They want to be a great people…

“They lack the power to show them the way.”

I’m quoting two things here: Brando in Superman (which is a film Robert Kirkman loves. Just kidding.) as well as Gordon Clark in AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire. “What show?” Exactly.

AMC has a history of shows doing stronger on VOD than live airings. With the exception of Walking Dead and Hell on Wheels (whose story is an absolute anomaly, but a valuable lesson in knowing your audience), they tend to underperform. Even Breaking Bad didn’t do what one would consider “Breaking Bad” numbers. Mad Men? Even worse.

The issue is you can’t really monetize VOD because people can fast-forward through the commercials, which is fine and dandy…but also not necessary. Some providers actually disable fast-forwarding because they’re smart.

People don’t mind commercials. They enjoy convenience.

TV would do a hell of a lot better if VOD were a viable way to track ratings. Shows would get their views and their budgets. Rectify would survive longer than it probably will and Hannibal would still be on the air.

If you were to pose the following question to a random TV lover, what kind of answer do you think you’d get? “Either be home in time to watch an episode as it premieres or get to watch it whenever you want but not be able to skip channels?” I bet you’d get the latter.

If you’re going to block out 42 minutes for an episode of hour television, you’re blocking out an hour anyway. Because why not?

TV doesn’t need a new subscription service at every turn, that On Demand button on your remote is it’s salvation. They just have to trust the audience to be smart enough to go along for the ride.

Monetize and utilize VOD effectively, Nielsen will listen. So will we.