Behind the walls of Jericho

A few weeks ago, I wrote about QTrax and the media industry can't grasp the new internet age. Once again, I've found myself on the frontline in the battle between creator and consumer.

What now seems like months ago, I saw an advert on some non-descript cable channel for a post apocalyptic drama series set in the US. Mainly because in it, Lennie James could be seen looking into the sky as some balistic missiles were being launched. James played Sol in Snatch the celebrated (by a narrow demographic) millenial Guy Ritchie flick. I like some of the other parts he's played (Alan Erasmus in 24 hour Party People), and I was happy to see James had landed himself a high profile role in a major US TV drama, escaping the confines of British lad-flick association.

I completely forgot about it afterwards. Cable channels have unfathomable scheduling, which make no effort to conform with regular viewing patterns. Trying to watch something in sequence requires the researching skills of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, encyclopedic knowledge of the TV Times, and an intermediate grasp of calculus. Because of my fairly scheduled week, I have to make time for a regular TV series, and the only one I can be bothered with at the moment is the improving Ashes to Ashes.

For some reason, it moved to the front of my mind again today, and I proceeded to check Wikipedia and read the entire plot synopsis for every episode so far. It sounded fascinating - the fall of the United States, nuclear armageddon, character driven storylines and X-Files type conspiracy theories. The first series DVD release for R2 is actually 10th March, but according to Amazon, this will be £39.99 in the shops.

Now I don't know about anyone else, but blowing shy of forty sheets on a TV series I haven't even seen seems a bit risky. But according to Wikipedia, all episodes for the new second series are available FREE on the CBS website. "Ahh! This is just like iPlayer!" I thought, and before you could say "streaming online content" I was clicking on the first episode of the new series.

Oh dear. I clicked on the play button, it briefly came to life only to be interrupted by a very badly recorded 'sorry this content is not available' message. It would appear that only people in the USA can access it, CBS using some kind of fancy IP address blocker to stop my godamned limey mind from melting at the sight of television not yet deemed suitable for those of us across the Atlantic.

I was totally infuriated, some petty rights issue meant I couldn't see the program before buying it. Is that unfair? To have some idea about what you're spending your money on? I swiftly fired up BitTorrent, searched for the same episode I should have seen on the CBS site and promptly downloaded and watched it.

I thought it was brilliant. And I am going to buy the boxed set next Monday.

Amongst other things, I religiously watch the web version of Countdown With Keith Olbermann every day on the MSNBC website. And despite only visiting the USA for a week in 1994, I can tell you that Vicks will give you the best nights sleep since before the rooster went blind. That remembering first steps and first smiles should be inextricably linked with getting your child's first pair of Mickey Mouse ears. That Duracell batteries are used in a lot of firemen's walkie talkies. And that reponsibility is called "Liberty Mutual" under a certain set of circumstances that I can't quite recall right now. How do I know? Because I've sat through the adverts, stupid!

So I have to ask, what was wrong with putting Jericho on the ITV website and splicing every ten minutes with a promo for Yorkshire Tea? Playing the video on a non-fast forwardable player so we couldn't skip them, it's no great cross to bear, and anyone who actually likes the programme will be happy to do it.

Over the last few years, we've seen Firefly, Farscape and Futurama be cancelled by networks who've failed to market their shows correctly, only for them to be resurrected in some form thanks to grass roots movement. Hell, even the fans of Jericho managed to get a second season after sending 20 tons of peanuts to CBS. What the networks need to realise is that these shows CAN be successful, they just need to think about who their viewers are and how best to target them. Genuine fans aren't going to mind streaming episodes containing adverts if it's easier to do than illegally downloading it. I would have done it with Jericho if they'd made it possible. And I would have been able to watch it my own leisure, instead of when it happened to be on television.

My message to the TV networks is this. Think about who is watching your programmes. If your key demographic are viewers aged 21-35, then think about how they live their lives. Invest in targeting your programming (and therefore your advertising) directly to the people who want to watch it, instead of inconveniencing them by making them be in the house at a certain place at a certain time. It's the future - I've tasted it!