Interviews with Digital Media Thought Leaders
Future of Cultural Programming
Podcast Audio | Posted by Phil Leigh on June 7, 2010
Phil Leigh
Last year Michael Kaiser of the J.F.K. Performing Arts Center lamented that Arts Programming was vanishing from TV. Since most PBS stations lack the money for quality recording of local performances, he concludes that PBS should reorganize. Instead of relying upon local affiliate productions, he prefers that the parent organization “determine the best in American arts and fund its broadcast across the nation”. Presumably that means PBS must reduce its financial contributions to affiliates, or get Congress give more than the $400 million it presently donates annually – 90% of which passes thorough to local stations.
Download Audio Narration to iPod, iPad, and iPhone here.
Like many leaders of slowly changing businesses, Kaiser fails to recognize how fast the Internet already shifted the ground under his feet. While focusing on PBS and taxpayer subsidies, he neglects to notice that a critical mass of top-quality cultural programming already populates the Net. One example is YouTube which provides three advantages over conventional television. First, it’s free. Second, viewers may watch at anytime instead of designated broadcast times. Third, it’s searchable.
Once consumers get TVs connected to the Internet, those with a taste for cultural programs may be among the first to habitually replace regular television with Internet-videos-on-TV. Furthermore, the ever-quickening growth in methods for connecting TVs to the Internet is obvious to anyone not living in a cave for the last year. It’s as certain as summer follows spring that the trend shall accelerate.
Those questioning whether the Net truly offers considerable high-quality cultural programming might view the following examples:
First is an excerpt from Scheherazade by a Venezuelan youth orchestra. The teenagers play simultaneously with an eagerness characteristic of their first time on stage, but with a determination for perfection as if it was their last opportunity. It’s obvious within the first two minutes that something remarkable happened. The excellence of this multiracial orchestra is a hopeful symbol for the 21st Century. They merit a date at the JFK Center or Avery Fisher Hall.
A second example is the mystical Wolf’s Glen scene from rarely performed Der Freischutz. Most experts have only academic interest in the opera as a precursor to Wagner. Fortunately they are not the Internet’s gate keepers. Consequently Web viewers can judge for themselves the value of Weber’s signature work. Which maybe illustrates the tragedy of having to live on what musical talent alone can earn, because established cultural leaders often fail to recognize and pay a living wage for originality. As a business principle they gravitate toward the well-connected — meaning people like themselves. But as Wilson Mizner put it, “Most live wires would be dead ones without their connections”.
Third, as for ballet, YouTube provides a magically inspiring version of Stravinsky’s Firebird. The “russianballetvideo” channel at the website offers 22 hours of ballet.
Fourth, for those interested in the classic plays of literature YouTube channel “shakespearandmore” provides over 650 videos. More modern plays such as Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms can also be found on the website. Performances of varying quality for dramatists such as Wilder, Beckett, Miller, Ibsen, Wilde, and Shaw are numerous. Many are staged by regional production companies like the ones Kaiser wants PBS to fund and broadcast.
Initially it seems ironic that the cultural audience may well be the first to benefit significantly from Internet-Video-on-the-TV. After all, it is a small group. For example, classical music represents less than 5% of CD sales. But, upon reflection the ability of the Net to better address arts programming underscores the validity of Chris Anderson’s Long Tail Theory. The category is largely ignored by conventional media because the audience is small. The Internet already meets audience needs without the government subsidies and centralized control that Kaiser advocates.
Categories: Podcast Audio
Tags: Cultural Programming, Future of TV, Future-of-Television, Internet-video, Market Research, Phil-Leigh, Public Broadcasting, YouTube
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[...] that consumers can find Long-Tail content on the Net that is unavailable on TV. Already YouTube’s cultural programming is superior to TV while educational programming is also often better on the Net. Finally, when [...]