I don't even own a mobile phone or tablet, but I sometimes do the
puzzles in the daily newspaper (an actual printed and delivered copy!)
while watching TV in the evenings, although mainly during quiz shows
where what is happening on-screen isn't really important since you can
still hear the questions, and the answers given by contestants who are
usually dumber than tree stumps.


Netflix Is Telling Writers to Dumb Down Shows
Since Viewers Are on Their Phones
---------------------------------------------
Amid a push to perfect 'casual viewing,' creatives say
streaming execs are requiring them to remove nuance and
visual cues, and do things like announce when characters
enter a room.

Compelling content can be hard to find on Netflix these
days, and a new report suggests the streaming giant
wants it that way.

Executives are pushing writers to develop simpler, less
complex scripts to keep distracted viewers engaged,
according to N+1 magazine. Multiple screenwriters report
that company executives are sending back scripts with
requests to narrate the action, such as announcing when
characters enter the room.

Netflix knows we are on our phones all the time, with as
many as 94% of people tinkering on their devices while
watching TV, according to a 2019 study commissioned by
Facebook. Dumbed-down scripts that lack nuance and visual
cues can help viewers with divided attention follow along,
making them less likely to turn the program off.

One example of black-and-white dialogue cited by N+1 is
the 2024 Lindsay Lohan Netflix flick Irish Wish. At one
point, Lohan tells her love interest, James: "We spent a
day together. I admit it was a beautiful day filled with
dramatic vistas and romantic rain, but that doesn't give
you the right to question my life choices. Tomorrow, I'm
marrying Paul Kennedy."

Here, Lohan describes the visuals ("dramatic vistas and
romantic rain"), which an engaged viewer would remember
but a distracted one wouldn't have seen. She then
reiterates her intention to marry, a key plot point.
James responds in kind with a retort fit for a telegram:
"Fine. That will be the last you see of me because after
this job is over, I'm off to Bolivia to photograph an
endangered tree lizard."

In fairness, we wouldn't necessarily expect hard-hitting
narratives from a rom-com. But the N+1 report lines up
with a similar account from actress and producer Justine
Batemen of Family Ties. "I've heard from showrunners who
are given notes from the streamers that 'this isn't
second screen enough,'" she told The Hollywood Reporter
in 2023. "Meaning the viewer's primary screen is their
phone and the laptop, and they don't want anything on
your show to distract them from their primary screen
because if they get distracted, they might look up, be
confused, and go turn it off."

Though Netflix could still produce Oscar-nominated titles
like The Irishman (2020) and Don't Look Up (2021), it now
seems focused on perfecting the art of background TV.
Bateman used the term "visual muzak," or the equivalent
of elevator music for TV.

Some viewers have begun noticing simplistic, even awkward,
dialogue. One took to Reddit to ask if The Perfect Couple
(2024) was written by a human or AI. Perhaps if audiences
do not demand more complex scripts, it could be easier for
Netflix to replace a larger portion of its scriptwriting
with AI.

"I had actually forgotten I had watched The Perfect Couple,"
TV journalist Manori Ravindran tells the BBC. Is the golden
age of TV writing over, steadily being replaced with a
never-ending stream of forgettable, premium background
content?

Netflix is also encouraging viewers to ditch the living
room TV and only watch content on their mobile devices,
chief product officer Eunice Kim told Fortune in a 2023
interview. Mobile devices offer more personalized
advertising experiences, whereas a living room TV
experience is more communal. Kim described the Netflix
mobile app as a "Swiss army knife to grab users' attention
in different ways."

The company is rapidly building out bespoke advertising
tech that gives businesses more flexibility and control over
which users see their ads and when. Over 50% of new Netflix
users are opting for the $6.99/month subscription with ads,
which is less than half the cost of the regular standard
plan ($15.49/month) and much cheaper than the top-tier
premium plan ($22.99/month).



<https://au.pcmag.com/video-streaming-services/109083/netflix-is-telling-writers-to-dumb-down-shows-since-viewers-are-on-their-phones>

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Your Name wrote:

I don't even own a mobile phone or tablet, but I sometimes do the
puzzles in the daily newspaper (an actual printed and delivered copy!)
while watching TV in the evenings, although mainly during quiz shows
where what is happening on-screen isn't really important since you can
still hear the questions, and the answers given by contestants who are usually dumber than tree stumps.

I don't have a mobile phone either, but I do have a tablet, but I use
it off-line since I don't have wifi at home, so I'm in a similar boat.

Netflix Is Telling Writers to Dumb Down Shows
Since Viewers Are on Their Phones
---------------------------------------------
Amid a push to perfect 'casual viewing,' creatives say
streaming execs are requiring them to remove nuance and
visual cues, and do things like announce when characters
enter a room.

