In Network Television Dead In The Water?

This article was originally posted to the now defunct LockerGnome blogging network where it was a featured article.

It seems to happen time and time again. You get interested in a show only for it to be canceled some months later. Who makes the decision for a network television show to get the axe treatment? In many cases, it's not always the viewers. Geeks around the nation found this out the hard way when TechTV was sold. They watched helplessly as their favorite shows were turned in to freak shows or phased out, but from the ashes of TechTV emerged a new medium for providing and consuming content. This medium was made popular by the likes of the same TV hosts from TechTV. Tired of leaving their fates in the hands of television executives, they used the Internet to push out content and generate their own revenue.

Due to the Internet being a global medium, these past TV hosts have been able to reach more ears and eyeballs than they ever were able to with traditional media, but ask any layperson what TWiT or Revision3 is and they're likely to look at you funny. It's sad but true. Television isn't going anywhere soon.

The reality is that Cable TV reaches the masses in a way that new media doesn't. Ever hear someone quote a line at your place of employment from the latest South Park episode? Likely, the answer is yes to that. Ever here someone quote a line from the latest episode of an Internet show at your place of employment? Likely, the answer is no to that. This is because Internet shows have catered to a very niche audience. The audience may be large, but they're not the masses.

The TWiT network has been making strides to change this by making a deal with Roku to have their shows sent to people's television screens and they've recently been planning a morning show that will be designed to reach a broader audience. However, this isn't likely to have much of on affect on network television.

The network television model has been around for a long time. They may not "get" new media, but they know what they are doing in their own arena. Much like older forms of media, television will continue to exist. It may not exist as it did in it's glory, but take a look at radio and print media. They're still around and they will continue to be around for a long time to come.

What do you think? Feel free to sound off.