Could streamers and network television actually be… helping each other? So goes the wisdom of many a network exec working under a streaming regime, and the premise of a new Vulture report about how well network TV is doing this season. We've got a few hits on our hands, including High Potential, Happy's Place, and Matlock (especially Matlock). These shows are doing pretty well on linear and DVR, but also attracting millions of viewers on streaming. In the case of High Potential, for instance, streaming (on Hulu and Disney+) accounts for more than 40 percent of the overall audience.
With more people than ever cutting cords and more streamers than ever with individualized programming, platforms like Peacock, Hulu, and Paramount+ get a boost from fans seeking the comfort (and lengthy episode order) of traditional TV. Streaming also connects network shows with younger audiences: Vulture reports that High Potential is the number 12 show for the coveted under-50 adult demo in linear, but its combined linear/streaming audience makes it television's number one show with under-50s. "People are coming to these shows in all the places we have them," Lisa Katz, president of scripted content for NBCUniversal, tells the outlet. "Some might [watch] on linear or on DVRs, and some people might be seeking them out on Peacock. But it’s great to have the ability to have both and then the audience can find the shows where they are."
We've known for a while that traditional network television does really well on streaming, and that audiences still seem to gravitate towards long-running shows with lots of episodes. Some of the streamers even seem to be testing this out by creating their own procedurals (Max's upcoming series The Pitt, with 15 episodes, has a pretty lengthy first season relative to streaming shows' typical eight to 10 episode order.) These series are also attractive to their parent studios in terms of being way less expensive than something like House Of The Dragon or The Rings Of Power.
There's a certain irony in the fact that streaming brought linear television to the brink of extinction, and now traditional linear programming is being assessed as a way to boost streaming. Regardless, it's nice to know that longform television hasn't been completely abandoned—and that there are execs who see the value and a future for those kinds of shows. "They’re in your house every week, and they live with you for years," Simran Sethi, president of scripted programming for ABC Entertainment and Hulu, says of characters on a network drama or sitcom. "I don’t think the relationship audiences build with those long-running, character-driven shows is ever going to go out of style."
