Back to the future, is now.
I also consider myself to be a pragmatic person, I don’t necessarily jump on a tech trend just because it’s the new shiny thing. I tend to shy away from what’s “popular” and I also take a “wait and see” approach to most things, including and especially tech stuff.
I also grew up in a tech savvy family. My dad has built his career in tech and training, we have always had a computer. My sister’s first word was “Puter” and we had Prodigy before it was known as the “net” or “web”. So I definitely don’t come at this issue from the same perspective as you, but I totally get your concerns.
If things stay the way they are today, I would totally agree with you and share your concerns. But, things aren’t staying the way they are today and in 5-10 years the way we consume entertainment is going to completely evolve, in some ways we can see today and in some ways I think have yet to be conceived.
But, in the not so distant future this is how I see entertainment being consumed in the average household;
You will have a TV device connected to the internet, via wireless or cable modem not unlike today. Only difference is, the wire connects you to the internet, not the cable company exclusively. You turn on your TV and a menu appears, not unlike you see at a hotel or through your current TV today, except this is the default setting. And you choose what you want to watch, from full length movies, to serial programming running 30-60m in length, to shorts like shown on Youtube. You can choose by genre, title, actor, showrunner, anything really. Depending on the box you choose, you can game or do other internet things. But what is offered to you will be based on need, and preference.
The only real difference from today is, you choose, every time, what you want to watch and when. You can subscribe to content and packages of content so that it’s all there when you want. Most options will be paid like today (This will replace what today is DirecTV, Dish, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, etc… although if these companies are smart some of them will still be providing content using this new model). Benefit of this is; You don’t like one distributor, you change. You aren’t forced by geography or physical location to put up with a company you don’t like.
Appointment TV will be gone, BUT certain content providers will offer incentives to their most loyal and dedicated viewers by setting up chats and exclusive content to people who “join in” when the newest episodes of content are first made available. This in essence will be once weekly “appointment” viewing, for those who wish to view it at the same time as other’s. I see this being most popular in genre’s like Sci-Fi/Fantasy.
Re-runs won’t exist, so “residuals” will disappear in the sense we know them today. But, if the new union is smart, the new contracts for media will be based on views, clicks or some combination of the above. However, I don’t see it being on a single click/view basis, but in packages. I.E. You get paid initially for the first week of the content being available which includes so many clicks/views and then in increments of hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands you get paid additionally, similar to what residuals are today. The more clicks/views you get within the first days, weeks, & months, the more you make, with a decreasing value the further out you get from the initial viewing. Furthermore, you still have DVD/Blu-Ray sales after an entire season airs, OR just like today, people can pay a little more and instantly own the content right then and there.
You will get paid for your total involvement in a show, if you are participating in additional content, you will get paid for it. Although it may be included in your contract as a series regular just like I suspect it is today. Stars will of course still get more, but under this model the actual cost of production/value doesn’t change. The only thing which changes is distribution.
What we think of as “New Media” today will still be around in it’s current format, but it won’t replace hour long serials or half hour comedies, it will still cater to younger viewers. IMO, it will still mostly be short format comedy that is easier to view on a computer/tablet/phone and easier to share with friends and family. It will serve as ancillary content for serial shows who’s viewers want more in depth story (like Heroes) or actors/producers who want to cater to that demographic/need to build a reel, like today.
This to me is exciting. It puts control in the hands of the viewers, and right now it has opened up limitless possibilities for content creators and anyone else who has been traditionally shut out from the current system. Yes, I believe when things shake out, there will still be larger distributors with more money, but I also believe this shift will always make it easier for anyone who wants to get their foot in the door to do it, cheaper and faster than in the past.
We’re not talking Youtube content becoming the norm on TV’s, we’re talking about the content we see today being delivered via the internet or cable modem with the possibility to make everything more connected and interactive for all the people in the world who like that content to connect/interact with each other. 
Yes in the next few years, it’s gonna be weird until things sift out more. But ultimately I believe that just as many opportunities will be there for actors, if not more. I also see the whole industry evolving even more in the sense that multi-hyphenates are gonna become the norm, and everyone will have skills in multiple realms of production. Actually, if you look at the most successful people in the industry, most of them are multi-hyphenates already.
What do you think? Do you think this is where we’re headed? Or does the future look completely different?
Long time no talkie!