The choices available to the American television viewer have become, as industry observers like to note, rather abundant. So abundant, in fact, that the companies competing for those viewers have begun to pursue them in places that would have seemed improbable not so long ago.
This week brought fresh evidence of the trend, as X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, announced an arrangement to stream Major League Baseball games, while Amazon's Prime Video secured rights to broadcast the Emmy Awards — a ceremony that, for decades, resided comfortably on traditional broadcast networks.
The news emerged against the backdrop of Advertising Week New York, where the comedian Trevor Noah offered what might be called the obvious explanation for why this is happening.
"People are inundated with so many choices on what to watch, they need a reason to watch you," Mr. Noah said during a panel on Wednesday. "That's why sports and award shows like the Oscars are so successful — people need to watch those."
(What he did not say, though it hung in the air, is that almost nothing else on television qualifies as appointment viewing anymore.)
The shift represents a continuation of a migration that has been under way for several years now, as streaming platforms and social media companies have sought to acquire the kinds of programming that deliver audiences who are, to use the preferred term, "leaned in." Live events — sports, awards shows, the occasional election — remain among the few things Americans will watch at a scheduled hour rather than whenever they get around to it.
For advertisers, the appeal is not difficult to discern. A viewer who has chosen to watch a baseball game in real time is a viewer who cannot fast-forward through the commercials.
Whether this makes the viewer happier is, perhaps, a separate question.
Original story published in campaignlive.com: "X’s MLB Gametime, Prime Video’s Emmy Awards deal: broadcast entertainment is shifting to social and streaming platforms | Campaign US"