11 Jan 2015 9:40 PM PT
The Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes tonight showed a new trend that has seemed to be consistent throughout the awards this season, and that is that the media delivery mechanisms once considered dominant in the industry are now being snubbed in a big way. Broadcast Network TV is getting a huge snub in the industry. But what does this mean?
See Our Coverage of the Golden Globes
Since adding Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, and Cable to the mix, it appears that broadcast network TV has become less and less competitive for awards. So what are the major broadcast networks going to do to counter-act this? If it continues will they become less and less relevant in the industry or are they already at that point? Will they find that it will get harder and harder to compete for good scripts and talent? And most of all, what will they do to remain valued and key in the industry?
The real problem is that there are different rule books between broadcast medium and other medium delivery vehicles. Broadcast has MPAA guidelines that they must follow. However the rules are pretty much non-existent for cable and digital delivery systems. They have far more freedom. So how do you compete?
We question whether or not the awards processes in place are archaic and have not been fair or kept up with the changing face of the industry. You see dramas being under comedy categories. You see lead roles being submitted under supporting roles in order to stand a better chance of a win. It has devalued the whole awards system to be frank and it is our opinion that Broadcast Networks really need to stand up and push for changes. They should push for their own awards show, where they don’t need to compete against rule-free competitors. Likewise the whole category system needs to be modeled after what is being delivered and not trying to retrofit into areas to gain a win.
As a viewer, we want to see Broadcast TV still succeed, grow and win awards. We want to see that there are places you can watch television that does show some responsibility for family viewing. We want to that the talent and skills of those hired to deliver the stories told on Broadcast TV are valued and given a fair chance at competing.
So we challenge the Networks out there (ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, and NBC) to take stance and fight for the value they deserve. We challenge that they seriously take on some of these organizations that sponsor the awards and look for improvements in categorization and placing submission rules that must be consistently followed; and we want to see that they are allowed to compete against a world where there are creative restrictions, a tradeoff when you are delivering something that should be able to be viewed by all ages, compared to adult-only audiences. Will they accept the challenge? Time will tell.