Newspapers and magazines aren’t the only media suffering from dwindling advertising. The TV industry is also readying for a downfall, reports The Atlantic.

The story says the flood of channels have made for a shallow pool. Viewers have so many choices that it’s become a buyer’s market for advertisers, and sustainability will be tough unless networks adapt a new model. Can you say “paid content?”

Slate ad writer Seth Stevenson sure thinks so:

Stevenson says TV networks have two other bold options: Start making more TV shows online-only to cut down on costs or (gulp) consider charging for subscriptions like HBO.

But the truth is that television’s crisis isn’t just an ad crisis. It’s also a content crisis. In an age where you can watch television shows as a unified narrative — a full season on Hulu or a few seasons on TiVo — it calls into questions whether serialized television is necessarily the best way to consume those stories in the first place.

Excellent point, that. DVD, DVR, on demand and online viewing have trained viewers to detest commercial breaks. And I’m not seeing a future in which ESPN 2 is able to command Showtime-level subscription fees.

Internet, why you gotta go and kill everyone?

Television: The Next Victim of the Advertising Famine [The Atlantic]
(Photo: ashi)

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