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Post by yanceycravat on Dec 10, 2022 2:36:33 GMT
How long before TCM admits their Saturday Musical Matinee franchise is a dud?
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Post by topbilled on Dec 10, 2022 16:41:29 GMT
What's wrong with it...why would it be considered a dud?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2022 21:44:16 GMT
What's wrong with it...why would it be considered a dud? All I know is it starts at 9 AM in California. TCM programs everything with the Eastern Time Zone in mind. Since I love musicals the most, I'm all in with the concept, just not at 9 AM. By definition, matinee is described as afternoon. I'm not even cool with Noon. I get that TCM can't or won't mess with the 8 PM Eastern movie start time. TCM is 24-hour. That needs to be considered at all times. Not everyone relies on DVR or Watch TCM. Some don't even rely on TCM. |
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Post by topbilled on Dec 10, 2022 22:03:01 GMT
What's wrong with it...why would it be considered a dud? All I know is it starts at 9 AM in California. TCM programs everything with the Eastern Time Zone in mind. Since I love musicals the most, I'm all in with the concept, just not at 9 AM. By definition, matinee is described as afternoon. I'm not even cool with Noon. I get that TCM can't or won't mess with the 8 PM Eastern movie start time. TCM is 24-hour. That needs to be considered at all times. Not everyone relies on DVR or Watch TCM. Some don't even rely on TCM. |
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Post by cmovieviewer on Dec 11, 2022 0:00:54 GMT
All I know is it starts at 9 AM in California. TCM programs everything with the Eastern Time Zone in mind. Since I love musicals the most, I'm all in with the concept, just not at 9 AM. By definition, matinee is described as afternoon. I'm not even cool with Noon. I get that TCM can't or won't mess with the 8 PM Eastern movie start time. TCM is 24-hour. That needs to be considered at all times. Not everyone relies on DVR or Watch TCM. Some don't even rely on TCM. TCM has a West Coast feed that runs 3 hours behind the Eastern time zone movie times that would be perfect for your California location. It's too bad that your source for TCM has chosen not to use it.
With my cable subscription, I also have access to the WatchTCM service which provides both live feeds, and it is nice to have the West Coast stream as a backup. if I happen to miss something on the East Coast feed it gives me a second chance to catch something I am interested in.
(Of course, I am paying the big bucks for cable, but it does have some nice benefits.)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2022 3:00:18 GMT
I'm just not interested in streaming.
I have cable and that is all.
Xfinity recently took the Hallmark Channels from East to West. TCM doesn't have a West Coast feed.
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Post by cmovieviewer on Dec 11, 2022 6:53:12 GMT
With regards to Yancey’s question, it is difficult to know how TCM will judge the success or failure of the Sat. MM series.
There seems to be very little in the way of additional expenses for the show - Dave is doing the introductions during his regular Saturday shift on the same set for films which are available from the usual sources. They have added a bit of production value to the introductions - with inserted photos and clips from the films, that would not normally be part of a simple introduction. There is also promotion for the series during the week, but this may be coming from a regular promotion budget.
I assume TCM would be hoping for an increase in viewership for the noon movies on Saturday. With the promotion they are doing there may be some increase out of curiosity but then it would be up to the viewers to decide if they want to come back for more based on what they have seen. Are musicals in general going to be popular enough to bring back repeat viewers?
