The first thing I discovered was that TLC was not upfront with us about the nature of this show. As I said, it’s a worthy topic, but any reasonable person would know that this topic is a particular lightning rod,” he said. “We believe TLC went out of their way to pick a fight on this, and they didn’t let us know their intentions. That’s not a business practice that generally gets repeat business from us… Sadly, TLC is now enjoying the attention from this controversy.”
***
Can anyone with a firmer grasp on the business end of American television tell me something?
I imagine TV broadcasting as a four-sided figure: the broadcaster, the audience, the sponsors, and the creators of the shows.
It is easy for me to imagine broadcasters telling creators not to do X or Y so as not to offend sponsors or audiences. I’m sure we can all think of real world examples from the last fifty years.
However, this story makes me wonder if the “paradigm” (ugh) has shifted:
Do broadcasters now collude with creators and try to manipulate sponsors?
If so, when did this change?
It seems like a dramatic shift in terms of the balance of power and influence…
