Twin work stoppages due to labor disputes with the WGA East and WGA West and SAG-AFTRA “forced” U.S. broadcast television networks to conduct what MoffettNathanson Senior Analysts Michael Nathanson (pictured, top left) and Rob Fishman call “an experiment they may have been loath to undertake but whose lessons are pertinent.”
A fall season devoid of “typical, expensive scripted programming” was seen. Guess what? “Ratings held in ok(-ish),” they say.
What could this finding hold for the future of the network television prime-time schedule, and could FOX’s approach become the standard at a time when scripted programming “is now the domain of direct-to-consumer” platforms?
