Where Did the TV Audience Go?

 

shutterstock_173796380On this week’s GLoP Podcast, co-host John Podhoretz noted that last weekend’s Emmy Awards drew the worst ratings of all time. Despite the program being a well-run affair, the broadcast garnered less than 12 million viewers while the key 18-49 demo fell by 14 percent.

Fox foolishly ran the awards opposite “Sunday Night Football” in which my beloved Green Bay Packers trounced the perfidious Seattle Seahawks (you can tell which program I watched). Also, CBS offered a new “Big Brother” episode while AMC had “Fear the Walking Dead.” Was the competition to blame for the lowest ratings in history?

Rob Long had a different explanation for why the Emmys tanked. “Because nobody’s seen the shows,” he said. “The Emmy Awards was an awards show for people who like small shows …  the vast majority of the broadcast audience isn’t watching.”

As Jonah Goldberg said on the podcast, I didn’t even know the Emmys would be on until that afternoon when Fox aired ads during the Arizona Cardinals game. Just now I reviewed the list of nominees and I had regularly watched only two of the shows in the past year — “Better Call Saul” (love it) and “The Last Man on Earth” (got tired of it about five eps in).

The numbers reinforce Rob’s reasoning. Not only are audiences avoiding the critics’ favorites, many are switching off the telly completely. In an article titled “Where Did Everybody Go?” AdAge reviewed the carnage of the Tuesday night returns. A few findings:

  • “According to Nielsen fast national data, every returning Tuesday night drama suffered double-digit ratings declines, while the three new series were a mixed bag.”
  • “As was the case Monday night, some of broadcast’s most reliable franchises were down versus their year-ago numbers.”
  • “The number of adults 18-to-49 watching prime-time programming dropped 8% versus the year-ago period and overall usage in the demographic for the last two nights is down 10%.”
  • “[T]he most disconcerting PUT data concerns younger viewers, who are ditching traditional TV faster than anyone could have anticipated. TV viewing among adults 18-to-24 is now down 20% versus the first two nights of the 2014-15 season, and male usage in that age range has withered by nearly a quarter (24%). While last fall was blighted by disappearing female viewers, this year it’s the menfolk who are pulling the old Invisible Man routine.

How have your viewing habits changed over the past few years? Are you watching more or less TV? And, if less, how are you spending your time instead?

Published in Entertainment
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  1. SteveSc Member
    SteveSc
    @SteveSc

    Bittorrent, Netflix and Amazon Prime.  Cable TV was cut a couple years back.

    • #31
  2. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    Television?  What’s that? I seem to remember there was this thing we used to watch when I was a child, but that was half a century back. You know – when a computer filled a room and telephones had dials. Oh yeah . . . and people used to go to these things called movie theaters.

    The Emmys are soooo twentieth century.

    Seawriter

    • #32
  3. Koblog Inactive
    Koblog
    @Koblog

    It doesn’t matter. No matter which show we like and watch faithfully, it will be cancelled.

    The real problem is the obvious formula to every show.

    I watched the pilot to “Blindspot” Monday.

    A beautiful, very thin, naked woman full of tattoos that are clues (pretty effective way to get some attention) is found in a duffel bag in Times Square, has lost her memory, but appears to be a Special Forces expert in all things fighting and weapons. Before the end of the first episode we discover she’s under the influence of some mysterious Svengali. Yeah, this is new. We’ll spend the whole season watching frustrating twists and turns while our beautiful heroine beats the snot out of people, lives the anguish of “who am I?” and develops a romance with the FBI agent whose name is tattooed on her back.

    Bourne Supremacy, anyone? Nicely produced. Don’t think this will make it.

    I didn’t sign up for cable or landline phone in our new house, just internet. Tired of paying for CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and the other 400 channels I never watch.

    Roku and Amazon Prime are pretty cool, but TV is mostly a time thief (even if stuff is on the DVR) as it’s mostly excrement produced by people who hate me and my values.

    I see little reason to pay them to hate and insult me.

    • #33
  4. Weeping Inactive
    Weeping
    @Weeping

    Koblog:It doesn’t matter. No matter which show we like and watch faithfully, it will be cancelled.

    You too, huh? Out of the three new shows I started watching last year (mainly via Hulu), two were canceled. Both, I felt, still held great potential.

    • #34
  5. Valiuth Member
    Valiuth
    @Valiuth

    Do ratings take into account people who may watch shows online either through the networks websites or through services like Hulu, and Amazon? Do they also capture people who DVR their favorite shows? I certainly have not sat down to watch any show I like at the time it actually airs on television in years. I either catch it on Hulu or I have my folks DVR it and I bing watch when I’m over at their place. Basically having to sit down at a specific time to watch a specific show is stupid, for everything but the news.

    • #35
  6. captainpower Inactive
    captainpower
    @captainpower

    Troy Senik, Ed.: Can’t complain quite as much about ‘SC. If they had to get beat, I’m glad it was at the hands of an institution that cuts me a monthly check.

    I thought the Hoover Institution was the fifth column of Stanford.

