Pressed that the handling might have effected the way its audience views the show, Tassler disagreed.
Advertisement
“The backdrop of the new season will once again be a TV business that continues to change at a very rapid pace, and that’s fine by us”, Tassler said from the Beverly Hilton stage. “More people are watching CBS now [across all platforms] than were watching 11 years ago”. At one point during her half-hour session, she suggested that trying to make the distinction between a traditional television company and a streaming one “misses the point”, noting that in order to subsist in the courageous new world everyone needs to be both. Praising him as a “once in a generation talent”, she said, “He’s the smartest guy in the room” and promised he’ll deliver interviews of substance. The latest to do that was CBS Chairman Nina Tassler today.
With the ever-increasing number of DC Comics-based shows on multiple networks, perhaps it was inevitable, but it was still noteworthy when CBS chose to program their new series Supergirl right up against Gotham on FOX this fall, with both airing Mondays at 8:00pm. While ratings still matter, she pointed out that digital footprint carries significant value – acknowledging the impact Corden has made with his “Carpool Karaoke” and other video efforts. “And they did”, she said. “That happens.” She was far less candid about the slides for summer series Under the Dome and Extant.
As network executives grapple with an ever more competitive marketplace, Tassler said networks owning shows is key to their success, because it gives them control and flexibility in on-demand licensing and worldwide sales that have become so crucial to profitability.
Things got a little awkward when Tassler was asked about the ending of Season 6 of The Good Wife, where Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi had to be CGI’d into a scene together. It was the first time that Alicia and Kalinda had shared a scene in years, but the issue is that they did not share it in actuality.
Advertisement
Tassler called the final scene between Kalinda and Alicia “a very satisfying ending for the relationship between those two characters”, saying, “I stand behind how Robert and Michelle [King] produce their show”. CBS is also seeing higher retransmission revenues.
