Network Television — Down the Tubes?
Reuters cites stats that ring a proverbial death knell for traditional TV.
CBS and ABC are the second and third networks to reach their lowest levels since Nielsen’s introduction of “people meters” set-top devices during the 1987-88 season. NBC already had its worst week this month thanks to low-rated Stanley Cup hockey finals.
Does anyone watch anymore?
Del.icio.us, 
Digg, 
Technorati, 
Furl, 
Reddit,
Spurl
RSS
sara said,
on June 29th, 2007 at 6:04 am
No doubt–network TV’s getting its tuckus kicked by cable’s (including premium cable’s) incredibly well-written, produced, and directed shows.
In fact, the ONLY network shows that I watch are “30 Rock” and SOMETIMES “The Unit” (only b/c of David Mamet and Sean Ryan’s involvement)…I really WANTED to like “Studio 60″ and “Heroes”–but alas…
To find TV worth my TiVo-programming time, I pretty much stick with Showtime, HBO, FX, and A&E to grab standouts like “Weeds”, “The Shield”, “Brotherhood”, “The Wire”, “The Riches”, “Battlestar Galactica”(don’t laugh–it’s seriously good), “Hustle”, “This American Life” (the NPR show-based Showtime series), “Huff”, “Sleeper Cell”, “the Closer”, “Daily Show”, “Colbert Report”…
Some of these shows are so good, that I literally stop breathing while watching (i.e. this season’s “The Shield”) and end up gasping for air during commercial breaks…
That kind of engagement just doesn’t happen while watching “Dancing with the Stars” or “America’s Got Talent”…
The big three are acting kind of like companies that do crazy one-offs to try and grab attention rather than pulling together a strong branding campaign.They’re so caught up in the junky-sugar-high-first-season-viewership-spike brought on by dancing/singing/talent-based gameshow/competition/reality shows, that they’ve completely lost their identities. Networks really don’t seem to be investing in the kind of programming that builds long-term viewer (customer) loyalty anymore…
On the flip, HBO and Showtime have completely rebranded their identities and build incredibly loyal followings by offering some of the best storytelling on the tube.