rant · moment 13 of 15
The Death of Cable TV and the Rise of YouTube Personalities
from You Can't Have Everything · #50
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
6 minTim and Ray debate whether traditional TV is dying, the shift to Netflix/Hulu/HBO Go streaming models, and how a YouTube gaming personality (Jim Sterling) can outdraw legacy networks without needing to be a stand-up comedian.
- 46:10TV is in irreversible decline among younger viewers who are throwing out their sets entirely.
- 46:46Cable companies have monopolies and fucked people for years; now people have other options like Netflix and Hulu.
- 47:27Appointment television still exists for live shows like Saturday Night Live and Game of Thrones, but the model is shifting.
- 48:02Networks like FX make great TV but will need to figure out how to exist in a digital world over the next five years.
- 48:38HBO is a cultivated brand, but casual viewers of Two and a Half Men won't seek out those shows on digital platforms.
- 49:04Cable channels outside the top 30 networks have no clear path to profitability in the streaming era.
- 49:22A kid who started a sports podcast in his basement from nothing now sells out live shows at Caroline's without being a stand-up comedian.
- 49:41Tim brings up Jim Sterling, a YouTube video game commentator he watches, as an example of someone succeeding without needing to become something else.
- 50:05People want to force creators into other mediums—books into movies, YouTube guys into live acts—but the content works as is.
- 51:08Tim notes it's interesting that people now buy tickets just because they like someone, whereas he builds his comedy with jokes and earned skills.
HBONetflixJim SterlingThe WireThe SopranosMatt LeBlancFXGame of ThronesTwo and a Half MenSaturday Night Live