Television’s high fixed costs forced instant ratings success or cancellation

Evidence

Moreover, as compared with radio or print, there was on television a larger disparity in profit between the “winner” and “loser” of each time slot. Even the cheapest television programs cost far more to make than a radio show, meaning some ratings minimum was needed just to cover costs. The ratings winner, was able, moreover, to charge a premium for its advertising slots. This made the pressure to win even more intense, and also meant that content could not linger to evolve, as it might on radio or in a magazine—it had to pull in its audience or face cancellation. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 490

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Content reform could not escape television’s foundational attention-resale model — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 583; Measurable broadcast value eliminated experimentation from television scheduling — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 491; Commercial-free premium shows first unlocked television’s full narrative potential — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1113

Broader Connections

• Measurable broadcast value eliminated experimentation from television scheduling #expands (0.88) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 491
• Content reform could not escape television’s foundational attention-resale model #expands (0.72) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 583