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Cord-cutting is not a myth

Cord-cutting is not a myth

I’ve been watching television shows on my computer for most of my life.

No, I’m not 10 years old.

I started in 2001. Before 1080p MKVs and crappy AVIs.
Buffy Season Six was my first.

When I moved to the US, I continued watching TV on my laptop, and then my desktop. And in 2012, I finally bought an actual TV. Not because it was a TV, but because it was a screen. And an awesome one at that.

Earlier this week, a room full of executives gave a conference about the TV industry. Forbes published an article on the subject, entitling “Why cord-cutting is a myth“.

A myth? Isn’t that going a bit too far?

Hearst Ventures’ George Kliavkoff didn’t think so:

Cord-cutting is a great “story”, but I think it’s over-reported.

Amy Banse, managing director of Comcast Ventures concurred:

The volume of press around cord cutting doesn’t quite match reality.

The thing is, numbers don’t lie.

For the first time ever, Comcast now has more high-speed Internet customers than cable TV (22.55 million vs. 22.3 million).
The number of US households has been growing around 1 million a year, yet TV cable has been stagnating for a long time while Internet has skyrocketed (in addition to being a utility).

Comcast_2nd_Quarter_Customer_Growth_2011-2015_High_Speed_Internet_Customers_in_thousands_Video_Customers_in_thousands_chartbuilder

So where is all this denial coming from?

Let’s go back to that Forbes article–

Joe Marchese, president of advanced advertising products for Fox Networks Group, pointed out that Internet access still requires cord—in the form of a cable or a phone line.

Okay. Literally requiring a cord to use the Internet means you can’t be a cord-cutter.
That is, literally, the most literal argument I’ve ever read. Also, completely nonsensical.
People aren’t “cord-cutting” a physical apparatus, they are cutting ties with a specific content delivery method. Simple as that.

Which brings us to the main eyebrow-raising maneuver to reassure shareholders that, don’t worry guys, cord-cutting is totally not a thing.

As Kliavkoff explained:

What’s more likely to gain sizable traction is cord “shaving”. […] A la carte purchasing of channels—and not taking most of them—is a far more interesting area.

With HBO’s a-la-carte inevitable success, such a statement is undoubtedly true–except for the fact that subscribing to HBO Now or Showtime Anytime and cancelling Time Warner have substantially the same outcome.
In other words, the difference between customers changing behaviors and customers never having that behavior to begin with is irrelevant.

Playing word games to argue literal cord-cutting is “over-estimated” is a waste of everyone’s time. Cord-cutting isn’t a “myth” simply because it doesn’t fit a company’s very narrow definition. Worse, you are being disingenuous towards all your current, past, and potential customers by ignoring the motivation behind their actions.

I’ve never had to “cut the cord” because I’ve never wanted to pay $100/month for a cable TV package.
I guess I’m not a cord-cutter. I’m a “cord never(er)” (or “never-cord”).

People are finding newer, better alternatives than the old cord-a-roo.
Whether that means they’re doing it from the get-go or are realizing it years later leads to the same result…

Candle-making can’t stay profitable for long now that people are getting light from a series of tubes.

HBO’s victory lap and a garbage can (Week Roundup)

HBO’s victory lap and a garbage can (Week Roundup)

On this week’s TV news link roundup: pilot season mad-dash, the Sopranos final sequence by its director, a cable victory lap, some YouTube garbage and ABC Family targets a new buzz word.

Tight Production Schedules Put Pressure On Pilot Quality

An interesting look at the mad-dash of pilot season, especially since pilots are being ordered later and later.

All networks, particularly ABC and CBS, were again way behind in their pickups, compressing the time for staffing, casting and producing the pilots.

