During her appearance at the Banff World Media Festival, the executive revealed that a universe of 600 shows was not convenient for modern consumers. Warner Bros. Television Group's Chairman and CEO, Channing Dungey, candidly stated that the era of having such a vast array of shows was not conducive to the TV-viewing experience.
"The stark reality is that Peak TV, with 600 shows being churned out, wasn't really beneficial for the business," Dungey told the delegates at the festival during her keynote address. Her comments on the decline of Peak TV came amidst the industry grappling with escalating content costs and a contracting market.
"I don't mean to belittle the fact that as the number of shows decreases, fewer jobs become available, making employment harder to come by," Dungey acknowledged. However, she added that TV viewers found it increasingly difficult to navigate through the maze of Peak TV's vast offerings.
"There's simply no way for anyone to keep up with all of it, to watch everything, and that lack of critical mass can be frustrating and disappointing," she told the Banff delegates. The result is a continued tightening of belts in Hollywood.
"The business is contracting slightly, leading to fewer overall deals, and I believe prices are also coming down, which is perhaps intriguing in its own way," Dungey opined.
A veteran of the Banff festival, Dungey made an informal appearance in 2021 shortly after being appointed to helm the Warner Bros. TV group. In 2018, while serving as the president of ABC Entertainment, she delivered a keynote address at Banff, followed by a brief stint at Netflix as Vice President of Original Series.
At WBTV, Dungey oversees a TV studio closely aligned with Max, a streaming platform, within the Warner Bros. business, now a part of Warner Bros. Discovery. "For me, a great story remains a great story regardless of the platform," she said, emphasizing that her team ideally considers pitches without being predisposed to either linear TV or streaming from the outset.
She pointed to the upcoming Max medical procedural "The Pitt," helmed by ER alums John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill, with each episode premiering weekly. "It will evoke a sense of old-school broadcasts in the streaming era," Dungey observed.
Overall, she oversees the production of nearly 90 scripted, unscripted, and animated series across streaming platforms, cable, and broadcast networks. Dungey revealed that Apple TV+ is eager for more episodes of "Ted Lasso," adding, "Jason Sudeikis is open to the idea, but he wants to ensure it's the right concept, which I fully appreciate."
When it comes to the prospect of a "Friends" reboot, Dungey was skeptical. "I believe it would be extremely challenging to recreate another 'Friends' and still call it 'Friends,'" she said, noting the difficulties in finding new versions of the series' iconic characters. While she didn't rule out an updated version of "The West Wing," she admitted, "I'm not sure if this is the right time for that," given the current political landscape in the United States.
Dungey's appearance in Banff coincided with Warner Bros. Discovery's ongoing efforts to expand Max's reach in key international markets and bolster its creative pipeline across its film and TV studios.
"I see my role as the head of the group as holding an umbrella over our studio, shielding it from distractions and allowing everyone underneath to focus solely on what they do best," Dungey concluded.
