Hot Takes: TVREV's Thought Leaders Weigh In On Post-Strike TV's Future

The writer’s strike is over, and despite some recent setbacks, it looks as if the actor’s strike is not far behind. The general consensus seems to be that while the economics of the business have changed fairly dramatically, the studios realized that the proverbial show must go on, and the settlements seem to acknowledge the changes that streaming has wrought.

So now that a new season of The So-Called Streaming Wars is about to begin, we asked our Thought Leaders Circle members for some predictions and some thoughts on what they were anticipating seeing in the months ahead.

First up, Cartographer Extraordinaire and EShap founder Evan Shapiro brought up the return of comedy. This is (unsurprisingly) something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately as well. Sitcoms were one of the most beloved forms of entertainment for the past 70 years and the dark comedies of today don’t have the same sort of vibe to them. So is it time for the return of the sitcom? Or has that ship sailed? Evan weighs in.

Personally, I miss comedy. It's almost absent from TV and streaming these days. Besides Abbot Elementary and Only Murders In The Building, it's hard to think about any great scripted comedies anywhere on the TV these days. The pendulum usually swings wildly in our industry, but I am done being depressed all the time, and it would be great to see some good, innovative comedies come out of my CTV, soon!

Mediaocean’s Chief Development Officer Ramsey McGrory is looking at a return to old favorites, the launch of new ones and the continued growth of an omnichannel media planning ecosystem that takes into account all of the ways that people currently watch TV.

Seeing Yellowstone on CBS was as exciting as it was five years ago! With the Hollywood strikes winding down, we’ll see a return to high quality (and new!) content coming out that will reengage consumers on both linear and streaming TV. As for the advertising ecosystem, the good work on omnichannel planning, efficient buying, and modern measurement continues.

LG Ad Solutions CMO Tony Marlow makes reference to viewers discovering (or re-discovering) overlooked library series like Suits over the summer and wonders whether a mix of the old and new will factor into future behavior.

Against the backdrop of the Hollywood Strikes, the delivery of fresh scripted content started to slow and many viewers gravitated towards non-scripted content and delved into the extensive back-catalog of streaming offerings. Unlike previous strikes, this time viewers had easy access to a vast array of on-demand streaming content, which highlighted the depth and diversity of what was already available. This consumption shift is truly captivating. Will this 'pause' result in a more balanced diet of both fresh content moving forward? As we anticipate a surge of new releases at some point post-strike, there's genuine intrigue about whether these previously overshadowed episodes will retain an elevated popularity. As we chart our course through the post-strike landscape, the equilibrium between fresh releases and the vast back catalog might reshape streaming strategies, audience predilections, and the commercial opportunities circling this digital entertainment world.

Paket TV CEO Raffi Bagdassarian is looking beyond the strikes to the ways that technology may begin to disintermediate the studios for future productions. 

Tools already exist for individual "content creators" and their crews to directly monetize and engage audiences with relative transparency as to who is watching and when, which is a far cry from the transparency begrudgingly ceded to writers and producers by the major streamers. Look to tech innovators to create platforms on which major collaborative productions - those traditionally the domain of the studios - can directly fund and distribute their shows at scale by aggregating, engaging, and grow existing fan communities.

IRIS.TV CMO Rohan Castelino examines the positive benefits of AI, both for creatives and for advertising, where it can help brands where their ads ran and what the context of the shows they ran on.

When it comes to Hollywood, AI has undeniably become a permanent fixture, yet the scope of its impact on culture and commerce should ultimately be guided by organic intelligence, that is, people.  The vitality of show business hinges on the ability of writers, actors, and studios to monetize their work. While generative AI is attracting attention in negotiations, I’m more optimistic about its long-term benefits to entertainment. 

Advertising has historically been a cornerstone of the television economy. Creators will most benefit when AI is used to analyze content at the video level frame-by-frame for categorization rather than creation. Unlike linear TV, where millions of viewers watch the same ads simultaneously, streaming has millions of viewers watching billions of ad placements asynchronously. In the realm of streaming, the concept of appointment viewing becomes obsolete, as viewers are motivated by their immediate mindset.

