[  Mood: Confused ]
[  Currently: Watching The Tudors ]
Just watched episode 9 of "The Tudors" and was once again impressed and confused.

I was impressed by the writing, acting, production values, etc. I was confused by the lack of same on the "Majors". Then I remembered "it’s the model".

Showtime, a subscription channel, has once again, produced a top notch program. Following the success of numerous shows including Revsf fave "Dexter", they have created a show that is well written, with characters that are well drawn, even the minor ones. You actually can sympathize with each and every character on the show, understand his or her motives, and be held entranced by what will happen next. One moment, your hoping Wolsey(Sam Neill in an Emmy worthy proformance)can get Henry(JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS is superb as the star/hero/villian) his divorce, and in the next scene, you feel Katherine of Aragon’s(MARIA DOYLE KENNEDY) pain. If your looking for a lot of action/sword play you’ll be disappointed, but if you like political intrigue/cloak and dagger this is for you.

So, the question is; how do the "models" compare? My answer is; poorly.

By "models" I mean the two different business models in TV. One consistently produces top quality, award winning, fan favorites. The other consistently provides disappointment, heartbreak,frustration, monotony, and an overall "bad taste" in many a viewer. The purpose of these different models is the very reason why such a difference exists.

ABC,NBC,CBS,FOX, and that thing that was once WB/UPN, make up broadcasting’s Big 4+1/2. Their primary(sole) purpose is to make advertisers happy by promising lots of people viewing their ads, while ignoring or downplaying the effects of technology(DVRs).

Subscription channels,HBO, Showtime,and other, primary purpose is to keep subscibers(viewers and fans)happy and create watercooler talk amongst them creating more subscribers.

The Big 4.5 concentrate on "winning" certain time slots and days. If a quality show is struggling against a more popular show, the Network will either move it to a new slot or cancel it and try something new. So if CBS has the #1 show on Thurs.8pm and another network has a good show in the same slot, the 2nd place network, in order to please advertisers, will either move the good #2 show to a different day(irrating fans but who cares they don’t pay the bills) or just cancel it. Of course, if fans are watching show #1 and recording show #2, that is irrelevant, because, if they are recording it, then they will FF thru the ads.

The subscription channels don’t care about time slots or winning days. They air their programs several times a week because they understand that not all viewers have the same schedule. They also embrace new technology, offering Video on Demand through the cable companies so the viewer with odd viewing hours can watch their favorite show whenever they want even if they don’t have DVRs.

The Big 4.5 are dedicated to the sponser. If a show falls off in the ratings, advertisers gripe. So to show their loyalty to the sponsers the networks cancels the show, despite the protest of fans, in order to bring in "new blood" to the sponsers audience.

The Subsciption channels are dedicated to the viewers/subscribers. If the ratings fall off for a show, they put it on hiatus, and based on subscriber/fan response, they keep it/kill it. If Rosewell/Invasion/Jericho had been on a subscription channel, subscriber calls, letters,and nuts, would have caused the network to renew, and keep its subscribers.

So my question is, why doesn’t every one (who can afford it)have Showtime/HBO?

I would really like to see every Nielsenn Family get HBO/Showtime and put their Nielsen Tv on HBO/Show, and then put a DVR on their other TV(come on I know everyone has more than 1 TV, even if the BIG4.5 doesn’t)and record your broadcst shows, watch them later and FF thru the commercials.

The Big 4.5 can’t change their business model, but maybe with a little nudge, they can once again, take the viewer and fan into account.

P.S. Anne Boleyn(Natalie Dormer) is Hot! I mean Jessica Alba Hot!