Do you know ANYONE watching LESS television?
Didn't think so.
I don't see appliance stores going dark. The lots at American and Colders seem fairly full. Same for Best Buy and Circuit City.
I don't see landfills brimming with discarded sets.
If anything, the people I know don't have enough time to see all the shows they want.
Which is exactly my point.
"Figures Show TV Viewers Decreasing" screams the "Time" magazine headline this morning. It may not be true, but it sure snags you by the orbs.
"In TV's worst spring in recent memory," the article says, " a startling number of Americans drifted away from television the past two months: More than 2.5 million fewer people were watching ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox than at the same time last year, statistics show."
Then comes the money shot: "Scariest of all for the networks, however, is the idea that many people are now making their own television schedules. The industry isn't fully equipped to keep track of them, and as a result the networks are scrambling to hold on to the nearly $8.8 billion they collected during last spring's ad-buying season."
It's not that we're watching LESS. We're just doing it when we want to, and the industry doesn't know how to measure it.
TiVo and DVR shows only get weighed into the Nielsens if they're viewed within 24 hours of airing. If not, it's as if you never wasted that hour seeing "Ugly Betty."
This ratings business isn't a perfect science. Need more proof?
Nielsen also doesn't count I-Pod or computer downloaded shows, either.
I don't doubt we all have things to do--kids' soccer, a child's school play, the siren song of the computer with endless "YouTube" downloads. There are only so many hours in the day. But most folks I know seem to work in all of the above, and then some, while still staying conversant about "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy" via the new-fashioned time-shift.
The networks have unique issues, for sure: they don't have the latitude to be as adult as cable offerings. Shows cost a lot, which is why they only make a certain number, to be dolloped out only during "the sweeps" (that's why many of your faves go away for weeks at a time--and the Big Four wonder why we lose interest in "Lost" or "Heroes" after they get us hooked?). Speciality cable channels suck away those who'd rather get home repair tips, a new chili recipe, or a fresh take on a modern marvel.
The folks who should really be worried are advertisers. In the course of managing the fine art of Nielsen Meter Massage, the networks are killing their own products with momentum-crushing hiatuses that remove hot shows from the prime time grid for what feels like an entire high school semester. Numbers sink, and the Big Four aren't getting as big of a bang for their buck.
Toss in the fact we, the people, can now push a button and make entire blocks of commercials vanish and, well, it's pretty obvious that the ad industry has some 'splainin' to do.
It's a great time to be a t-v viewer. A myriad of programs on cable and satellite. Content that appeals to all tastes. High def to make shows/events come alive. The ability to time shift, so we can see what we want, when we want, as often as we care to see it. The ability to be your own editor to zap away slow parts/annoying ads.
No, it's not that we're watching less television--far from it. The power is in the hands (and remotes) of the viewers. The industry just has to figure out a way to count us. We're out there, watching.
I have an ass-groove dug deep into my couch to prove it.
Read the "Time" article right here:
1 comment:
I totally agree. Maybe the network guys will realize that instead of (OVER)paying sitcom actors $500,000 an episode and constantly showing us repeats, they adjust the salaries and make a few more to keep us there.
Ach, that won't happen.
;)
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