MovieChat Forums > Networks > Viacom's recent woes

Viacom's recent woes

posted 12 years ago by DeusExKatrina
3 replies | jump to latest

Anybody wanna weigh in on the subject? I know we discuss it in many of the individual show boards, but I thought network-buffs on this board might have a unique take on it.

Viacom lately seems to do everything in their power to kill themselves. Starting fights with cable providers, letting several of their networks slip into lazy marathon programming 24/7.

It's hit Nickelodeon the hardest, taking the most profitable shows the network has ever had and running those same shows into the ground by refusing to produce, promote, or schedule these programs competently. They were the biggest kid's network for 20 years and now, in the last two years, Nickelodeon did everything they possibly could to end that run.

I'm not much of a chicken little, 'sky is falling' person. But if Viacom is really this intent on hurting themselves and avoiding even the most elementary good business practices, could we see the company or some of their networks disappear in the next several years? I'm thinking yes.

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"Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the antidote to shame."

[–] stephdumas 12 years ago

On the newsgroup rec.arts.animation, I once compared Nickelodeon to General Motors. Both was once powerful powerhouses. Maybe it's a little too far-fetched for compare to each other.

Nick had relied too much on Spongebob over the last years or maybe they marketed it the wrong way in the last seasons. If Nick had chosen to allow Spongebob to air in syndication, it could had been interested how it would had done?

Then what if Nick had given the green light to Constant Payne to be a series or giving Wayside a 2nd chance?

[–] Candy_Randy 12 years ago

We can probably add longer commercial breaks to their woes as well. I check the TV schedules each day and it seems that there are longer running times on most of the programming throughout most of the Viacom channels, except Nickelodeon. Yes, more commercials are being added, forcing programming time slots to end and begin beyond the usual :00 or :30. This is a dumb move, since it obviously sends a lot of viewers away.

As for Nickelodeon, recently they announced a lot of series in development or production for 2013, with the previous channel executive lost her job. Things would be interesting by next year.

I'm legalizing everything!--Mabel Pines

[–] SilverCentri2009 12 years ago

Networks like MTV I doubt will still be around by the end of the decade or the next. Hell, I don't even know anyone who watches MTV and I've been around. As for Nickelodeon, whether they have good programming coming out in 2013, I don't think it would help them much because they already lost a lot of viewers in the past 5 years. Most kids these days don't even watch TV as much as my generation did. And those who do are tuned into the Disney Channel or Cartoon Network. Nick has been basically imitating those two channels that it's pathetic. It's sad to see a network that has defined my childhood in so many ways go this way. Especially when I think about the way Nick has declined since '03.

Passengers will refrain from killing my soul! ~Bus Driver Stu Benedict