The Homogenization of Content

The television in our house is fed by a subscribed satellite feed; it offers us almost 250 channels of programming. We watch the news, Criminal Minds and, of course, we are required (by law, I believe) to watch one of the 17 versions of CSI. The company that provides the service gives us access to the same show at different times (as the originating stations are in different time zones) and sell it as a feature under the guise of “time shifting”. As a result, Tuesday morning at 7:30 is the only time through the week that we are unable to watch one of the 17 versions of CSI. My provider has apologized for the oversight and is working to correct the problem.

This happens because creating novel content is expensive, time consuming…and risky. It’s far cheaper, faster, and safer to let someone else go up front and take the hit. If the venture works, it’s copied. If it doesn’t fly, the critics are obliged to point to the status quo and dismiss the effort. Occasionally, one gets through and it’s applauded and the leaders are regaled: Boston Legal and The Sopranos were bright, compelling stories. Both shows ended at a point when the content was about to lose it’s franchise.

For your friendly neighbourhood television station, this means they are tied to an affiliate agreement that mandates they air content that is exactly the same as 9 other stations I receive. To hit a viewer with a message becomes an interesting lottery for the station (and advertiser). First, the viewer has to actually watch television, and then choose the content that the station is airing…and then select a specific station among the 9 airing the same show. This gets more interesting as my $100/month television content subscription is being measured against the amount of video available online and viewable whenever I want…wherever I want.

There’s a bright spot for CSI, though. I suggest making everything local. Your town could have its own version of CSI. Characters would be shot against a green screen and inserted into images of your town. In northern Ontario, there’s a small town called Ignace (population 1500) and I’m sure you would win the Ignace ratings war with CSI Ignace. In the pilot, Horatio is in the backyard barbecuing when Jerry (who owns the Subway restaurant that used to be the bank that used to be a dry cleaner) approaches and tells Horatio that his 14 foot Lund has been stolen. Horatio makes some odd remark about “…whatever floats your boat” and a “Who” song fires up. The case is solved when Horatio puts down the tongs, leans over the fence and yells at the neighbour kid to give Jerry his boat back.