Let’s be honest here. Network pilots have never had that much lead-time to begin with. It’s always been an insane game of last-minute reshoots and deliveries. There’s a reason pilots have often (if not always) been considered a show’s weakest episode. That is, until “they” run the concept into the ground by season five.
The crazy news of the article however comes from the opening date of Upfront Week: May 11. Yes, that’s hell-a early and “the earliest in at least a decade”. Good luck to post-production.

Eight years after it aired, David Chase explains how he created the excruciating tension of the last Sopranos scene

It was my decision to direct the episode such that whenever Tony arrives someplace, he would see himself. He would get to the place and he would look and see where he was going.

Spoiler alert: he doesn’t say what happens after.
Although not directly related to the show’s writing per se, it is still worth the gander. Definitely a must-read if if you care even just a bit about the visual component of this historical HBO show.

And speaking of HBO…

At the Head of the Pack, HBO Shows the Way Forward

The NY Times rocked it with an in-depth look at the inside of HBO’s current programming direction. Watch and read as Richard Plepler, HBO’s CEO, makes a victory lap.

Interesting, isn’t it, that at a time that’s been called the most competitive moment in our industry’s history, we have, in my opinion, the best array of content in our history.

Best array of content in your history? While HBO’s 2015 series are certainly more popular while airing than the ones from the 2000s, I’m not sure the quality and endurance compares. The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Rome, Deadwood, Carnivàle and The Wire just called. And it was a weird conference call.
The piece also states that back in 2007/2008 “[HBO’s] content cupboard was bare, and rival TV executives openly referred to the cable network as HB-Over.”
Was “HB-Over” an actual thing? Well, yes. In fact, it came from this previous NY Times piece where Showtime’s chairman and CEO Matthew C. Blank was quoted:

HB-Over. I’ve heard that term used for HBO both outside and inside our network.

Tough pill to swallow now that Starz has taken Showtime’s second place in the premium cable world. Woops.
It’ll be interesting to see how CBS competes with HBO Now’s (nearly) independent streaming service.

Seinfeld calls YouTube a ‘giant garbage can’

Although Seinfeld was joking, he was in fact touting his Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee arriving at Crackle.

When you get to a certain point in the business, what a man is looking for in a network is the same thing he’s looking for in his underwear. He’s looking for a little bit of support and a little bit of freedom. And that’s exactly what Crackle offered.

You can tell how much he respects online content. I think he’s reached that rare apex of making people giving him money laugh as he openly mocks them.

ABC Family Doubles Down on Original Programming to Reach Young Women

Or as they call them, the “becomers”. Shudder.
In non-buzzy marketing words, they’re referring to young women between 14 and 29 “entering new life phases”. This is good news for the content side of things: the cable network is on the verge of announcing at the upfronts it will “double its original programming slate over the next four years”. ABC Family president Tom Ascheim also added:

The phone is the first smart TV. It’s an incredible source of video. We’re also embedding the social tools they love so much into the ABC Watch experience.

ABC Wat–Oh. For a second there I thought you were referring to Android Wear and apps for your wrist. You’re just talking about your VOD service. Gotcha. Actually, that makes me want to develop some kind of app for smartwatches. Maybe a crappy asymmetric viewing experience?
ABC Family is actually revamping its online viewing service this summer to increase mobile viewing. No surprise there considering that phones are now the way most 25-and-under watch video content.
And the AdWeek article is already talking about Generation Z. God help us.

Scribosphere Carnival #2 – Workflow

Scribosphere Carnival #2 – Workflow

The Scribosphere Carnival is a weekly discussion from a variety of screenwriting blogs around a rotating theme.

And I’m catching up on all those I missed.

Instigated by Jonathan Hardesty, today’s topic is:

WORKFLOW — Everybody has one, and none are the same. Inspired by a post from John August (referencing this site), you should explain where and when you write, what hardware you use, what software you use, and what you would change about how you write. Have at it!

Where and when do you write?