So they basically want to go back to audio-only aka radio
shows.

Compelling content can be hard to find on Netflix these
days, and a new report suggests the streaming giant
wants it that way.

Executives are pushing writers to develop simpler, less
complex scripts to keep distracted viewers engaged,
according to N+1 magazine. Multiple screenwriters report
that company executives are sending back scripts with
requests to narrate the action, such as announcing when
characters enter the room.

I'd think raiding the archives of old radio scripts would be the
cheap way to go for these executives. Just have an editor
go through to update the slang and references from the
olden times to more up-to-date ones.

Although those old scripts may be too complex for them
too and need to be simplified for the current masses.

Netflix knows we are on our phones all the time, with as
many as 94% of people tinkering on their devices while
watching TV, according to a 2019 study commissioned by
Facebook. Dumbed-down scripts that lack nuance and visual
cues can help viewers with divided attention follow along,
making them less likely to turn the program off.

One example of black-and-white dialogue cited by N+1 is
the 2024 Lindsay Lohan Netflix flick Irish Wish. At one
point, Lohan tells her love interest, James: "We spent a
day together. I admit it was a beautiful day filled with
dramatic vistas and romantic rain, but that doesn't give
you the right to question my life choices. Tomorrow, I'm
marrying Paul Kennedy."

Here, Lohan describes the visuals ("dramatic vistas and
romantic rain"), which an engaged viewer would remember
but a distracted one wouldn't have seen. She then
reiterates her intention to marry, a key plot point.
James responds in kind with a retort fit for a telegram:
"Fine. That will be the last you see of me because after
this job is over, I'm off to Bolivia to photograph an
endangered tree lizard."

And people are paying for this tripe?

In fairness, we wouldn't necessarily expect hard-hitting
narratives from a rom-com. But the N+1 report lines up
with a similar account from actress and producer Justine
Batemen of Family Ties. "I've heard from showrunners who
are given notes from the streamers that 'this isn't
second screen enough,'" she told The Hollywood Reporter
in 2023. "Meaning the viewer's primary screen is their
phone and the laptop, and they don't want anything on
your show to distract them from their primary screen
because if they get distracted, they might look up, be
confused, and go turn it off."

Though Netflix could still produce Oscar-nominated titles
like The Irishman (2020) and Don't Look Up (2021), it now
seems focused on perfecting the art of background TV.
Bateman used the term "visual muzak," or the equivalent
of elevator music for TV.

Some viewers have begun noticing simplistic, even awkward,
dialogue. One took to Reddit to ask if The Perfect Couple
(2024) was written by a human or AI. Perhaps if audiences
do not demand more complex scripts, it could be easier for
Netflix to replace a larger portion of its scriptwriting
with AI.

"I had actually forgotten I had watched The Perfect Couple,"
TV journalist Manori Ravindran tells the BBC. Is the golden
age of TV writing over, steadily being replaced with a
never-ending stream of forgettable, premium background
content?

I read the book The Perfect Couple (thanks for the link to the
book list, Robin!). and it constantly shifted timelines and characters'
point of view to where it was sometimes difficult to keep up with
the when and who. I hate to think how the writers adapted it
for the screen *and* made it less complex at the same time
and kept the feel of the original plot.

Netflix is also encouraging viewers to ditch the living
room TV and only watch content on their mobile devices,
chief product officer Eunice Kim told Fortune in a 2023
interview. Mobile devices offer more personalized
advertising experiences, whereas a living room TV
experience is more communal. Kim described the Netflix
mobile app as a "Swiss army knife to grab users' attention
in different ways."

The company is rapidly building out bespoke advertising
tech that gives businesses more flexibility and control over
which users see their ads and when. Over 50% of new Netflix
users are opting for the $6.99/month subscription with ads,
which is less than half the cost of the regular standard
plan ($15.49/month) and much cheaper than the top-tier
premium plan ($22.99/month).

I can understand why rat-ers have been dropping the "service"
at those prices. And those prices again make me wonder why someone
would actally pay for it then not actually watch (and pay attention)
to what they've paid for. (A fool and his money...)

And if these "viewers/subscribers aren't paying much attention to
the content they're paying for. how much less attention (if any)
they're paying to the force-fed advertising they're being shown.

<https://au.pcmag.com/video-streaming-services/109083/netflix-is-telling-writers-to-dumb-down-shows-since-viewers-are-on-their-phones>

Bottom line is that the typical subscriber isn't getting much value
for his/her money, and the advertisers aren't getting much value for
the money they're paying for their ad placements.

The only ones making out in this deal is The Netflix being paid from
both sides.

Nyssa, who wonders how long the scam can be profitable before
the viewers and advertisers catch on

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)