All the Y2K scare scenarios – part of television listings and dramatic plot lines for more than a year – have come back to bite the entertainment industry.

Tuesday, December 21, 1999

All the Y2K scare scenarios – part of television listings and dramatic plot lines for more than a year – have come back to bite the entertainment industry.

Most of America has decided to stay home for the dawn of 2000 – and many high-priced party plans are going wanting.

All over the country, traditionally sold out shows are getting canceled because no one wants to pay the outrageous ticket price to hear a headliner sing anywhere.

Hotels, restaurants and airlines report that cash cow celebrations they thought they would host for the new millennium are not only not selling quickly – people just aren’t buying them at all.

Making a big deal out of the new millennium’s dark side probably sounded like a good idea in late 1998. After all, Jan. 1, 2000 probably seemed a good distance away.

But now that the historic date is approaching, many Americans have decided not to take any chances. They are more likely to buy army rations than a ticket for a millennium cruise.

There might not be anything to worry about as the calendar changes from 1999 to 2000, but there can be no doubt that television and other mediums have a great deal of influence on how Americans view their world.

All it took was a few well-placed ponderings and a disaster scenario to keep a few million people home and to cost an industry a whole lot of money.

Maybe Americans watch a little too much television.