Sunday Strategist: The New Fight for Old TV

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- In the last few months, entertainment companies have spent nearly $2.5 billion on the streaming rights to old TV shows. NBC paid $500 million to take its own sitcom, “The Office,” off Netflix and put it on its upcoming streaming service, Peacock. HBO also snatched a sitcom from Netflix, paying $450 million to bring “Friends” to HBO Max. It then dropped even more money, $1 billion, for “The Big Bang Theory” while Netflix, not to be outdone, shelled out $500 million for “Seinfeld.” 

Much has been made about streaming TV relying so heavily on network content. “Oh the irony,” wrote the Chicago Tribune in June year, when Nielsen reported that the most popular series on Netflix wasn’t one of its original, critically acclaimed shows but instead the NBC sitcom “The Office.” “It is, of course, slightly strange that a 20-year-old sitcom still retains such a magnetic appeal,” New York Magazine remarked this month about “Friends.” But really, it’s not strange at all.  

Nickelodeon learned the appeal of old TV shows 34 years ago, but back then it wasn’t Jim and Pam—it was Lucy and Ricky. The network solved the problem of what to do at night, when its core audience was doing homework (or had gone to sleep) by airing old shows their baby boomer parents already knew and loved. The strategy worked. Nick at Nite’s reruns of “Green Acres” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show” regularly came in third or fourth in the ratings. And boomers weren’t the only ones watching. “Our demographics tell us that both kids and their parents are watching,” a baffled Linda Kahn, Nickelodeon’s then vice president of acquisitions, told the Associated Press in 1988. “We’re not sure who is dragging whom to the set.”

Gen Z may not have been old enough (or alive enough) to see Ross yell “We were on a break!” the first time around, but there’s something inherently comforting about watching television made in an earlier time. The 30-minute TV version of world always seems simpler. “Friends” characters don’t use smart phones. “The Office” is about salaried employees who work normal hours and have health insurance good enough to cover rabies. That’s not to say that innovative, genre-defying new shows aren’t important—Netflix wouldn’t be the most popular service if all it offered us was stuff we’ve already seen. But in terms of sheer numbers, escapist weeknight habits are a big part of why we watch TV. 

The winner of the streaming wars will be the service that offer the best mix of groundbreaking originals and beloved classics. Judging from Nielsen numbers (and the popularity of a certain t-shirt) the top draws are still “The Office” and “Friends.” Of course, if you want to find Nick a Nite's old programming, you’ll have to turn to Hulu. It’s the home of “I Love Lucy,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

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To contact the editor responsible for this story: Silvia Killingsworth at skillingswo2@bloomberg.net

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