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NBC on the rocks after a series of low ratings and cancellations
By Jeremy GlassMay 17th, 2012, 3:00 pmComments (20)
Jack Donaghy best explained NBC's current pickle best when he said:
"There are exciting times for NBC. Not Seinfeld, Friends, ER exciting. More like 3-D episodes of Merlin exciting."
Of course, that's 30 Rock's trademark bitter sarcasm. But in the real world, if "nail-bitingly worrying" means "exciting," than yes, it looks like NBC is facing some pretty exciting times. In this past year, nine shows have been canceled after failing to draw in viewers in the highly-coveted eighteen-to-forty-nine age demographic. Since the end of Friends in 2004, viewers have steadily been changing the channel away from NBC and, more likely than not, watching old episodes of Friends on DVD.
Ted Harbert, NBC's broadcasting chief, urged the industry to adopt a new system of ratings to include more days of DVR playback for those who don't watch NBC's shows live, but rather record them and watch later. (Oh, but Ted, you do realize that people DVR TV shows on... other stations than NBC, right?) But really, what is it about NBC that people find so repulsive? 30 Rock's season six premiere reported a record low 3.2 million viewers; season five premiered with 5.9 million.
A look at 2011's Nielsen ratings showed that not even one NBC program made it onto the top ten highest-rated list, a bleak sign for the channel. What I don't understand about all of this is how shows like Community, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation can have such a large (and incredibly strident) fan base online, and then have none of that translate into real-world ratings. Is it because all of you Redditors out there are torrenting these shows at the end of the season but refusing to watch them live? You can't bitch about "six seasons and a movie" and then only support the show through illegal piracy. That's just going to tip the ratings in favor of stuff your parents watch, like NCIS.
And by the way, fuck you, 30 Rock. I loved Merlin.
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Commentarium (20 Comments)
Good point on the torrenting, I will for sure buy all of Community as soon as the collectors box set is available. Also, FOUR seasons and a movie!
I love NBC's Thursday line up. Fuck Friends by the way. But unfortantly most American are fucking retards who need a laugh track to know when a joke has been made, case in piont, 2 and Half Men, and The Big Bang Thoery. Both are shitty standard sitcoms, and shows like Community and 30 Rock, don't feel people need to be coddled into laughing at their jokes.
Really. I'm tired of people acting like the reason the ratings aren't better is because the fans aren't watching it. First of all, no, it's because Americans don't care about good comedies (AD was on fucking FOX, what's America's excuse for that one?). Second of all, if you're not a Nielsen family, your viewership makes absolutely no difference.
I am annoyed at America for a lot of things but I think the tendency to embrace these "frozen dinner TV shows" with laugh tracks and simple jokes are like someone catching and throwing a fart in the collective face of anyone with taste. My friend the conspiracy nut likes to think that it's a calculated attempt by the rich assholes that control the Networks to broadcast diarrhea like Whitney and TBBT to keep us pacified and stupid; I now see his point and I think I'm starting to believe him.
BTW, who the fuck ARE the Nielsen families? I want those people to stand trial for domestic terrorism.
Fuck NBC. They canceled just about the only show of theirs I watch, Awake. Why do not of these network fools ever give good shows time to build an audience.
Awake is amazing, someone else better pick it up.
More days counting DVR playback is something I would support since I don't watch shows right away, unless it's Game of Thrones. In general, though, NBC can go fuck itself. Also, blaming torrenters is stupid, Jeremy. Lots of people know what it is, but the vast majority have no clue how to do it.
I myself am totally aware of it. I just don't do it, not I confess based on some high moral stance but because the first and only time I tried it I got half way into downloading a very famous classic porn movie, and two viruses on my hard drive.
I think they're putting all their hopes and dreams of consistently high viewership into that new show Revolution. Kinda looks like Heros or their attempt at Lost. Either way, it looks good and despite my disappointment in them for canceling Awake, I will give it a try.
