TV networks are panicking. Not because they are losing control, but because they are trying to keep it.
The shift to internet television is no longer a “maybe.” It is a foregone conclusion. Broadcast viewership dropped 4 percent in the last quarter of 2014 alone. Online video? It jumped 60 percent. If networks don’t cater to the online market, they get left in the dust. The logic is simple. More people watching online means untapped advertising revenue.
So why aren’t all networks streaming everything on demand, right now, for free?
In many cases, they do want to stream. But they want control. They want to maximize every dollar. Broadcast giants like ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX stream new episodes, sure. But there are limits. A limited number of episodes. A short time window.
This strategy might seem like leaving money on the table. It isn’t. It protects DVD sales. If the whole season is available for free online, nobody buys the box set.
But the real barrier isn’t just protecting physical media. It’s licensing fees.
Who Actually Owns Your Show?
Here is the messy part. TV networks don’t actually own the content they air. They pay for the privilege.
Take NBC. They air “The Voice.” But Mark Burnett created it. NBC pays Burnett and his production company for the right to broadcast the show. They sell ads around it. That’s their slice.
Other revenue streams? DVD sales? Those go to the company that owns the show. The producers. The creators.
This creates a conflict. Networks want streaming to capture ad dollars. Producers want to protect other revenue streams. They need to negotiate licensing contracts as favorably as possible.
If a network demands streaming rights, the cost of the license goes up. It has to. The producer is taking on risk. They are cutting off other potential income sources.
The result? A confusing jumble of negotiations. Counter-negotiations. Deals that die in the weeds.
The Netflix Problem
Licensing agreements are also time-bound. They expire.
This is why Netflix doesn’t have everything. Despite its massive popularity and deep pockets, it still lacks your favorite shows.
Companies that own rights to movies and TV shows can negotiate higher fees when demand spikes. Older shows are generally cheaper. But there is a reason you can stream “Star Trek: Enterprise” and not “The Simpsons” or “Seinfeld.”
Netflix has to pick and choose. It has to manage licensing costs. It has to wait for licenses to expire so it can renegotiate. It’s a game of chess with billions of dollars on the board.
Which Shows Will Survive the Streaming Shift?
The question isn’t just about convenience. It’s about who gets paid.
When you watch a show online, who is the beneficiary? The network? The producer? The actors?
The answer depends on the contract. And those contracts are old. They were written for a world where you bought DVDs or tuned in at 8 PM on a Tuesday.
That world is gone. The contracts haven’t caught up.
We are seeing a clash of business models. One side wants speed. The other wants leverage. The viewer is stuck in the middle, waiting for a license to expire or a new deal to be struck.
It’s not just about technology. It’s about ownership. And ownership is expensive.
Will we ever see a seamless library? Probably not. The fragmentation is built into the economics. Every time you stream a show, someone is fighting over the split.
The dust hasn’t settled. It’s still rising.
