It’s D-Day for the broadcast networks.
They’ve been living on borrowed time for the better part of two decades, thanks to advertisers willing to toss in more cash each year even as ratings slowly trended ever lower.
But with the economy in a tailspin — and the Big Three auto manufacturers, some of TV’s best advertisers, near ruin — the biz may finally have to pull the emergency cord.
“This day was going to come,” says one conglom bigwig. “I don’t think the business can be sustained without real change at this juncture. … We have a gun to all of our heads.”
What this seems to be about is plummetting ad sales.
I say, fuck ’em. How about a bailout for us? We’re paying two mortgages and my wife’s car loan (mine is paid for), and we’re paying our credit cards and utilities, all up to date and on time.
Maybe we should just stop.