MOVE FAST AND BREAK NEWS

Linear TV is being replaced by Linear TV

Happy Wednesday War & Peaceniks. Let’s make News!

Last week, CBS announced that they won the 2022-2023 season linear TV ratings crown - for the 15th straight year. Which made me wonder: In the last years of horse-drawn carriages, did the remaining buggy whip factories shout about who sold the most riding crops?

Ten years ago, CBS also won the TV viewership crown. This year, they did so with less than half the viewership in 2013. When you look at all of the top ten “most watched” linear TV networks…

The combined total audience for the ten networks is down 40% from a decade ago. And, apart from a short blip during lockdown, that audience decline is accelerating.

But no one makes news talking about the death of old school linear TV. So, my focus today is the failing nature of all American TV itself, and what the fuck might come next.

As fast as consumers are rushing for the exits of Cable and Broadcast TV, streaming subscribers are cycling through SVOD services like borrowed clothes from Rent The Runway.

Churn - the rate at which subscribers cancel streaming services - hit an all-time high industry-wide in 1Q 2023. In less than a year, SVOD churn has increased 24%. Here’s what this looks like in the aggregate…