He posits the death of scheduling.
Us schedulers know it is far more than that.
He posits the demise of the scheduling role in the streaming era.
Preston BeckmanGetty
Us skedders know it will become even more important (and more on that later).
An ecosystem was introduced.
I knew scheduling was not dead; it was evolving and Im not alone in thinking this.
The essence of what a scheduler does remains vital.
Sara Burns, who programmed and scheduled several Discovery channels over her career, posted this on LinkedIn.
With her permission I want to share this passionate response to the notion that scheduling is irrelevant.
We are the ADVOCATES for the viewers.
They are the customers.
We are the BAD GUYS.
Yes, sometimes we have to cancel shows because they dont hit ROI targets.
We can be the HEROES, too.
We are the TRANSLATORS.
Look this is the business of entertainment.
Are there really more executive scheduling jobs out there, well no!
But this is certainly not the end of me or folks with my background.
We have so many more tricks up our sleeves.
Pretty much sums it up.
Schedulers are always the smartest people in the room.
They are excellent communicators.
Schedulers have no personal agenda, unlike many of the players they interact with.
They do not hold back and are willing to take the heat.
They have less brown on their nose than anyone else in the room.
I was laughed at.
Several years ago my good friend Melva Benoit and I met with marketing execs at Netflix.
We pitched them linear channels (FAST channels) as part of their service.
Um…
As a scheduler I was often lambasted for cancelling shows too quickly.
Err….
Streaming was going to service the niche audience.
Now you hear more and more about broad and inclusive.
And then theresVirgin River,The Lincoln Lawyer,The Night Agent… in other words,networkshows.
Cord cutting was cool.
Now streaming is becoming more expensive than the legacy delivery systems.
Its all regressing to the mean.
Some streamers are starting to understand how the scheduling skill set applies to their endeavor.
I was once approached about being a strategic scheduling at a streamer.
Rather than scheduling on its last legs, maybe its due for a renaissance.
Imagine a room full of baboons throwing their shit against the wall, hoping that something sticks.
Now multiply that by about six.
If you introduce a scheduler to the room, I guarantee you, far more shit will stick.
