Are Cable Networks Being Shortsighted with Summer’s Breakout Hits?

From Campaign US: Aside from run-ins with the law, current A+E police docuseries “Live PD” and monster MTV reality show from yesteryear “Jersey Shore” don’t have much in common. They are both, however, breakout hits for their respective cable networks. But where MTV failed, I implore A+E to succeed. The issue at hand is how to successfully navigate television’s waters when you have a popular series.

For an outlet and an advertiser, breakout hits like these are veritable goldmines. Networks can hype their other inventory while utilizing series like “Jersey Shore” as lead-in support to potential new successes. Marketers, in turn, get their messages seen, often at bargain rates if they make a commitment before there is an explosion of interest. 

But no one, of course, said finding a breakout hit was easy. It wasn’t in the past, and it certainly isn’t now, in this era of post-Peak TV. For more, click here