Syndication Blues

Filed in archive Business Trends , Internet TV on January 29, 2007

There it is in Media Life, an article that points out how syndication's sitcoms are sinking in popularity.

"It's been years since 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' 'Seinfeld' and 'Friends' aired their series finales, yet they have continued to dominate in syndication. Now all three are showing sharp year-to-year ratings declines, and the big question is whether syndicated comedy, which hasn't had a new hit in years, will recover."

I'll answer that question. No.

Media Life goes on to give very specific reasons why each is failing. But they omitted what I believe is the most significant: broadband video gives video-holics a multitude of new choices to find entertainment that is not re-hashed.

There were only a few reasons to ever tune into obscure channels to watch syndicated shows. Perhaps there was nothing on television that night worth watching. Maybe the first-run shows were on hiatus during the summer. But for whatever reason, your entertainment equation said that your video-holic needs were only going to be satiated by the comfort of a known brand even though you might have seen it years ago.

But for an increasing segment of the population, that calculation is no longer valid. If you have time to waste, you can hit YouTube or any number of video networks to find something original. Indeed, tuning into Revver or Metacafe insure that you will find original contend. And if the clip turns out to be a looser, simply click and you are on to something different.

I would imagine that owning a local television station and trying to survive on syndication will be one tough business.