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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

TV abandoned in droves

15:32 / 22.10.03

The latest Nealson ratings have some sobering results: a near 20% drop in overall viewership in their prime demographics.

NY Times Article

This has left network execs puzzled, but should they be? They're questioning the Nealson data and making excuses, but ignoring the very likely possibility that what they're offering simply sucks anymore and people aren't watching.

So much TV has been reality shows for the past year or so, since their initial success. But have these shows reached their saturation of interest? I certainly don't give half a shit for them. Having seen a good chunk of the new shows recently, the only one to impress me as any good was The Handler. Joan of Arcadia was ok, but weak plotting carried only through the excellent acting of the lead girl. Already its become formulaic. Tarzan was had some cool bits to it, but I thought was also to unrealistic on Jane so quickly abaonding the man she was to marry and her police sensibilities for her hot jungle lover with sad x-model eyes. Even CSI seems to be slipping a bit, due to an overbalance on interpersonal dramas between the investigators over the cool science that made the show in the first place. It seems the only things worth wathing anymore are Angel and Law And Order reruns. So is it any wonder people are tuning out?

Or are movies, playstations, and internet time finally cutting into TV time enough to be noticed? I know I definitely get a lot more entertainment via the net than the tube anymore. That trend can only be expected to rise in popular culture as it hasn't yet reached a saturation point. What'chall think?

15:51 / 22.10.03

I think:
1. there are so many other things to do. I don't for a minute think that means kids playing softball on the beach with dad or mum pimping them down the local pub but, you're right cusm. With videos, dvd's, gameboys, playstations, and the old virtual life itself, there are many other ways to get square eyed without watching the same old diet on tv. Those options are much more individual too, allowing endless personal choice. TV is all predicated upon mass markets all viewing the same shows at the same times.

2. I gave up cable and the huge theoretical choice that gave me when I moved to London. I've only had four terrestrial channels ever since and that has been fine (except for new Sopranos, 6 Feet Under and West Wing on E4, and maybe some of the obscure, arty stuff on minority channels). No sitting all day watching Sex-In-The-City-thons on cable. Now I switch it on for a show and then switch it off. Or record stuff to watch later.

3. I gather there's a lot more available in the US these days without an expensive cable package (according to something I read in the Guardian the other day). Maybe that means greater audience spread and fewer must-see shows. A lot of the giants (in critical and viewing figures terms) are winding down or have gone altogether.

Of course, I'm out a lot more in London than I was in Edinburgh, and I've been reading a lot more. I think there is still a lot of mileage in the notion that tv just sucks, by and large, too.

16:35 / 22.10.03

TiVo.

Matthew Fluxington

19:25 / 22.10.03

Yeah, all of the above.

This is funny, because it's so skewed towards "oh my god! people are watching less tv!," but it still doesn't change the fact that almost everyone is still watching tv, it's not like millions of people are going cold turkey and throwing out their tv sets and cancelling their cable/satellite plans.

I read another article today which was bemoaning the fact that potato consumption in the US has been on a decline in the past few years, even though it's still the #1 vegetable crop in the country by some distance.

So the dominating thing is less dominating? Fine. But it's not quite as dramatic as it is being made out to be.

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

20:08 / 22.10.03

I think it is also that there is SO much on TV that takes a LOT of attention (continued dramas, and comedies that rely on long time viewers to get the jokes, etc...) that a lot of people are just saying, "To hell with it.". Law and Order, which is utterly self contained, is by FAR the most watched show on Cable, if you add up the number of viewers over the week.

I think also that younger males are leaving TV because SO MUCH of it is aimed at them, but it's aimed poorly. SPIKE TV has a lot of lame 90's syndicated series and bland sexy comedies, Comedy Central has lost its lustre, Wrasslin is in a creative slump, and there are a LOT of very good video games and DVD sets.

What a horror it would be if people quit watching 6 hours of TV a day.

Matthew Fluxington

22:40 / 22.10.03

Eww. Law & Order sucks hardcore style. I mean, yeah, the fact that it is self-contained is what makes it so huge, but I don't think it's a good idea for shows to follow its example en masse, considering that it is nearly devoid of characters.

Comedy Central has the Daily Show, which is enough, really. It's got reruns of Conan too. So right there it's got two of the finest shows on television in general.

23:32 / 22.10.03

Law & Order sucks hardcore style.

Sez you.

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

04:08 / 23.10.03

I think that is one of the reasons CSI is doing so well...each episode is self-contained, there isn't any soap opera aspect to it, and in syndication they will easily be able to show them out of order for the casual viewer.

13:01 / 23.10.03

I'm moving to a new apartment at the end of the month and I'm seriously considering not getting TV service at all. The only option is DirecTV which will work out to be around $60 a month - I'll never be able to get a signal on the aerial. That's a lot of money for something that's basically just background noise. I can't remember the last time I actually *watched* a TV show, you know, from beginning to end, not while doing something else, paying attention to it.

At the moment I have cable so I can get cable internet, but I'll be getting DSL at the new place.

It's not like I don't like shallow superficial crap - it's just that I don't seem to be getting the shallow superficial crap that I want. It's boring shallow superficial crap.