Streaming Services Stole Their Viewers. Now Networks Are Fighting Back

It’s been a brutal few years for broadcast and cable networks. Many are seeing annual double-digit ratings declines as audiences increasingly turn their back on live linear viewing and flock to streaming services. Now, the networks are fighting back. Many have rolled out new programming strategies in an effort to leverage the power of linear TV over its streaming rivals. “I think any network has to look at themselves right now and say, ‘We have to shift to the audience’s tastes,’” said USA Network and Syfy chief Chris McCumber. Adweek spoke to several network execs about their plans to hold on to viewers. ABC: Event of the month [article_summary section="1"]In January, ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke unveiled plans to air at least one live and tent-pole event every month, like last month’s Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament, which averaged 14.5 million viewers and a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demo. That includes a combination of longtime events like the Oscars, new specials like next month’s Highwire Live, featuring daredevil Nik Wallenda, and “eventizing” current shows, like Feb. 11’s live episode of The Conners. It was a strategy that Burke has wanted to implement since she took over in November 2018. “I’d spent a lot of time reflecting about, what does broadcast do best? And how do we play to our strengths and not try to chase streamers and what they do best?” said Burke. While events “aren’t the only thing, they are really unique to broadcast. And luckily for me, there are already things in development that I could green light and get behind right away.” That included Live in Front of a Studio Audience, which was so successful last May that ABC ordered two follow-ups, airing last December and this May. “That had been sitting on the shelf. Nobody really knew what to do with it,” said Burke. “We had no idea if that was going to work.” NBC: Long-term plans The broadcaster is also expanding its event slate, but instead of thinking monthly, it’s looking years ahead. “It is really about having a vision for where we are now as a network and where we want to be,” said NBC Entertainment chairman Paul Telegdy. To that end, NBC has already signed Amy Poehler and Tina Fey to return as hosts for next year’s Golden Globe Awards, given medical drama New Amsterdam a three-year renewal and ordered The New World, a 10-part global documentary series from BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit, which won’t air until after the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. “Our year-round development strategy is already evolving from the traditional ‘season’ mentality, and the longer roadmap is really just an extension of that philosophy,” said Telegdy. NBC's New World announcement, he added, offers “a good peek behind the curtain at how we’re mapping out our schedule and have meaningful, long-term plans that are all part of a larger strategy.” Fox: Bulking up on sports The network is on track to win the season in adults 18-49 for the first time in eight years, thanks to its newly implemented fall approach of using its four-day sports lineup: Thursday Night Football, WWE Friday Night SmackDown—which arrived last October—Saturday college football and Sunday NFL games. They will build momentum for its entertainment shows the rest of the week, including The Masked Singer, which is the No. 1 entertainment show in 18-49 this season. “It’s a really potent combination of sports and entertainment, both working well together to build the whole,” said Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier, who took over in October 2018, a few months before the network was spun off as part of Fox Corp. ahead of Disney buying most of 21st Century Fox’s assets last March. “It's great to come out of the fall leading, but by no means is that, for us, the end of anything. It's a nice benchmark, and we think our best days are ahead.” Airing Super Bowl LIV earlier this month, and using the game to promote its midseason lineup, was “a great place to build the momentum and head into what we hope is a great rest of the television season,” he said. [kickout id="1"] CBS: Making every series count Unlike some of its broadcast peers, CBS isn’t branching out into more events. Instead, the network is focused on elevating the series it puts on the air. “Every show we put on, there has to be a reason for it being there. It can’t be just another cop show, another law show, another family sitcom. Why is it on the air?” said CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl. That’s why the network has high hopes for Clarice, a Silence of the Lambs sequel focused on the FBI trainee played by Jodie Foster in the 1991 film. It has given a series commitment for next season. “There’s going to be some depth to it. It’s going to go some places broadcast TV doesn’t normally go. So it’s very exciting,” said Kahl, adding, “If you have series that are working, you don’t need stunts.” USA Network: Anthology and ‘urgent’ shows [article_summary section="2"]USA repeated as the No. 1 cable entertainment network in the 18-49 demo last year, but it has moved away from ongoing scripted series like Burn Notice and Suits, which were the backbone of its schedule for years. “We look at our audience and say, 'What are they really watching, and what’s going to be urgent for them to watch?'” said USA president Chris McCumber. The answer is that audiences are tuning in to more live programming, including WWE’s NXT, which fills the void after USA lost SmackDown to Fox, and reality competition shows like its new revival of The Biggest Loser, which aired on NBC from 2004-2016. On the scripted side, it’s gravitating toward anthology event series like Briarpatch, which just debuted, and Dirty John, which is moving from Bravo to USA for Season 2. McCumber said, “It creates a sense of urgency: 'I’ve got to come in to see these close-ended series.'” AMC Networks: Series simulcasting Instead of leaning into new genres and programs, AMC Networks is taking its current shows and airing them across multiple networks. Starting last year, it began simulcasting shows like Killing Eve’s second season, which aired on both BBC America and AMC. This was done to expose its shows to as many viewers as possible inside its own footprint instead of losing potential viewers to streaming competitors like Hulu, which has exclusive SVOD rights to Eve. “We want people to watch it on our platforms, and we think there’s great opportunity there,” Sarah Barnett, president of AMC Networks entertainment networks and AMC Studios, told Adweek last year. “We are beginning to think more of our different audiences as one ecosystem and using the increasingly targeted analytics we have to pinpoint those different opportunities.” Even as many of these companies prepare for the future by creating their own streaming services, “they are going to try and do everything they can to keep the traditional model as healthy as possible,” which explains the strategy shifts, said David Campanelli, co-chief investment officer of Horizon Media. But “over time, the distinction between linear and streaming is going to go away. It’s going to be live versus on-demand.” Until that happens, however, buyers said these moves should help keep the linear ad revenue rolling in. Campanelli said, “That traditional model has been profitable for a long time and remains profitable, even in the state it’s in.”