Variety: Burning TV Questions for 2025

Story from Variety:

As the industry was rocked last year by layoffs, budget cuts, runaway production, a decline in volume and an overall malaise, one mantra kept popping up: “Survive ‘til ’25!” It was a bit of a hopeful rhyme, as Hollywood looked for some light at the end of this turbulent tunnel.

Well, 2025 is here. And there indeed are some hopeful signs in the air: The broadcast networks are coming off a promising fall, boasting several new breakout performers (“High Potential,” “Matlock” atop that list). A bevy of hit shows are finally returning to our screens with new seasons after a long delay — more on that in a moment. The post-Hollywood strikes shakeout seems to be stabilizing. And there’s a sense that maybe we’ve seen the worst of things — after all, how much more can the industry cut without hitting bone?

Maybe don’t answer that. Because let’s face it, “Survive ‘til ‘25” was always a bit too optimistic. This generational shift of how content is produced, delivered and consumed is still in mid-transition. There’s plenty of lingering legacy media (you know, the stuff that actually made gobs of money in the glory days) still holding on. And now there’s a new Trump administration that promises to stir plenty of chaos and anxiety in the coming year.

There are plenty of burning questions facing a business in transition; as we hit the quarter century mark (already!), here are a few of them to keep in mind on the TV side this year.

What will happen to basic cable?

This promises to be the most anticipated question of the year, as NBCUniversal sheds its once-mighty cablers like USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, Syfy, E! and Golf Channel into a separate entity — currently dubbed “SpinCo” — while Bravo remains in the parent company with NBC and Peacock. Will those channels, which have already been neglected and stripped for parts, find new life now that they need to exist on their own? Or will they continue as zombie channels, as SpinCo simply siphons their dollars until the ad business completely collapses? Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery has split its assets into two, with the cable network business in its own bucket. But studios chief Channing Dungey has just taken over those channels, and many of them still supply necessary programming for the company’s streamer Max. Not all of them, however, and Warner Bros. Discovery could stand to lose a few long-dead channels. And then there’s Paramount Global, saddled with so many lifeless channels. The company’s new parent Skydance has got to figure out what to do with these once-mighty outlets, now on autopilot.

What will Paramount look like under Skydance?

Speaking of Paramount and its floundering cablers, CBS has ironically become the company’s crown jewel. Like we mentioned, broadcast is still doing OK, and CBS chief George Cheeks is still seen as the most likely survivor of the three-headed Paramount Global CEO structure once Skydance fully takes over. What that means for the businesses currently led by Chris McCarthy (like those lingering cablers) and Brian Robbins (in TV, that translates to Nickelodeon) is TBD.

What’s next for Netflix’s live ambitions?

Netflix will enter 2025 having just showcased NFL on Christmas day, followed by the kickoff of weekly WWE “Monday Night Raw” events on Jan. 6. Coming sometime in the spring will be a new live talk show from John Mulaney. Netflix’s live ambitions were particularly ramped up after its blockbuster Jake Paul/Mike Tyson fight — is there a way to match (or even top) that in 2025? And what’s the plan for a followup to the successful “The Roast of Tom Brady”?