I agree with comments I have seen that the investment in the series may have been scaled back at some point. This would not be surprising given the major cost-cutting that has been imposed by the new Warner’s ownership. Since the investment seems relatively small perhaps the expectations for its success have been scaled back as well.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2022 22:02:57 GMT
With regards to Yancey’s question, it is difficult to know how TCM will judge the success or failure of the Sat. MM series. There seems to be very little in the way of additional expenses for the show - Dave is doing the introductions during his regular Saturday shift on the same set for films which are available from the usual sources. They have added a bit of production value to the introductions - with inserted photos and clips from the films, that would not normally be part of a simple introduction. There is also promotion for the series during the week, but this may be coming from a regular promotion budget. I assume TCM would be hoping for an increase in viewership for the noon movies on Saturday. With the promotion they are doing there may be some increase out of curiosity but then it would be up to the viewers to decide if they want to come back for more based on what they have seen. Are musicals in general going to be popular enough to bring back repeat viewers? I agree with comments I have seen that the investment in the series may have been scaled back at some point. This would not be surprising given the major cost-cutting that has been imposed by the new Warner’s ownership. Since the investment seems relatively small perhaps the expectations for its success have been scaled back as well. In other words, TCM's budget is tighter than it may have been before. I don't know anything about the current ownership. How does the WB/Discovey family operate? We kind of know what Discovery is, but what is WB all about now? With Xfinity cable, I pay an extra $10/month for a package including TCM. A sports and entertainment package. No longer part of a tier. With streaming services, TCM is just there. Only Fubo doesn't have them or the other Turner named channels. With Sling TV, TCM is in an extra package. TCM is different. They don't sell ads, just self promotions. Do they make enough income from the Wine Club, Cruise, etc., to pay their way to the services they partner with? Back in my day, when a radio station was struggling, they changed format. Well, that's no good for TCM. Radio might change the call letters as a way to start new. I support TCM changing their name and going all new, including streaming. To save money a radio station could go automated. With TCM that means no more hosts. That could save a bundle. I support ads between films, not just those supporting TCM. Ads inside of a movie would destroy everything. Think American Movie Classics. In my opinion, TCM recently slapped on a new coat of paint. Not necessarily good enough. I'd be willing to pay the $10 a month I'm giving Xfinity for TCM as a stand-alone channel. I'd even pay that for ads between movies to keep the channel alive. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2022 20:41:24 GMT
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Post by cmovieviewer on Dec 12, 2022 22:21:16 GMT
The combined Warner Bros. - Discovery domain is huge. The reformed company is heavily in debt, so CEO David Zaslov has promised to make $3.5 billion in cost cuts over the next 3 years:
This is not a good time to try to launch anything new. |
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Post by briannh2ok on Dec 12, 2022 22:55:31 GMT
First, I'm a big Musicals fan. So having a slot dedicated for musicals is fine with me. It airs at 11:00 where I am, which is ok; but by the time people are invested in their weekend chores and stuff, stopping in the middle of the day to watch a little singin' and dancin' is a little much to ask. That, of course is the general population, but still... The middle of a Saturday is a pretty tough spot to hold unless it's sports-related.
Overall, the series seems ok, with a line-up that covers a good bit of ground. Karger is personable, but he has always struck me as one of the lesser luminaries over at TCM.
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Post by yanceycravat on Dec 13, 2022 15:32:44 GMT
To be more clear...
When TCM began promoting their new franchise I was very excited. I was thinking this was going to be more along the lines of what Eddie Muller does. Different set, longer more informational introductions.
When the show premiered I was hugely disappointed that it was really Karger on the same set doling out the same information as always. Eddie's intros and wrap-ups are in depth and I always feel like I learned something new. The way they were promoting Karger's interest in musicals I thought he was an expert on the genre but it feels like he's learning as he goes along. Which is fine but it's not special.
Also there was a moment in one of the short videos posted on the TCM YouTube channel where there was an opportunity for Karger to highlight Wynne Gibson as being in a number in 42nd Street but he neglected to do that. It would have been the perfect moment to highlight a long forgotten actress the way Muller does.
I feel it was a lost opportunity to educated and engage more people regarding musicals. To me it turned out to be a regular segment along the lines of Alicia Malone's intros to TCM Imports.
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Post by Fading Fast on Dec 13, 2022 17:01:13 GMT
To be more clear...
When TCM began promoting their new franchise I was very excited. I was thinking this was going to be more along the lines of what Eddie Muller does. Different set, longer more informational introductions.
When the show premiered I was hugely disappointed that it was really Karger on the same set doling out the same information as always. Eddie's intros and wrap-ups are in depth and I always feel like I learned something new. The way they were promoting Karger's interest in musicals I thought he was an expert on the genre but it feels like he's learning as he goes along. Which is fine but it's not special.
Also there was a moment in one of the short videos posted on the TCM YouTube channel where there was an opportunity for Karger to highlight Wynne Gibson as being in a number in 42nd Street but he neglected to do that. It would have been the perfect moment to highlight a long forgotten actress the way Muller does.
I feel it was a lost opportunity to educated and engage more people regarding musicals. To me it turned out to be a regular segment along the lines of Alicia Malone's intros to TCM Imports.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Dec 14, 2022 22:30:03 GMT
I was excited and hopeful as well when this was announced but felt really let down by what materialized. As yancey has said, it absolutely should have been tailored along the lines of Noir Alley, with a dedicated set (even something as simple as a gallery of musical movie posters) and backstory about the film itself and the stars. As it stands, it feels like one of those DVDs with zero extras, a big disappointment when you get it home. I watched the first few and enjoyed the movies but bailed when Annie showed up and have only been back sporadically since. If TCM is serious about attracting and keeping younger audiences, it seems to me like musicals might be one of their best bets to do it, but they're hurting their chances with same-old Dave on his same-old set with not a whole lot to say.
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