, which, after several years of turbulence, has carved itself a position as a leading destination for black female viewers. However, with the threat of cord-cutting and powerful new players entering the content arena, the network will need to adapt to keep up with the evolution of the TV business.
The audience that was willing to listen, and upon which OWN has built itself since, was one that had been addressed far too little on broadcast television: one that is predominantly black and female. “In those early days we really had to sit with writers and hear from them what their intention is and let them know that it was going to be a place where they were going to have a lot of artistic freedom, that we cared as much about protecting their vision and their intention as we did hoping that it would translate into a ratings bonanza or worrying about what critics would say about it,” explains Gardini.
According to media consultant Brad Adgate, OWN may be “well situated right now” in the media landscape with its audience representing the “most regular viewers of television,” but in the long run the network will have to have “a foot in both worlds” and migrate to the streaming space if it wants to avoid a loss in subscribers, ratings and, eventually, revenue.
Perry and the network are hoping that in “David Makes Man,” they have found a show that will attract a more general audience, and bring in some male viewers. With the McCraney show and the upcoming DuVernay anthology series “Cherish the Day,” OWN is putting more shows on the air than it ever has. As McCraney testifies, working with Winfrey and the OWN brand is still appealing for creators who have a specific audience and purpose in mind for their work in mind.
Tell em' Mammy!!!
Flexibility paying off OWN TV DavidMakesMan
Goat😍