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Mar. 16th, 2009
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Sci Fi Channel Aims to Shed Geeky Image With New Name
Just like the History Channel, the Discovery Channel and many others, the folks running these things don't grasp the very basic concept of "specialty channel".
These channels are supposed to be a place where you can get your "fix" of a particular type of content. They are *not* supposed to be a general network sort of thing. Trying to appeal to the "mainstream" is going to *lose* viewers.
Worse, the viewers gained will have no loyalty because they'll have lost the thing that made them something different from all the other "commidity content" channels out there.
Once again the "we must have higher profits" urge is going to trash something that properly handled would have provided steady, reliable profits more or less forever.
They may get higher profits. Until folks get bored. After all the sort of thinking that is behind this *requires* that their programming only be superficially different than other channels. Which means that since they won't *really* be different, they aren't going to get any huge share or if they do, it'll only be temporary until the novelty factor wears off.
Just like the History Channel, the Discovery Channel and many others, the folks running these things don't grasp the very basic concept of "specialty channel".
These channels are supposed to be a place where you can get your "fix" of a particular type of content. They are *not* supposed to be a general network sort of thing. Trying to appeal to the "mainstream" is going to *lose* viewers.
Worse, the viewers gained will have no loyalty because they'll have lost the thing that made them something different from all the other "commidity content" channels out there.
Once again the "we must have higher profits" urge is going to trash something that properly handled would have provided steady, reliable profits more or less forever.
They may get higher profits. Until folks get bored. After all the sort of thinking that is behind this *requires* that their programming only be superficially different than other channels. Which means that since they won't *really* be different, they aren't going to get any huge share or if they do, it'll only be temporary until the novelty factor wears off.