The battle between old TV and new TV continues to be fought, with the protagonists actually the same companies fighting themselves.

The problem obviously exists because when it come to money, the Web just doesn’t pay for itself, and until that changes, we’ll get ludicrous cases such as what is happening to Gossip Girl.

It’s hard to imagine an example that sums up the conflicting ambitions and tensions within the TV business better than the latest announcement about Gossip Girl.

Cw Network

The show currently appears on the CW network (co-owned by CBS and Warner Brothers).

The news from the network is that fans will no longer be able to watch episodes online, as they have been since it started airing last fall.

Instead, CW would like viewers of the show — which is all about a girl and her blog, and was effectively created in part to piggyback on the online habits of its target audience — to watch it only on television.

The Meaning Of Irony?

That’s ironic enough, of course – a show that’s all about how young people are turning to the Web and social media, but you can’t watch it online. 

The reasoning behind the decision is even more illuminating, however: in effect, the network is saying that the show has become too popular with fans online, and they would like to shift some of those eyeballs to the tube instead. 

Why? Because that’s where the advertisers are.

Short Term Vision

Advertising on TV still brings in far more revenue per viewer than online, and CW needs to build up the former at the expense of the latter.

In reality, of course, the network may end up irritating the core group of viewers — many of whom enjoy the freedom of watching a stream online whenever they want — and the show could go down the drain regardless.

Written by Mathew Ingram, a technology journalist. Catch his views on the intersection between media and the web at MathewIngram.com. This post is licensed under the Creative Commons.

Have Something To Say?