The dawning of this New Year, more so than most, has prompted a lot of reflection about resolutions.
I’m not talking about the easily abandoned “eat more kale” kind, but rather the dramatic and permanent shifts everyone in television is making in order to stay relevant. Given the record 455 scripted shows on the air; new ratings metrics roiling the advertising market; an uncertain regulatory climate; technology rapidly rebundling the TV experience; and, of course, a self-avowedly risk-prone president girding for open battle with the media, the status quo just won’t do anymore.
And so it is also at Broadcasting & Cable as we begin our 86th year. We are proud of our legacy and vitality as a weekly print publication serving an accomplished spectrum of programmers, distributors, creators and disruptors. But we also have adapted our approach to better suit how you consume the news and interact with your industry peers. Our website, broadcastingcable.com, just last month got a rejuvenating face-lift, making it more mobile-friendly and visually engaging. While only paid subscribers get access to the full site, the number of posts we are serving up daily for free has risen sharply to sometimes 15 or 20 in a single day. They are shareable on Twitter, where our handle, @bcbeat, has racked up thousands of new followers in the past year with its authoritative stream of news about the TV world.
We also surround major industry events, from CES and NAB to the Emmys and more, with intelligence across every platform. Last year saw the introduction of our first “social media hub” focused on the up-fronts and NewFronts—it will return this spring to plug you into the latest Twitter sentiment from networks and media buyers in this fast-moving marketplace. Our popular series of events and conferences, which last fall featured the fourth annual NYC Television & Video Week and the 26th B&C Hall of Fame gala, will expand next spring with a new multiday initiative called VID Week (short for Video Innovation and Disruption).
Editorially, the breadth and quality of B&C’s offerings have never been greater. Decades ago, ours was a more coherent mandate: to cover every aspect of the three-network world. Today, with hundreds of programmers offering thousands of shows as Silicon Valley regularly moves the goalpost and viewership and advertising constantly get rearranged, our mission has dramatically expanded. But our seasoned team has risen to the task, exploring everything from drone regulations to OTT rights negotiations to the AT&T-Time Warner merger to local newsrooms coping with police shootings and protests. As the only publication devoted solely to the business of television, we go deep on topics of consequence, including the rollout of ATSC 3.0, Nielsen’s cross-platform measurement plans and the FCC’s spectrum auction.
With the TV landscape growing ever more complex, our news is never fake. As readers pause more than ever to consider the source, we hope you will view B&C as a reputable, insightful one. We look forward to continuing to be a constant in a world that has never known more change.
