There’s Nothing on TV!

Americans spend a lot of time changing channels on their televisions because they can’t seem to find shows they like. That’s according to a recent study by Ericsson ConsumerLab’s TV and Media 2016. But you probably know this already from your own household.

The study found TV viewers spend 23 minutes a week just changing channels and looking through their television guide menu. It found 44 percent complained there is nothing worth watching — and that Americans are watching less cable TV and getting more entertainment from the internet.

The debacle that Election Day was for the news industry won’t soon be forgotten.

It’s a revolution. It likely had significant impact on the presidential election. And TV is just now getting the word. We don’t wait by a phone at home for a big call, and we don’t depend on the TV on our wall for all we watch. Younger Americans are even more prone to this, with 40 percent saying they watch YouTube daily. Viewing on mobile devices is up 85 percent.

Moreover, TV content is expensive; the internet it almost free. In a nation that hasn’t seen significantly rising wages since the 1990s, this makes a difference.

Also, TV, like newspapers, traded on the trust it built with viewers and readers. But a slew of stories that have shown reporters to be compromised, criminal behavior covered up and sports networks such as ESPN infected by politically correct bias has damaged that trust and led Americans to look to other sources for information and entertainment.

The debacle that Election Day was for the news industry won’t soon be forgotten. Not only were almost all the polls and pundits dead wrong, they actively sought to cheerlead for the outcome they predicted. They freaked out and even cried on the air as the Trump victory became obvious. They weren’t barely off … they were far from understanding the American electorate, and it was exposed for all the world to see.

[lz_ndn video=31616284]

With news gone and sports disappearing as reasons to have TV, that leaves just standard entertainment programming — and the rise of Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, iTunes and DVRs have paved the way for consumption on our terms and timeframe.

TV networks also might want to consider how they schedule their promising new shows. These days, consumers’ attention spans are short. Fans gravitate to a show, follow it a few weeks to its season finale — and then must wait six months or so for the show to resume. Viewers lose interest, the show is canceled, and the cycle begins anew.

Former NBC executive and “Top of The Rock” author Warren Littlefield wrote about the show “Seinfeld” and how it almost didn’t take off because it took several episodes to get the right cast and storylines. Littlefield said executives need to have creativity and a vision.

Related: Surprise, Surprise, Sorkin Is Upset Trump Was Elected

“Seinfeld” was originally a show about sketches, but as it grew, it was what he called a show with “a fun, fresh sensibility.” Littlefield warned that many executives today lack the vision and patience to let such a show have a chance to take off.

These days, the consumer is king. People talk, listen and watch what they want, when they want and with whom they want. No one is waiting for anything. People are impatient in a way never before seen.

If TV wants to survive, it needs to acknowledge these changes, give the products viewers like a chance to succeed and, by all means, make it affordable and responsive. Otherwise, Americans might stop using those TV remotes altogether.