I mean, I watch all three of the shows mentioned (Community, 30 Rock, and Parks and Rec) the day after on Hulu. How many other thousands of people do the exact same thing?
I have seen every single episode of 30 Rock... on Hulu or Netflix or a streaming site. Nielsen, like Soundscan scores, are useless.
Ive heard they're bringing Keith Olbermann back to star in his own comedy. Simple format: ask him a current events question, pretend you think he's smart and watch the fun begin. For fun, we can get him and Kel on to discuss the Kingston Trio. Neither will have any idea what they're talking about but that only makes it funnier.
why not just save some money and get you to do it? you seem extremely stupid and possibly an even bigger blowhard...
(Raises hand) If I'm not a Nielsen family, what difference does it make for a network show's ratings if I watch it live or in some other manner?
This. If they tracked Netflix views, or gave me a way to stream episodes and tracked THOSe views, they'd find I'm an obsessive watcher of the NBC shows. BUT I don't have cable and even if I did, I'm not a Nielson household so NO ONE FUCKING CARES WHAT I WATCH. The industry needs to catch up, FAST.
This also. Sums it up.
>>(Oh, but Ted, you do realize that people DVR TV shows on... other stations than NBC, right?)
Community, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, etc seem to appeal to a watch-the-next-day-on-Hulu demographic more than, say, Two and a Half Men or 2 Broke Girls or whatever. That doesn't mean adjusting the metrics would turn them into these ratings powerhouses, but I think it'd make a significant difference.
NBC is using the wrong information. Straight up: Nielsen ratings are moribund if not already obsolete. I've seen every episode of 30 Rock available on Netflix, but, hell, I don't even know when the show airs live. I rarely if ever park in front of a tv and wait for a show to come on. Seems to me that there's a whole generation of people with a similar experience. I would much rather pay a subscription to Netflix, a network like HBO, or just wait for the DVDs so I can watch on my own time with the bonus of not having to sit through insipid commercials that break up the narrative. Networks of all stripes better get with it and find a better rating system that reflects the way people actually consume television content today.
"What I don't understand about all of this is how shows like Community, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation can have such a large (and incredibly strident) fan base online, and then have none of that translate into real-world ratings."
How can you not understand this? Have you never taken a basic stats class? People on Reddit or the AV Club or your Facebook friends are not a good representation of the whole population. The AV Club's most read reviews are for comedy, drama and reality show are Community, Mad Men and RuPaul's Drag Race, none of which is a ratings hit. The Internet watches those shows, but the country watches NCIS and Grey's Anatomy and The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family.
Also, those commenters saying the Nielsens are out of date don't get that networks need to make money. They don't put out TV shows for America's enjoyment. They're doing the same thing Nerve does: gathering an audience and selling it to advertisers. If you DVR a show and fast-forward through the ads, networks don't get paid. Netflix, Hulu and DVD sales do make money for the networks, but live TV viewing is still much more profitable. The Nielsens will need to be updated because eventually there won't be enough live viewers for networks to be profitable, but we're not at that day yet. (Also, it would help if someone could figure out how to monetize online ads better than they are now.) Networks don't care how people actually consume television. They care about how many and which of those people advertisers want access to.
Last thing about statistics: If you are not a Nielsen house, no one cares what you are watching. That is true. But the Nielsens use statistical sampling to figure out how many people are watching a show. Their system isn't perfect, but it gets pretty accurate numbers. They could expand the sample size by 10,000 people, but the networks don't want to pay for that because the numbers they're getting now are good enough.
I'm really tired and probably rambling. But the point is that the world is imperfect and all your favorite things will one day be taken away.
Nielsen is good sampling, but it's still exhausting to have people tell you not to stream/DVR/torrent/Netflix/whatever your television when you're well aware you're not a Nielsen family and no one is counting your vote. And you forget about the all-important product placement, advertising that even reaches and monetizes those rascally torrenters, which NBC (as anyone who has been watching Subway Opens a Franchise this season can attest to) is not exactly shy about.