The list of memorable characters and personalities who entered popular culture through cable television is long: Honey Boo Boo. Tony Soprano. Lizzie McGuire. Don Draper. Jon Stewart. Beavis and Butt-Head. Chip and Joanna Gaines. SpongeBob SquarePants.
Pick your own favorites. Chances are there won害羞草研究所檛 be many more to join them.
Few cable and satellite networks are a force anymore, the byproduct of sudden changes in how people entertain themselves. Several have lost more than half their audiences in a decade. They害羞草研究所檝e essentially become ghost networks, filling their schedules with reruns and barely trying to push toward anything new.
Says Doug Herzog, once an executive at Viacom who oversaw MTV, Comedy Central and other channels: 害羞草研究所淭hese networks, which really meant so much to the viewing public and generations that grew up with them, have kind of been left for dead.害羞草研究所�
As they fade, so are the communities they helped to create.
WHAT HAS BEEN LOST?
Pockets of success remain, notably with lifestyle and news programming. And it害羞草研究所檚 not like there害羞草研究所檚 nothing to watch. You害羞草研究所檒l find more options on Netflix than a diner menu.
Yet something undeniably has been lost. Stewart害羞草研究所檚 to Comedy Central害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所淭he Daily Show害羞草研究所� this winter only begs the question: Did it really have to be this way?
Cable TV primarily took flight in the 1980s, breaking the iron grip of ABC, CBS and NBC. Essentially the first fragmentation of media, cable brought people with common interests together, says Eric Deggans, NPR television critic.
害羞草研究所淧eople who were previously marginalized by the focus on mass culture suddenly got a voice and a connection with other people like them,害羞草研究所� Deggans says. 害羞草研究所淪o young music fans worldwide bonded over MTV, Black people and folks who love Black culture bonded over BET, middle-aged women bonded over Lifetime and fans of home remodeling convened around HGTV and old-school TLC.害羞草研究所�
Nickelodeon and Disney became de facto baby sitters. CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC changed the nation害羞草研究所檚 political discourse. ESPN occupied sports fans. HBO and Showtime, and later networks like FX and AMC, offered edgier fare that broadcasters shied away from.
Networks were endlessly malleable, too. Once MTV recognized there wasn害羞草研究所檛 much money in music videos 害羞草研究所� people would change channels when a song they didn害羞草研究所檛 like came on 害羞草研究所� the network became a . Generations had their own touchstones in programs like 害羞草研究所淧unk害羞草研究所檇,害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所淭he Osbournes害羞草研究所� and 害羞草研究所淭otal Request Live.害羞草研究所�
Now MTV is a ghost. Its average prime-time audience of 256,000 people in 2023 was down from 807,000 in 2014, the Nielsen company said. One recent evening MTV aired reruns of 害羞草研究所淩idiculousness害羞草研究所� from 5 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
The general interest USA Network害羞草研究所檚 nightly audience tumbled 69% in the same time span, and that was before January害羞草研究所檚 announcement that viewer-magnet 害羞草研究所淲WE Raw害羞草研究所� was .
Without favorites like 害羞草研究所淭he Walking Dead害羞草研究所� or 害羞草研究所淏etter Call Saul,害羞草研究所� AMC害羞草研究所檚 prime-time viewership sunk 73%. The Disney Channel, birthplace to young stars like Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff and Selena Gomez, lost an astonishing 93% of its audience, from 1.96 million in 2014 to 132,000 last year.
TBS, TNT, History, Lifetime, FX, A&E, BET, E! Entertainment, SyFy, Comedy Central, VH1 and Discovery have all lost at least half of their 2014 audience.
For many, most of the schedules are big blocks of reruns: 害羞草研究所淪einfeld害羞草研究所� and 害羞草研究所淭he Office害羞草研究所� on Comedy Central, 害羞草研究所淭he Big Bang Theory害羞草研究所� and 害羞草研究所淵oung Sheldon害羞草研究所� on TBS. Tyler Perry movies dominate. Cheap and cheesy nonfiction fills time: 害羞草研究所�90 Day Fiance,害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所淧rison Brides,害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所淢arried at First Sight,害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所淐ontraband: Seized at the Border.害羞草研究所�
That害羞草研究所檚 not appointment TV. It害羞草研究所檚 accidental. Ghosts.