Unlike some writers, I actually prefer to write in the comfort of my own home instead of going out to a coffee shop (and spend $5 on a latte).
With that said, I like to create an appropriate “space” for the magic to happen. Even if my desktop is in the bedroom, I will try to physically separate the “writing workspace” from where I sleep by moving stuff over to the living room.
This doesn’t happen all the time, but when I do, the complete set-up looks something like this:

workflow
As you can guess by what’s happening on the TV, this is during my “research phase” for my Good Wife spec last year. Yes, I like to reverse-engineer the show.

When I’m actually writing, the TV will usually be off, while I display my outline on the external screen (i.e. the one in the middle). My preferred screenwriting software will be pulled on the laptop itself.
And then I type away. On reddit.

My writing schedule is, at best, inconsistent. I rarely have “real” deadlines, so it’s often hard to shoot for consistency.
With that said, I enjoy (in a manner of speaking) going into what I call “lockdown modes”.
As the name implies, it’s a pre-determined amount of time (usually an entire week-end) where I force myself to sit in front of the computer and write/achieve something with very little breaks, and, crucially, no going out. No escape!
This extended, dedicated period of time allows me to completely focus on the one story/task, and think deeper about the problems than, say, a 2-hour writing block every other day. I also try to divide the task evenly across the days (e.g. 2 acts per day for a 3-day lockdown).
Lockdowns are especially great for outlines, first drafts or imminent deadlines.
Binge-writing FTW.

What hardware do you use?

I enjoy the good ol’ pen and paper when I’m brainstorming dialogue/scenes, however when it comes to the nitty-gritty, 90% of the work is done on my computer(s).

As for the tech nerds out there:

Desktop
I love to build my own computers. This is my latest beast (minus a graphics card).
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K clocked at 3.40 GHz
Mobo: MSI Z68A-GD80 (MS-7672) 3.0
RAM: 16 GB DDR3 Corsair (800 MHz / PC3-12800J)

Laptop
Purchased almost four years ago, so bear with me on the specs (although who needs a gaming laptop for writing?!).
Sadly it has a battery problem that makes it less portable: the battery isn’t recognized, which means it only works when plugged in.

HP Pavilion dm4-1065dx
Processor: Intel Core i5 430M / 2.26 GHz
RAM: 4.0 GB
Graphics Adapter: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) HD Graphics
Display: 14-inch LED / 1366×768
Weight: 2kg

External displays
Main display: ASUS VE278Q / 27.2-inch / 1920×1080
Secondary display: BenQ FP241WZ / 24-inch / 1920×1200
I also have an amazing TV (primarily used for shows/movies), which is a Samsung UN60D8000.

What software do you use?

When it comes to breaking my stories, I start off using Scrivener. Pretty much the best outline-building option out there (save for actual index cards and corkboards). It’s a great tool when it comes to visually seeing your outline/acts/breaks/stories. Gotta love the color-coded labels.

For the actual scriptwriting process, I exclusively use Final Draft (currently version 8). I may or may not try Fade In for my next script. It looks fairly interesting. Plus, I love black.

What would you change about how you write?

It’s less about how, and more about when.
In a word: consistency.
Trying to find a “sweet spot” is very hard, and I know I should really discipline myself to sit down and dedicate X hour(s) to writing, every single day. And yet, I don’t.
Like getting in shape physically, it’s one thing to say you wanna do it, and another thing to actually do it.
Time will tell if I succeed in that regard.

There’s also the thing about “less procrastination, more content”, though I believe this is less of an issue. You need these short bursts of mental distraction in between your mental back-and-forths when breaking a story.
When it comes to the actual writing portion of things, I’m happy the way I do things (when I do them). Sometimes I talk to myself, or rather talk the scenes out. I’m crazy that way, but it’s not something I’m keen on changing. It’s part of the process.
And then when you’re in the zone, well, you don’t even think about getting distracted.

Write on.

Scribosphere blogs also on the topic:

Shouting in the Wind | Red Right Hand | Jonathan Hardesty | Bamboo Killers