Make Brooklyn and Harlem characters within the show and integral to the hero’s battle, between 10-13 episodes and people will fall in love with the Last Dragon all over again. A new generation will come to appreciate the franchise and learn just what the glow is. Netflix, Hulu, YouTube Red, Brown Sugar someone make this happen.

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Critics vs. Word of Mouth

   This past weekend Netflix released their most ambitious original film yet “Bright". A 90 million dollar film starring Will Smith and directed by David Ayer who wrote films like Training Day, the 1st Fast and Furious film, S.W.A.T. and Dark Blue. He also directed Street Kings, End of Watch, and Suicide Squad. The film was also written by Max Landis who wrote Chronicle. A pretty impressive pedigree for this film.
    Reviews came out and critics absolutely slandered the movie. Calling it the worst movie of 2017 and a dud. I watched the movie and enjoyed it, I enjoyed the action, the concept, the world that was built and teased enough without giving away to much. Reading social media and message forums, a lot of other people enjoyed the film as well. It had flaws, but what film doesn’t?
   That poses a question while critics have a job to do, can you really take a critics recommendation seriously? Now there are some projects that are flat out terrible and can be agreed upon throughout every part of the critic/audience ecosystem.
     But there seems to be a consistent divide between what critics and the general population view as good films. The average person when they sit down and watch a film want escapism for a few hours. Critics are paid to dissect films, sometimes they can go overboard on their dissection. Thus destroying films that don’t deserve the hate.
     When it comes to films that one may be iffy about, I think sometimes you have to take word of mouth from average people opinions , wayyyy more than you would a critic. If not you run the risk of missing a film that is actually very good.
    Critics are needed, they can provide a account of what to expect before people spend their money and time invested in something that may not be worth it. However often times they are not the intended audience for the film their reviewing. General audience members may be blindly loyal to a particular brand or actor/actress, but for the most part they won’t steer you wrong. In my opinion when your unsure of a movie, ignore the critics and listen to word of mouth you’ll make out better in the end.

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Streaming Media The Future

  Streaming media especially streaming tv is a platform that has really taken off within the last few years and is only growing. With people wanting to watch what they want when they want more and more streaming services have cropped up over the years. We all know about the platforms that changed the game Netflix and Hulu, and a couple years later Amazon Prime stepped creating the big three of streaming services.
  Netflix has found their stride with original series and seemed to have found the right balance between critically acclaimed and niche appeal series. Their original movies are very much hit or miss but one thing at a time. Netflix also invented binge watching.
   Hulu has found their stride in producing quality dramas, and succeeded in their deals with major networks that make most of their programs available a day or two after original airing. Hulu also has hit the nostalgia market bringing back well loved classic series and lesser known series of yesteryear. They also made headlines when they struck a deal to bring back the classic “TGIF” block of shows such as Full House, Family Matters, Hangin with Mr. Cooper, Perfect Strangers, and Step By Step. Bring the cheesiness of the 90’s back.
   Amazon original series haven't seemed to gain much traction their most acclaimed series is The Man in the High Castle. It’s a crowded market but it’s Amazon they’ll find their way in.
    Speaking of crowded markets everyday there is some news about a new streaming service. Disney recently announced their going to severe their deal with Netflix and start their own streaming service featuring all Disney movies. It’s a risky move but with the worldwide appeal of Disney the chances of success are high.
    There's Crackle which is free and owned by Sony Studios so you can catch a lot of good movies on there. Crackle is also known for Comedians in cars.
   Kevin Hart recently jumped into the game creating Laugh Out Loud with Lionsgate designed to give up and coming talent a platform to create content. It was just released this month so we’ll see how it grows. One major draw it has starting out is every season of the classic Def Comedy Jam is available on Laugh Out Loud.
   For the crowd that can't get enough of Shaft, Superfly, Foxy Brown and other blaxploitation films there is Brown Sugar. Released late last year at $3.99 a month Brown Sugar is a pretty good deal if you love the over the top 70s film and either want to reminisce about bell bottoms and afros, or wish you were alive during that time rocking fish in your shoes.
  Horror fans have what seems to be a unlimited supply of streaming apps to choose from. There’s shudder, Screambox, Frightpix, Full Moon Streaming, and the Crypt. All these services play high brow and the good low brow b movie sometimes laughable Horror movies.
  The mushy feel good cheesy TV movie loving viewers need attention to. Hallmark has them covered with Feeln. Giving you all the same warmth movies on the Hallmark channel give you.
  WWE changed the game in my opinion with the WWE network, for a huge wrestling fan like myself to be able to watch all the old Raws, Smackdown, PPVs, and current ppvs for $9.99. You can't beat that!
   Anime breathen has CrunchyRoll to statisfy any and all anime. Gamers have Twitch which shows real life gaming tournaments.  Even video game console manufacturers have joined the bandwagon with PlayStation Vue and Xbox.
   YouTube which helped bring streaming more mainstream has started YouTube Red. A subscription service displaying original films and series. It has yet to gain a lot of traction but has me intrigued with news that their reviving the Karate Kid universe with “Cobra Kai”.
    It’s not all roses for all streaming services Yahoo tried and failed with Yahoo Screen. NBC owned Seeso which featured all comedy shows and specials failed to catch on with audiences and will be shutting down later this year. I’m sure there are other services out there that failed to catch on.
   This new platform has opened so many doors and new avenues for content. It’s only a matter of time before streaming services send cable companies and the traditional Hollywood distribution system scrambling to stay relevant. One thing is for certain streaming platforms are the present and future.
   

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