MAYBE GOING DOWN THIS ROAD WAS INEVITABLE
With the explosion of Netflix, the giant companies that dominate the entertainment industry saw that as the future. To a large extent, they害羞草研究所檝e concentrated time, energy and resources on these services, launching a competition that still hasn害羞草研究所檛 shaken out 害羞草研究所� no one knows yet how many streaming services the market will support and which ones will survive.
Was the downfall of cable the inevitable result? 害羞草研究所淭hat害羞草研究所檚 the gazillion-dollar question,害羞草研究所� Herzog says.
害羞草研究所淭he conglomerates, they definitely jumped the gun, I think, in shifting their assets away from the cable networks and left them as zombies,害羞草研究所� says Michael Schneider, television editor at Variety. 害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e paying the price.害羞草研究所�
In 2015, some 87% of American homes had a cable or satellite television subscription, according to the Nielsen company. By 2023, only 47% of homes subscribed. If you include services like Hulu or YouTube TV, the percentage of homes with access to multiple channels was 62% last year, Nielsen said.
If fewer people have cable, then obviously fewer are watching. But it害羞草研究所檚 a classic chicken-and-egg situation: Have the number of subscribers dropped because people feel the networks have less to offer? Or is less being offered because there are fewer viewers?
To illustrate how fast habits are changing, a survey taken in January by the digital marketing agency Adtaxi found that 73% of viewers turned to streaming before cable or broadcast when they sat down to watch TV. Only a year earlier, 42% said streaming was their default choice.
Much of what people stream are programs originally on broadcast and cable. That provided a windfall hard to resist for creators of those shows, one top executive said. The tradeoff was getting people accustomed to a different kind of viewing experience 害羞草研究所� watching what they wanted, when they wanted it, even binging. All without the distraction of commercials, at least at first.
Remember couch potatoes? Channel surfers? Now the 害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所� generation has taken over.
That害羞草研究所檚 more than trading descriptive phrases. Reclining before a big screen with a remote control, searching for something to do, is an activity fading with the times, says John Landgraf, chairman of FX Content & Productions and a big-picture thinker of the media industry. It was Landgraf who to describe an overwhelming flood of television programming.
Streaming is more pro-active, he says. Tik-Tok, YouTube and gaming are supplanting television in occupying people who are simply looking to fill some time. 害羞草研究所淭hey figured out passivity,害羞草研究所� Landgraf says. He says he害羞草研究所檚 optimistic FX害羞草研究所檚 parent, Disney, will solve this puzzle.
That害羞草研究所檚 no small thing when the industry is built upon advertisers who pay to reach those consumers 害羞草研究所� active or passive.
While streaming offers viewers the convenience of making their own schedules, its algorithms are designed to push people into ever-smaller circles, suggesting programming similar to what they害羞草研究所檝e already watched before, Landgraf said. It further lessens the opportunities for communal viewing experiences, or stumbling upon something that broadens your outlook.
害羞草研究所淐ollectively,害羞草研究所� he says, 害羞草研究所渨e害羞草研究所檝e lost something.害羞草研究所�
THE ROAD TO STREAMING 害羞草研究所� AND TO THE FUTURE
Landgraf害羞草研究所檚 FX is one of the few companies keeping its brand strong while making a transition to streaming. 害羞草研究所淭he Bear,害羞草研究所� which for best comedy, is an FX show but available exclusively on the Hulu streaming service. 害羞草研究所淎merican Horror Story害羞草研究所� is on the actual FX television network. Several shows toggle between both.
HBO is also making the transition well, while Bravo programming is a strong draw for Peacock. Nickelodeon and MTV are among the brands having a harder time; S&P Global last week put their parent company, Paramount, on a negative credit watch, citing 害羞草研究所渢he deterioration of the linear television ecosystem.害羞草研究所�
There are still networks keeping the light on. Fox News Channel is cable害羞草研究所檚 top-rated network; news-oriented outlets thrived during the Trump administration but have faded recently. HGTV害羞草研究所檚 home remodeling holds up. The Hallmark Channel, with wholesome stories aimed at older women, averaged 929,000 viewers in prime-time last year, up 12 percent from a decade ago.
Despite the exodus of viewers, ghost networks survive because they still make money for their owners. Cable and satellite systems pay fees to carry them 害羞草研究所� passed on to consumers, of course 害羞草研究所� and advertisers buy commercials.
When that changes, all bets are off, and odds are the ghosts will move on.
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