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Narrowcasting, On Ice
Used to be you thought about the Normandy Invasion. Or the inventiveness of Thomas Edison when you thought of history.
Now, it’s … “Ice Road Truckers.”
Yes, I haven’t watched the History Channel sensation. But, hey, it’s getting tough to keep up with all the original programming on cable.
Why a person would even be interested in the fate of “Ice Road Truckers” is beyond me. That such a series appears on History Channel is doubly beyond me. Seems wholly out of character for an entertainment service that has as its namesake mission telling us what has gone on so we know how we should conduct business and politics today. Used to be the idea of the multiple channel world was … each channel would be “narrowcasting” about a single subject. News. Sports. Food. History.
“Ice Road Truckers”? I guess there’s a history there.
But it’s more emblematic of an emerging truth about cable and television itself. The more competitive it gets, the more critical it becomes to produce … original works.
“Ice Road Truckers” could easily have appeared on Discovery Channel. Its brethren clearly is “Deadliest Catch” and “Dirty Jobs.”
But History wants to breathe life into its relatively staid image as a purveyor of documentaries about, well, history.
AMC no longer is just about American Movie Classics. It’s about the “Mad Men” of Madison Avenue (get it?). The guys who came up with ad spots about aerosol sprays; not the guys who brought you “Star Wars” and great special effects or plot lines in movies.
FX is not about effects either. It’s about “Rescue Me” and “Damages” and “Nip/Tuck.” A free HBO.
And USA Network? It can be absolutely whatever it wants. From “The Dead Zone” to”Burn Notice” to, well, the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
What’s all this say? It means stated meanings and promises of brands are passing away, when it comes to television networks. A brand means whatever you want it to mean. A&E could be Bravo could be USA could be whatever it wants to be.
Just find an original idea and run with it. Then find another. And let the ideas define who you are. Not the other way around.
Surfers of an ever-expanding programming universe will figure it out. After all, they only care about what’s on TV. Not which channel it’s on.
