LESS-SEE TV


time and time again.

If you want to see a simple, stunning example of how dramatically television broadcasting has changed -- and not for the better -- in the past fifty years, look no further than the two best shows now available for download on the iTunes Music Store: ABC's LOST and NBC's Alfred Hitchcock Presents. With just a cursory glance at the offerings for these two immensely popular, critically acclaimed shows, you can see that what was once about the telling is now all about the selling.

Season One of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which premiered in October of 1955, featured 39 episodes that ran an average length of just over twenty-five and a half minutes. The shortest episode, The Babysitter, ran 24:43; the longest, the classic Don't Come Back Alive, ran 26:33. Which means that, in a thirty-minute broadcast slot, NBC averaged only four and a half minutes of commercials, with a high of 5:17 and a low of 3:27. Which also meant that artful content, not constant advertising, was king.

Compare those numbers to Season One of LOST, which premiered in September of 2004 and featured 24 episodes that ran an average length of just under forty-three and a half minutes. The shortest episode, Pilot, Part 2, ran 40:36; the longest, the harrowing The Moth, ran 43:51. Which means that, adjusted for a thirty-minute broadcast slot, ABC averaged eight minutes and a quarter minutes of commercials, with a low of 8:04 and a high of 9:42. Which also means that collecting revenue, not rollicking content, is king.

So, just to recap: in the last half century, for every hour of television we watch, we've lost the pleasure of six and a half minutes of art and gained the pain of six and a half minutes of ads. Which means that our content has decreased by almost 13%, while our bullshit has increased by 83%.

Is it any wonder DVRs are so darned popular?

Posted: Tue - December 6, 2005 at 07:42 PM          

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