Pandora's Box

[Mr+Ripley]

  I'm currently reading a non-fiction book called Pandora's Box, and although I'm only halfway through it I thought I'd mention it on here as it may be of interest to some of you out there. The author is Peter Biskind, who some of you may know as the author of the brilliant book about the film industry, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls.

  Here, he uses his expertise to write about the TV industry & it really is very interesting. He gives a slight nod at the beginning to the big networks in America but the book is primarily about cable TV & then streaming. If you like facts & figures you'll like this, there is a lot about the huge, & frankly obscene amounts of money that has been spent all in order to keep us entertained.

  However, if you think the budgets are huge, wait until you read about the egos of the people in charge. It's made quite clear that a lot of them have no idea what they're doing & they will even say as much.

  If you're at all interested in the behind-the-scenes of TV & how it is changing, then I thoroughly recommend this book.

[Ellie_TV]

@Mr+Ripley 

Sounds interesting, I loved Easy Riders, Raging Bulls - thanks for the tip! 

[Mr+Ripley]

  @Ellie_TV  Thanks for the reply. As customers, we may complain about the amount we have to pay for subscriptions, but to be honest, after reading what I have, I'm surprised the subs are as low as they are. The amount of money being spent by all the different companies is astonishing. I realise that for Amazon, Apple & Disney, their TV branch is more of a hobby as they have more money than they know what to do with, but how Netflix survives is beyond me as they don't have the luxury of a shopping network, gadgets, or theme parks.