Contentinople - Frank Smith - News Bits: What Happened to Prime Time?

Written by Frank Smith

Monday, May 12. 2008 at 11:00 AM EDT 2 comments

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With fewer people watching television, ad sales are more uncertain than in years past. This week the networks are going into their upfront presentations to outline their fall 2008 schedules for ad buyers, but as The New York Times this morning notes -- six million viewers have disappeared from prime time.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the big four networks -- ABC Inc. , CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Fox Broadcasting Co. , and NBC Universal -- had 9 percent fewer viewers in April and in May than in the year-ago period. The writers' strike did its damage, but with 25 million digital video recorders in homes and people tuning in to their shows online, appointment-viewing (where viewers rush home to catch a set show at a set time) is becoming a thing of the past.

David Bauder at the Associated Press suggests that the lack of new shows during the strike made viewers bored. But broadcast viewing was already declining before the impact of the strike was felt. So then, perhaps the most damaging factor related to the strike was how it has changed the networks' approach to creating new pilots.

Fewer pilot episodes of new shows are in the works for fall 2008 largely because the networks had less time to put them together. Execs are deciding on new shows based on presentations about the series, reports the AP. Broadcast television still commands a much higher audience than online video, and DVR metrics aren't impossible to find. But the true impact of this drop in prime-time viewers will be felt when it's time for ad buyers to start cutting checks.

In other news:

IFC has begun to program its Website as if it were a TV channel. One new series will be launched on the site each month.

Carson Daly and Madison Road are launching a Web series devoted to showcasing user-generated video.

Tags: ABC, Advertising, Business, CBS, DVR, Fox, NBC, User-Generated Content

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Networks-strong or weak?
nhayden9
Rank: Vizier
Monday May 12, 2008 4:44:02 PM

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CBS, NBC and CBS have hit bottom .

It is all upand away from here.

G-E will spin off NBC Universal a a separate Co. with a "Value" position.

CBS hit a low last week.

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Innovation Innovation Innovation!
donaldleegraham
Rank: Caliph
Monday May 12, 2008 11:15:27 PM

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With everything hitting rock-bottom the only true winners will be those who INNOVATE!

Yeah ok... the networks put most of their stuff online, for free, and supported by advertisements. We can pat them on the head and tell them "Good boy, you caught up with Web 2.0. (It only took you 3-4 years to actually catch on.)"

Like I said, the only winners will be those who INNOVATE! With the definiton of Web 3.0 (The Semantic Web) still being determined, we do know that it will include the following keywords: Community, Collaboration, Social Tagging, Customization, Personalization, Application Integration (rather than strictly proprietary), and the End User is in charge.

It really about the end user choosing what he wants, when he wants it, how it ties into his life.

The first big network to catch on to these concepts, push past what "we've traditionally done" and pushes the envelope of innovation will be the winner and will have a healthy reward, even if that is just means survival. ;-)

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