I think you're right on one end. A lot of TV has been shot with sub standard cameras for years (DVXs/HVXs/EX1s ect). Especially reality TV! It's the film and commercial industry that is far more specific about camera needs (Alexa or Epic usually these days). It's also the film/commercial industry that has the larger budgets (for the most part). The GH4 will be great, and I've shot TV episodes on a 5D MK3 for a few different shows. But I've also shot on an Epic and Alexa I can tell you there is no comparison. No matter how far the tech goes with the prosumer market, it will never match what the pro market has to offer and there will always be a need to fly a 6K RAW camera shooting at 96fps from a copter to get "that shot". That said... I think for 75% of the aerial work out there the GH4 will be adequate assuming the censor in the production models is as clean as the sample videos. And, flying a CS6 hexa with a zemuse is far more portable and way less intimidating than a CS8 with the Movi hanging underneath. Just my two cents...
From what little experience I have in this area, I would predict that overcoming the prevailing orthodoxy towards large cameras and the related systems is going to be a big challenge. But that said, there is a huge amount of opportunity in mid range productions, and smaller ones too.
Completely agree! There has been plenty of national commercials and TV shows that have included gopro footage. They even used a couple gopro shots in the latest Hobbit film. I recently shot a short film with some very recognizable names and the opening shot for the trailer was filmed using my gopro on a dji phantom with a zenmuse. I captured every other shot in the film with our RED Epic/Zeiss package. When people watch the trailer, they always compliment me on the opening shot, because it's so different and looks like it could be a real heli shot. I think the opportunities in the small-mid range productions are going to be far more common and lucrative in most markets. There is also a huge plus to being able to take your rig out yourself and get some amazing footage with it. Most "heavy lifter" setups I've seen used on features/commercials have a whole crew that goes with them and require a considerable amount of setup time. I also wanted to mention, it's good to see another norther CA person on these forums. I'm newly registered here, but have spent quite some time reading through numerous threads (many of them your's) and have learned so much from this community already.