How to destroy Reality TV in 15 years or less…17 Sep
I had lunch with a friend yesterday who is an arguably successful television producer. He’s been producing for over 25 years and has had a more than a few successes, particularly in reality tv. During lunch we spoke a little about the changing landscape of tv and where things may be heading. One thing in particular has stuck with me…
He was recently approached by a company that offers to log/transcribe footage within approximately 3 hours. To boot, they do it cheaply. However, the way they do it is by sending the video footage to India and having people there work on it. In all, he would have his footage turned around very quickly and save roughly $150-300k per season.
He decided against using the service.
His reasoning is that by doing so he would be "…eating the industry from the inside out." Essentially he would be taking the near-entry level jobs and shipping them overseas. By doing so, he would be destroying the apprentice-like roles for future generations of tv producers. In a nutshell, those (apparently) replaceable Loggers are future Story Producers, Show Runners, and even Executive Producers. To send their jobs overseas is to completely decimate (at least a genre of) the television industry within 10-15 years.
I think he has foresight. However, the discussion didn’t end there…
The crux of the issue is corporate profits. In other words, what do you think will happen when an executive at a company like Disney discovers that there’s a potential "savings" of at least $150k per show on air? How likely is it that the executive begins slashing line items in the budget knowing that the savings (can) exist? I think it’s a no brainer: the budget gets cut and the executive gets praise; I highly doubt the executive will be as long-sighted as my friend.
It was definitely an interesting conversation and has me still thinking about where it goes from here. I’m certain lower wages are going to be in order, as well as more hectic schedules (fewer weeks to get the job done). Long-term, I’m not sure where this all leads. But I do know that should those jobs go overseas, the effects will be felt: more unemployed, less office space rented, fewer office supplies purchased, fewer people eating at local restaurants, etc.
Ultimately, at what point is the pursuit of profit detrimental to the health of the economy?
Which simply makes me think of Oxford:
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