Linear TV – Does ‘QED have the right idea?
August 3, 2024For what it’s worth, it seems nothing has come of the big brouhaha WQED’s last board meeting caused. (Remember when they said they were going to tear the station away from the Fred Rogers era?) Maybe I missed something – especially since I haven’t been near the Oakland studios in quite a long time. Have there been people standing out in the summer heat with signs of protest? I didn’t think so. For it seems WQED is moving ahead with some new ideas some people may or may not embrace.
Rob Owen pointed out that the quarterly Board-of-Directors meeting at WQED announced a new Rick Sebak project which will eventually be broadcast on the TV station – but only after airing on YouTube. So, get this… Rick will do a monthly digital “short” using the title “We’re Lucky to Live in Pittsburgh”. It will air on YouTube and then become a part of a 30-minute show made for the TV signal once per quarter.
Okay, I can see that being pretty okay. I mean it was always so exciting to wait (because we had no other choice) for the full program like “Kennywood Memories” or “Things That Aren’t There Anymore” to come out, but that style is in the past for many reasons. Don’t get me wrong, these classic Sebak productions are a treasure, but I don’t think many people – of all ages – have the attention span for it anymore. (Maybe one day they’ll ask Rick to pare down one of his entire hour-long programs into a TikTok or Instagram length feature.) Joe Wos has been using this format for his “Cartoon Academy” successfully.
The overall goal is to make sure WQED focuses on the new technology while making sure the old still gets fed and showered. I still don’t think traditional or “linear” broadcasting is a dead or dying technology. We, as viewers and broadcasters, must brace ourselves for changes in the coming years. But broadcast companies and owners must remember there needs to be a way to make sure we stay informed in case of an emergency and the majority of the devices we lived without in the 1980s are rendered useless.
Eric O’Brien is a Gen-Xer who lived long enough without modern technology to ask, “Yes that technology is old, but how do we know it wasn’t better?” Either that, or he’s just a little over two years from turning 50 and he’s just “old”.
Well Eric, you aren’t going to like this. Linear broadcasting is failing and will die soon. ABC and CBS are for sale. Some of our older population hasn’t figured it out but the younger folks have. Everything you linear people watch, I can get from Hulu for ABC, Paramont+ for CBS, and Peacock for NBC. The local TV stations stream their news shows. No more appointment TV! As for emergency notification, I get alerts including video on my iPhone faster than from a local TV station. Even live sports can be found on an app. Turn off the transmitters and save the grid.
Ed, I’m not denying any of that – particularly as I have attempted and somewhat succeeded in getting a “churchful” of people used to receiving news and information online rather than by mail. That being said, there is always a “what if”. It is possible for grids of various things to go down. It may be expensive to keep it running, but there is still a certain faction of this populace (some call them “older” people; but I still think there is a percentage in younger demos) who don’t relish technology like most of us. And yes, while there is technology for our phones these days, there are ways to turn it off if you know what you are doing. While nothing is fail-safe, embrace all technologies – at least until you can prove the newer will work as well, if not better than the old. My thought is we are inching toward the better; maybe already inching into that territory. I won’t deny that I like new technology, just of the mind of the late Clarke Ingram – “always have a ‘Plan B’ and in some cases, a ‘Plan C.'” Not so much for entertainment, but out of necessity!
I think for WQED’s case, it is worse than what Ed was saying. WQED adds no value as they produce nothing. The only time studio C lights come on is when they film for pledge breaks (but they probably have not filmed even those in years). One 60 minute Rick S special every three years is still effectively nothing. I stopped giving to WQED years ago because they produce nothing. It was not surprising to me that they wanted to move to facilities that had no studio space. You don’t need studio space if you produce nothing.
I give to WGBH in Boston, because they produce content I watch. Yes, they produce actual tv shows. Why send money to WQED where a large percentage is siphoned off for their salaries when I can give to WGBH directly and watch the same shows on the PBS app as if I gave to WQED?