I agree with you that there are stories that are better suited for alternate formats. But I don't think the death of the big media producers has anything to do

I agree with you that there are stories that are better suited for alternate formats. But I don't think the death of the big media producers has anything to do with that one way or the other. The markets for that kind of thing aren't the same markets the big media folks, so the new markets can grow regardless of the old ones. Kickstarter and the like are the likely funding venues, online is the likely distribution mechanism. Toes are being dipped. Jane Espenson just funded a season of her webseries on Kickstarter. Dan Harmon and Charlie Kaufman just launched a kickstarter for a $200,000 art film project yesterday. Those are some names who have enough clout to get things done otherwise. But maybe not enough to get the things they want done most (almost no one has that kinda clout). Kickstarter helps them get some of what they want. Don't count on the big media producers dying out, by the way. They're smart, they're connected, and they are survivors. They've been through more startup like situations than almost anyone in silicon valley, and they're the ones that lived through it. Don't underestimate them. TV and movies won't be like the music business. They saw it, and they learned the lessons, even if you don't think they did.