Moreover, the screen is not confined to their pocket or desk; it’s often mounted on a wall and shared with others in a household. In such a scenario, the viewer's attention becomes paramount, even surpassing their active interest in a product. For advertisers aiming to transition their strategies to streaming platforms, content transparency serves as a ticket to invest. When marketers are equipped with knowledge about context, brand suitability, and the emotional impact of a story, they can leverage advertising to connect with consumers during pivotal moments more effectively. 

Karl Meyer, Head of Media & Entertainment at Samsung Ads has some interesting stats to back up the assertion that viewers are turning to library content and using their TV sets for more than just watching TV—gaming, he notes, represents a huge future opportunity for streaming services. 

A recent Samsung Ads consumer survey reveals a fascinating insight around the impact of the writers and actors strikes on viewer behavior. With the prevalence of streaming platforms and their vast content libraries, viewers are not negatively impacted by the Hollywood strikes. In fact, quite the opposite is true with over 90% of respondents indicating that they would maintain or increase their TV consumption during the strikes, underlining both the resilience of consumers and the depth of diverse options available on streaming platforms, particularly library content.

Additionally, the survey revealed that nearly 29% of participants are embracing gaming on consoles or mobile devices, signaling a noteworthy diversification in entertainment preferences among those not engaged with traditional television. This trend mirrors a broader transformation in digital media consumption, highlighting the rising influence of interactive and immersive experiences in today's landscape.

With over 72% of content viewed on streaming services being proprietary productions, it's evident that content partners creating exclusive and unique content continue to hold a substantial advantage. 

Looking ahead, we eagerly anticipate seeing how these trends will influence the strategies of content creators, streaming platforms, and advertisers. The convergence of streaming, gaming, and original content opens exciting avenues for the industry, encouraging exploration of new narratives, formats, and audience engagement techniques. As viewer habits continue to evolve, staying abreast of these developments will be pivotal for stakeholders in the entertainment and media sectors.

OrkaTV CEO Mike Woods explores how the continued growth of FASTs opens up opportunities for small and medium business to run ads on TV, further democratizing the medium.

With new content flowing into streaming TV, OrkaTV is bringing fresh ads to a revitalized audience. FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) has democratized television, allowing thousands of new channels to reach viewers with low operating costs. Now, OrkaTV is democratizing advertising on TV. Straight-to-streaming ad managers enable SMBs to buy ads on streaming TV with localized, targeted campaigns starting at just $500. This was never possible before. It's a game changer that will supercharge the new television.

Jim Tricarico, President of Sales at Cadent is looking at how brands will need to make better use of data to track performance objectives across linear and CTV as the cookieless future becomes a reality.

Marketers’ considerations between performance and brand will resume. As we look forward to the year ahead, marketers need to decide how to balance their brand and performance objectives with solutions that span both linear and CTV. Proof of performance remains critically important. The time of waiting for the cookieless future is over, so it becomes a question of how to effectively use linear in combination with CTV to drive incremental reach. Ensuring a high degree of data fidelity will be the determining factor.

Our TVREV take is that we will see a number of changes in the coming months. To begin with, the streaming services seem to realize that quality is more valuable than quantity, so they will focus on making fewer, but better—and better marketed shows. That last point is key in that when you are pumping out 50 shows a year, it is all but impossible to market them effectively. If nothing else, the audience is overwhelmed. 

And as noted earlier, we’re thinking it might be time for the classic sitcom to see a comeback, with the sort of longer 25-episode seasons that allow for more syndication dollars if the show becomes a hit.

We’re seeing AI being used for discovery and personalization versus writing actual scripts. AI may have a use for, say, coming up with ideas for treatments for formula movies (Hallmark Holiday movies are an easy example), for thought starters on plot twists for soap operas, and for creating the framework for the narrative on nonfiction home improvement and cooking shows. But in all instances, it will be a thought starter, not a script writer.

Finally, we are looking forward to finally seeing real traction in improving the way that TV is measured. Not that this has anything to do with the strike, just that that train keeps rolling forward and brands are realizing that they need something more than panels and some competition in the market to measure the shift towards streaming, especially now as more and more companies of all sizes are able to take advantage of opportunities on streaming.