Fall is usually when cable channels start rolling out their new content. They’ve spent all summer hyping up that new show that they’re sure will be a hit or the return of a new season of your favorite show that left off on a cliffhanger. But more importantly than viewers, networks rely on these shows to bring in advertisers that will make them millions.
But with the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA on strike, the usual flow of new shows has come to a screeching halt. The WGA went on strike on May 2, which allowed some shows to continue working as long as they had scripts available.
But when the actors went on strike on July 14, production on new shows and seasons completely shut down. The stagnation and lack of new content could not come at a worse time for Network television. Cable television is under assault as it has lost a quarter of its paid subscribers in the last five years as consumers switch to streaming services.
This dearth of new content comes at a terrible time for the channels owned by the Walt Disney Company as well. Disney is hemorrhaging money from its cable companies, and rumors have spread that Disney is fielding offers for ABC, FX, and National Geographic.
Unlike other networks, Disney’s ABC has a solution to its content problem, at least for one night of the week. ABC has added Monday Night Football to its prime-time schedule for the remainder of the season.
The games usually air on Disney-owned ESPN, but with ABC’s lack of content, the Worldwide Leader in Sports needed to share the love. The NFL will fill the void left by the lack of dramas and sitcoms. ABC will rely on reality and game shows for the rest of its prime-time lineup.
The NFL is rating gold for networks. Week one’s game, which featured the Buffalo Bills against the New York Jets, drew a Monday Night Football record 25.2 million viewers. It was the most viewers in Monday Night Football’s 53-year history.
Even if the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes ended tomorrow, new shows would still take months to air. The strikes stopped everything, so it would take weeks for new scripts to be written, let alone filmed.
The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, representing the studios and streaming services, will resume negotiations this week.
Disney’s fight with Charter Spectrum opened up some issues with cable TV. Spectrum cable customers wanted more choice in what channels they paid for, while Disney wished to maintain its high rate for its ESPN channels, which some customers did not wish to. Despite some spectrum cable customers missing out on college football games, the two sides agreed just before the NFL football season began.
The new deal stripped away some Disney-owned channels, including FXX and Disney Junior, while offering cable customers access to Disney’s streaming service.
It is a brave new world that the Walt Disney Company is trying to navigate with strikes, streaming, and traditional cable. It remains to be seen how successful Disney CEO Bob Iger will be in this new landscape.
We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.
