Independents' Day
By Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/29/2006 7:00:00 PM
Nearly half the panels at the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) last week discussed how TV stations could react to the barrage of alternative content modes, from Webcasts to video phones and iPods. But on the first official day of NATPE, many of the broadcast-station executives learned suddenly that they had some old-media challenges to address.
That was Jan. 24, when CBS and Warner Bros. unveiled The CW and announced the September demise of The WB and UPN. That left dozens of channels, including nine big UPN stations owned by Fox, untethered. The instant that announcement was made, independent TV was back in business.
At least one station in major markets now has the straight-on mission to be the unique local alternative to the big network monoliths. Grab it.
And to all those independent producers who complain that they can't penetrate the wall of indifference built by studios: Try again. Local television needs you, and so do syndicators, which all of a sudden are clerks in a supermarket with what we suspect is a dearth of goods.
Syndicators: Take risks. America has enough court shows.
We know the real obstacles to orphaned networks: going up against the big networks in prime time armed only with reruns, movies and talk shows.
But if programmers look to those new-media sources, they will discover that Webcasts and “vlogs” are creating content that is cheap, often good and always pointedly produced for a targeted community. What's happening in the new world is relevant to good, old TV stations.
The new independent television stations should stick their necks out and let some local entrepreneurs and programmers push the envelope. After all, from what we see, many UPN and WB shows barely register with Nielsen charts. The risk-reward ratio favors the innovator.
It's true that a second helping of Montel Williams in prime time might be safer—unless, by airing that, a station misses developing the next local Oprah Winfrey. Rachael Ray, don't forget, started in Albany, N.Y. Why not a local reality show? Why not try a local version of Current, the Al Gore-backed cable network that is simply a repository of homemade video?
The unique selling proposition of broadcasting is its ability to cater to local audiences. Stations across the country can do it by buying syndicated programming that really speaks to their communities. Or stations can do it by letting their communities speak for themselves. It's a risk. It's also a great opportunity for broadcasters to put their money where their mouths are.
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