Ads began running this month on scripted series and films on Prime Video, except for subscribers who opt to pay an extra $3 a month in order to avoid ads. Amazon’s approach has differed from that of streaming rivals like Netflix, which rolled out a lower-priced tier with ads as an option instead of forcing those who want to stay ad-free to pay extra.
TNT and TBS are moving out of the scripted game under new parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, which CEO David Zaslav has promised will find $3 billion in cost savings across the new company in the post-merger era. The WarnerMedia-run cable channels will no longer develop new scripted content, three sources close to the matter tell Variety. It is unclear what will happen to TBS and TNT’s current slate of scripted programming.
The bulk of the network’s comedies and dramas will run between 16 and 18 episodes, down from the traditional 24.
As streaming platforms become the priority for dramas and comedies, traditional networks are relying on more cost-effective unscripted series like Discovery’s 90 Day Fiancé to fill out their schedules.
With the influx of new streaming services, even spendthrift conglomerates are opening their pocketbooks wider than ever. For example, When Apple TV plus launches on Nov. 1, it will do so with what’s arguably the most expensive new-series lineup in TV history. Among the streamer’s initial offerings are the drama The Morning Show, bearing a price tag believed to be more than $15 million an episode, and the dystopian sci-fi series See, which is rumored to have cost as much as $17 million an hour.
Exclusives
The company has brought on former Warner Horizon Television exec Lisa Roos as its new SVP of drama development. NBC also promoted programming exec Deepak Jesrani to SVP of drama development and elevated Mike Nunes to SVP of current programming.
In FX’s annual update on the state of scripted, total volume hit another high of 495, falling short of the 520 FX CEO John Landgraf predicted for the year.
FremantleMedia North America has added three executives to its scripted division. Reid Shane has joined the company as EVP of production; Jennifer Sherwood is the new SVP of scripted development; […]
The CW is building up the development team under newly-named executive vice president of development Gaye Hirsch. Julie Jarmon has joined The CW as VP of scripted development. Additionally, Laura Terry has been promoted to VP of scripted development and Cyle Zezo has been promoted to director of alternative series, specials, and digital programming. All three will report directly to Hirsch.
Endemol Shine North America has named Sharon Levy president, unscripted and scripted television. Levy was most recently EVP of original series for Spike TV, where she spent the last 12 […]
Vice Media, which has built its brand for more than two decades around news, documentaries and other nonfiction fare, is spreading its wings into scripted entertainment. The Brooklyn-based media company has secured a pact with Blackpills, a French digital media studio startup, for a slate of original short-form scripted content that will be exclusively distributed on Vice’s video-focused digital hub, video.vice.com.
Numerous reality-based networks are sporting new stripes in the form of scripted fare as they move to stretch their brand and freshen their look. Not only does scripted represent a promised land for boosting audience interest, it’s also bursting with creativity at a moment when reality is, by comparison, “a little bit dull, a little bit stagnant,” says truTV’s president and programming boss, Chris Linn.
The No. 1 takeaway for the broadcast networks this summer was that viewers will watch scripted programming.
