Emergence of Cable Channels and Video Streaming Services - Essay Example

The paper "Emergence of Cable Channels and Video Streaming Services" is a wonderful example of an assignment on visual arts and film studies.  Are sitcoms on an upward or downward spiral? Verifiably, sitcoms taking into account the present studies portray a descending winding pattern. This is clear particularly in the current (Nielsen 1) evaluations whereby it is just CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" showing up at position 7 with a rating of 4.5 and 7,145 votes. This is as opposed to the past pattern when sitcoms used to overwhelm the best main ten favored projects seen by US citizens.

Majority of the current sitcoms lack the necessary attractiveness and creativity, which has been used for a long time to draw large masses into watching them. According to (Kennedy 2) sitcoms, today are in two categories; the first ones are the edgy single-camera jobs (for instance Scrubs and Cougar Town) that are extremely busy being visually as well as verbally clever that they only thing they can trigger is more smirks other than laughs. On the other hand, the second category is the multi-cams sitcoms that go for out-and-out laughs but while doing this, it is at the expense of genuine character development and this leads to lack of any sense of reality.

Sitcom has been turned into just other “easygoing” shows comprising TV programs often trying hard to be clever in both entertaining and creating attention but in vain. For instance, (Paskin 4) in his article cites the current “Modern Family” does not have those “gluing” and thrilling scenes, hence, many viewers currently only watch them because it is “just there”. Modern Family” is considered to be old-fashioned yet at the same time socially liberal, well-viewed but funny too some extent.

The show is not one may particularly call as being innovative, but it is also cannot be compared to “Two and a Half Men.” This is a depiction of lack of innovation and creativity and this has led to the retarding nature of actors that all though relayed episodes have nothing new to offer other than the recycled depiction of their character behaviors. For that reason, sitcoms have turned to be so predictable such that the audience is always aware of the next episode and what will take place.

One of the things that are slowly growing into some kind of annoyance is those kinds of warm and cool moments in sitcoms that are completely undone and interrupted by the need to insert a quick joke in order to remind the audience that it is a comedy. These practices have become so common and standard that in current sitcoms that they can now be deemed as cliché. Sitcoms are expected to be more than just comedy. They relate with day to day issues that people go through. Such warm moments are what attract people to watch the shows.

If the makers of the show keep interrupting such moments, they naturally disappoint their audience. According to (Levine 4) Sitcoms, today are made for a particular group of people – as it were, 18-34. So an extensive section of the group of people feels excluded. Broadcast networks role in sitcoms poor performanceBroadcast Networks have been in the spotlight for canceling some sitcoms that can be considered to be doing well and overrating some of the shows they felt did more deserve. According to (Adalian 5) CBSs surprisingly early termination of the Will Arnett–Margo Martindale sitcom "The Millers", weeks into its sophomore season was arguably unjustified.

The same network that had constantly figured out how to make America fall in love with widely appealing sitcoms, for example, "Rules of Engagement", "Still Standing", and "Mike and Molly" appeared to be yielding even it no more had the ability to constrain the viewers to sit still for whatever excellence it opened behind a beast hit (for this example, The Big Bang Theory). Independent from anyone else, the NBC and CBS choices did not significantly adjust the little screen scene. Taken together, they are indications of something much all the more discouraging: Network TV is enduring a Great Sitcom Recession, and there are no numerous indications of recuperation coming soon.

The emergence of cable channels and video streaming servicesSitcoms have for a long time been the ratings as well as profit drivers of the television industry. They are cheaper to produce than even the hour-long dramas and possess lucrative in syndication long after fresh episodes have been terminated. Hollywoods production studios rely on sitcoms in order to sustain their businesses. The cables channels, on the other hand, rely on sitcom reruns in order to create more content and also lure more advertisers.

Writers of sitcoms who previously worked and produced shows for the big TV networks are shifting their attention. Majority of them are migrating to fresher outlets such as Amazon and Netflix which offer as much money even some more than the networks, and they get freedom from censors. According to (Villarreal and James 4) in recent years, there has been increased competition from cable channels and video streaming services, like the Amazon and Netflix, who are aggressively creating original content.