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FX Chief Issues Ominous Warning About Where TV Is Headed

Aug 10, 2017  •  Post A Comment

FX Networks CEO John Landgraf provided a stern warning to the television industry, saying the current era of peak TV, with its ever-expanding programming choices, may be the forerunner of something more closely resembling a monopolistic business model.

The AP reports that Landgraf, speaking to TV critics Wednesday in Beverly Hills, said: “I don’t want artists to find themselves in a situation where there’s only two buyers that matter.”

“Painting a dark picture of the broader U.S. economy, he argued that it’s beset by a lack of market regulation that has allowed ‘one sector after another to be swallowed by a single company or a tiny handful of companies,’ from airlines to retail to social media,” the AP reports. “FX Networks and others are in a battle with newcomers including Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV that operate under an economic model that rewards increasing the scale of domination over current profits, Landgraf said.”

Landgraf warned that viewers, along with those who create programming, could be hurt as the industry evolves.

Commenting on the proliferation of programming under the current model, Landgraf said: “Understand that a good share of that programming is being produced at a loss, in the belief that it will drive a massive shift in the share of consumption,” ultimately harming competitors such as cable networks.

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