The latest: After 32 seasons, ABC announced last Friday that DANCING WITH THE STARS will move to Disney + next year. It’s the first live reality show to go the streaming route, but more are a’ comin’. (This would mean so much more to me if I ever watched DWTS).
Amazon will have NFL Thursday Night Football starting this fall with the great Al Michaels calling the games. (That I will watch.)
And two streaming services are featuring MLB games this season. Friday Night Baseball on Apple + and Peacock will have Sunday morning games. East coast Peacock games will start at 11:30. Especially on the west coast it’s baseball for breakfast. (I’m sure the players are going to love reporting to the ballpark at like 8 AM on Sunday after being out all night on Saturday.) What’s also significant about this arrangement is that the chosen streaming games will be exclusive to those services. In other words, if Apple + is televising a Red Sox game, NESN can not show it. You want to see your beloved Red Sox? Pony up the money for Apple +.
And trust me, this is just the beginning.
It is not inconceivable to me that at some point the Super Bowl and World Series will be behind pay walls (and you’ll STILL have commercials). I’d say the Oscars too, but nobody is going to pay to see that shit.
Network shows are going to start moving to streaming services. And eventually, broadcast networks will be showing series that have already streamed. They’ll become the equivalent of the old neighborhood cineplex showing first run films a month after they’ve run everywhere else.
It’s coming. You heard it here first… or close to first.
from By Ken Levine
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