Therefore, the stakes are higher. A feature film producer who has been granted a 200 million dollar budget had better deliver an audience, and deliver it in spades. A telemovie producer, however, working much faster with much less time and money, has fewer expectations. Most telemovies have a built-in audience - the viewers of the network's regular drama or comedy productions. Though a network will often spin-off into outside advertising, such as trade publications, popular magazines, websites and billboards, they do not advertise in cinemas, nor do they have to pay exorbitant fees to advertise on other networks.
More recently, the rise of cable television has given birth to a change in the made-for-television film format. Studios used to be the only companies producing these films: as such, the average made-for-television film was created in way to meet a fixed-running...
Since companies like
HBO have been creating made-for television product, they are not hampered by commercial interference. Therefore, they may screen a film uninterrupted. The production of such films has been gradually increasing amongst cable companies who wish to make a name for "original content." Networks now spend less time and
money on their product, leading to lower and lower budgets, sub-standard writing and emphasis on quick turnover. Such standards influence the
genre as a whole, and is mostly likely responsible for the
assumptions of inferiority about made-for-television movies.
Works Cited
Abramson, A. The History of Television, 1942 to 2000. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2003.
Hilmes, M. The Television History Book. London: British…
