'Zombie TV': Cable Channels Left Showing Reruns as Their Owners Invest in Streaming Services

All those original shows on streaming services brought us 'peak TV.' But the New York Times reports on the flipside: back in the cable universe, they're experiencing 'zombie TV':

In 2015, the USA cable network was a force in original programming. Dramas like 'Suits,' 'Mr. Robot' and 'Royal Pains' either won awards or attracted big audiences. What a difference a few years make. Viewership is way down, and USA's original programming department is gone. The channel has had just one original scripted show this year, and it is not exclusive to the network — it also airs on another channel. During one 46-hour stretch last week, USA showed repeats of NBC's 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' for all but two hours, when it showed reruns of CBS' 'NCIS' and 'NCIS: Los Angeles.'
Instead of standing out among its peers, USA is emblematic of cable television's transformation. Many of the most popular channels — TBS, Comedy Central, MTV — have quickly morphed into zombie versions of their former selves. Networks that were once rich with original scripted programming are now vessels for endless marathons of reruns, along with occasional reality shows and live sports... Advertisers have begun to pull money from cable at high rates, analysts say, and leaders at cable providers have started to question what their consumers are paying for. In a dispute with Disney this year, executives who oversee the Spectrum cable service said media companies were letting their cable 'programming house burn to the ground....'

The media companies that own the channels are in a bind. The so-called cable bundle was enormously profitable for media companies, and more than 100 million households subscribed at the peak. But subscribers are rapidly declining as people migrate toward streaming. Now roughly 70 million households subscribe to cable. As a result, most media companies are pulling resources from their individual cable networks and directing investment toward their streaming services. Peacock, which is owned by NBCUniversal, also the parent of USA, has begun making more and more original scripted shows over the last three years.

However, most streaming services are hemorrhaging cash. (An NBCUniversal executive said this week that Peacock would lose $2.8 billion this year.) Cable, although it is getting smaller, remains profitable.
Media analyst Michael Nathanson believes last year was saw a 'tipping point' when cable advertising decreased — by double-digit percentages — in five consecutive fiscal quarters. 'Advertisers are starting to realize that there's really nothing on here and they shouldn't pay for it.'

One consultant who works with entertainment companies and used to run marketing at the Oxygen cable network tells the newspaper that cable channels 'are being stripped for parts.' The article calculates that in 2022 there were 39% fewer scripted programs on basic and premium cable than there were in 2015.

'Reruns are filling the hole.'

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