Well, I am back from my big vacation to Rochester and that means the third edition of my weekly column is here. Basically, it was a quiet few weeks in television, although Comic-con brought in some excitement for fans of Lost, Dexter, X-Files movie, Heroes and shows of that nature, but overall you could here the crickets in the industry. So I guess I'll spend this weeks column talking about something we have all heard about recently, but haven't spent too much time discussing. DVR and secondary TV watching sources.
While loyal cult followings are great, what TV shows really need to survive are ratings. If you have low Nielson ratings, it is likely your show is going to be canceled. However, the only thing included in the Nielson ratings is initial live viewing numbers. There are numbers that keep track of DVR recordings, but they aren't used as a major tool in the industry. What is interesting is some canceled shows like Jericho and Moonlight did better than hits like CSI in DVR recordings, but it didn't matter. However, in some ways this is actually sensible. Non-cable television is solely supported through advertisements. If someone DVR's a show, they are likely fast forwarding through commercials, meaning that advertisers aren't getting what they are paying for. It sucks that this is how the system has to work, but if no one is making money when you watch a show like Moonlight, why would they care that you watch it.
What the industry does care for right now is itunes downloads, or online viewers on host sites. For example, Friday Night Lights aired each week on NBC.com, and NBC did recognize those viewers, because they were forced to watch the Cisco (or whatever sponsor at the time) ads without skipping. Itunes makes even more sense because you are paying a fixed fee to see the episode. A perfect example is Gossip Girl, which was one of the five most downloaded shows off itunes this year, despite having fledgling Nielson ratings. These download scores are a contributing factor for CW to use Gossip Girl as their main platform in the upcoming television season and to increase the episode total to an obscene 27 this upcoming year. Networks are making money off the internet as it is either a fix fee or from sponsors. However, the internet is still a new industry and it was a critical factor in the writers strikes, because the amount of money made through the internet goes directly to owners and not the writers. The new deal didn't overly remedy this, and don't be surprised if this continues to be a problem in the industry.
Quick Notes:
~Jimmy Smits (the star from NYPD Blue) seems to have a very intricate role in this upcoming season of Dexter. It is interesting how a show on Showtime can get such a major actor, but Dexter has been a hit and Michael C. Hall has become a great actor in his own right, so Jimmy Smits should fit right in.
~For my weekly Lost news, producers have said that Jin and Locke will have some role next season, but won't clarify whether they will be alive or dead. Also, they said that the flashbacks and flashforwards this season will be reinvented in a new and spectacular way that will fit the time aspects of the show. Lastly, Nestor Carbonell (who plays Richard Alpert) will have a big role in the upcoming season, although we don't yet know if it will be in a regular status.
~Lastly, the X-Files movie turned out to be a major flop in box numbers, something that surprised me. It did significantly worse than the first X-Files movie, and it wasn't too loved by the critics either. It did have to go against The Dark Knight though, which is definitely stiff competition.
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