Snark Aside, 'Sound of Music' Gives Live TV a Jolt

Though criticism and snark ran high on social media for NBC's costly The Sound of Music Live!, the network's three-hour musical spectacle attracted a lofty 18.5 million viewers

Thursday night's ratings have viewers and television-industry professionals wondering whether NBC or other networks can and will try to replicate this live approach with other musicals and entertainment programming, especially in the face of strong competition for viewers from hotshot online-streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon

"What social media has proven is that live TV is stronger than ever ..These one-off events will absolutely continue and social media will be its best friend," Natan Edelsburg, senior vice-president of social tech startup Sawhorse Media and Lost Remote social TV writer, told Mashable. "I wouldn't say the negative social sentiment was a serious problem; I'd instead say they need to up their game in producing good-quality live entertainment." Read more...