With Linear TV Out-Innovated by Streaming, Can it Go Back to What it's Good At? (Entertaining People)

Following a streaming-focused TV season, Sunday's 73rd Emmy Awards being so streaming focused was no surprise. Streaming had been knocking on the door of this moment for half-a-decade and the pandemic's production challenges for linear TV broke that door wide open. But again, this was predictable.

Perhaps better than most award shows, the Emmys -- both in terms of nominations and winners -- manages to be an accurate reflection of what people are watching. And what they largely enjoy watching. Linear viewership is struggling at the moment, and a drive around Los Angeles County will hammer that point home with a litany of billboards almost entirely geared around streaming shows and/or services.

So rather than talk about streaming's "arrival" in the wake of its collectively dominant performance during this year's Emmys, it's perhaps best to discuss the other side of that conversation: What can linear TV do about it?

To some extent, linear TV has accepted some defeat to streaming already. Every broadcast network has launched a streaming service, as have many cable networks as well. On-demand viewing has been growing for years, and consumers also don't seem to mind paying for streaming as long as it drives the cost of a subscription down. That's music to networks' ears as they try to figure out how much to invest in streaming vs. linear, and it could help soften the blow of the transition. But since we're not there just yet and plenty of streaming TV packages look similar to linear cable, TV still has an obligation to itself to ty to succeed where the most eyeballs still are (on linear).

But what's missed in there is to also create content that people overwhelmingly like. That's subjective, to an extent. Still, it's a key ingredient for audiences to not just tune into your programming options and walk away (see MTV's pivot toward being the Ridiculousness network or the long blocks of low-budget reality TV reruns that pepper cable all day).

This year's Emmy results aren't indicative of a medium that's failing to try, though. It's indicative of how streaming and linear appear to be playing two completely different games. Years ago, streaming figured out how to out-"tech" linear, but you could argue that even without the algorithms, linear is trying to mimic the baseline aspects of streaming: Producing content enough people will watch, for a long amount of time.

What streaming has right now is an ability to keep people watching, sure. More importantly, though, many of the shows and services are using that ability to grab their attention and keep it by way of embracing creative work that people like; and sometimes even love.

That used to be linear TV. And even if the sensibilities of viewers have changed over time in a way that doesn't serve broadcast well (you can only be so edgy at 8 p.m. on CBS, vs. name-your-time on streaming), but that's been the case since the advent of HBO. The issue is that broadcast TV seemed accepted that defeat some time ago. Now, though, much of linear TV is in denial about how it's lost the innovation battle while sacrificing quality and creativity in pursuit of it.

In short: Linear TV just needs to be more entertaining again.

That could come in the form of more comedies. More dramas. Clever ways to rethink reality TV concepts. Or cable diving back into the limited series approach in a way that minimizes risk for the benefit of potential critical and audience praise.

What's entertaining for some is not entertaining for all, of course. And the Emmys themselves aren't the end-all be-all of what's entertaining or what people are watching. But it is a good gauge on the wider culture and what's of interest to viewers. And what's of interest to viewers is ultimately what they will watch.

At one point in the not-so-distant past, a show like Ted Lasso potentially warms hearts during the 8 p.m. Wednesday block on NBC. Or The Crown is a summer mini-series hit that winds up getting picked up for a full series on AMC. There's still room for these types of shows on linear TV, even if you remove the profanity for broadcast. While losing a tech war to tech companies makes sense, it remains unbelievable that traditional TV can repeatedly lose to those same companies on the basis of what people want to watch (live sports aside).

We'll see if linear TV can adapt and go back to its roots this fall. Some of this season's slate would indicate it's trying to, and something as simple as The Wonder Years reboot is at least an acknowledgement of "hey people loved this show last time, let's do it again a bit differently." It could be as easy as things like just making a comedy or a drama like that (it worked pretty recently for Modern Family too, if you recall). Linear TV just needs to lean into its identity and regain some ground in the hearts and minds of viewers -- before that space becomes completely occupied by what they can pull up on-demand.