    • #36
  7. Mollie Hemingway Member
    Mollie Hemingway
    @MollieHemingway

    I watched the show. Some good parts, lots of bad parts. Mostly, though, boring. Yes, you could tell that everyone was checking a box for awarding the “right” show or the “right” actor. None of it was believable. I thought Andy Samberg was pretty funny. Some other things were funny. But as the boring people all expressed their uniformly boring politics, it was hard to not tune away.

    At least the dresses looked good.

    • #37
  8. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Valiuth:Do ratings take into account people who may watch shows online either through the networks websites or through services like Hulu, and Amazon? Do they also capture people who DVR their favorite shows? I certainly have not sat down to watch any show I like at the time it actually airs on television in years. I either catch it on Hulu or I have my folks DVR it and I bing watch when I’m over at their place. Basically having to sit down at a specific time to watch a specific show is stupid, for everything but the news.

    I got the Neilsen logbooks a few times at my old address. You enter the channel you are watching and the name of the show. There was a box to check if you were using a recording technology to time shift a program, so they can keep track of that.

    • #38
  9. Fritz Coolidge
    Fritz
    @Fritz

    The way I see it, cable is a lot like my bar   membership — 99% crap but I have to make a. living so I have to belong so I can practice. . . I like old movies and that means TCM. But the only way to get it is to subscribe to a package (one-step-up-from-bottom) from Comcast. So just as my law license dues lets me live and gives me a slick magazine (how archaic) once a month, my humongous cable bill lets me catch old movies I did not even knew existed.

    My point: cable needs to go a la carte. Without the power of the government monopoly known as their local franchise agreements and the bundles of worthless stations, Comcast and the rest of pay TV would not survive.

    • #39
  10. OmegaPaladin Moderator
    OmegaPaladin
    @OmegaPaladin

    I watch Mythbusters on Amazon – I buy all the episodes a season at a time.

    Used to watch Agents of SHIELD until they went full Noam Chomsky.  Screw that.

    Watched Burn Notice all the way through.

    My roommates go for anime on Hulu, CrunchyRoll, and a few other sites.  I watch them if they interest me.   (Last Exile was one favorite)

    The only thing I watch normally on TV is local news and sports.

    • #40
  11. Ryan M Inactive
    Ryan M
    @RyanM

    I grew up in a home that didn’t have television (no, not ideology, we were poor) and have never really watched.  Went through stints in High School and have certainly marathoned certain shows (X-Files, Seinfeld, a few others).

    To be perfectly honest, I cannot think of very many things I care about less than the emmys.  Virtually any other activity I could possibly do in the evening would take priority…  It may be that I simply don’t care, but it may also be that awards programs in general tend to consist of hour-long self-indulgence from what may be the most self-indulgent place on earth?

    • #41
  12. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    Valiuth: Do ratings take into account people who may watch shows online either through the networks websites or through services like Hulu, and Amazon? Do they also capture people who DVR their favorite shows?

    Nielsen actually keeps several sets of ratings. There are the live overnights of major markets with “people meters,” and there are subsequent reports including live and same day, DVR+3 and DVR+7. Websites can track their own hits.

    CBS has begun charging for next day access. I don’t know what their subscriber base is. Now they are touting live retrans of your local CBS station.

    • #42
  13. Whiskey Sam Inactive
    Whiskey Sam
    @WhiskeySam

    EJHill:

    Valiuth: Do ratings take into account people who may watch shows online either through the networks websites or through services like Hulu, and Amazon? Do they also capture people who DVR their favorite shows?

    Nielsen actually keeps several sets of ratings. There are the live overnights of major markets with “people meters,” and there are subsequent reports including live and same day, DVR+3 and DVR+7. Websites can track their own hits.

    CBS has begun charging for next day access. I don’t know what their subscriber base is. Now they are touting live retrans of your local CBS station.

    tvbythenumbers.com tracks a lot of the various rating stats

    • #43
  14. Susan in Seattle Member
    Susan in Seattle
    @SusaninSeattle

    I’m still trying to understand why the Seahawks are referred to as ‘perfidious.’

    • #44
  15. Jon Gabriel, Ed. Contributor
    Jon Gabriel, Ed.
    @jon

    Susan in Seattle:I’m still trying to understand why the Seahawks are referred to as ‘perfidious.’

    Because they were challenging the Packers. That means they are evil.

    • #45
  16. Susan in Seattle Member
    Susan in Seattle
    @SusaninSeattle

    Jon Gabriel, Ed.:

    Susan in Seattle:I’m still trying to understand why the Seahawks are referred to as ‘perfidious.’

    Because they were challenging the Packers. That means they are evil.

    LOL.  Alrighty then, I can get my blonde head around that.

    Now to the other: we don’t watch TV much anymore.  I tend to like ‘Master Chef’ as it’s food porn mixed with ‘Survivor.’  Campy, overdone, Gordon Ramsey, earnest participants,  ergo, entertaining.  We stream Netflix and watch movies.  Otherwise, reading and working crosswords are what hold our interests in the evening after work.

    • #46
  17. Brian Watt Inactive
    Brian Watt
    @BrianWatt

    Fritz:The way I see it, cable is a lot like my bar membership — 99% crap but I have to make a. living so I have to belong so I can practice. . . I like old movies and that means TCM. But the only way to get it is to subscribe to a package (one-step-up-from-bottom) from Comcast. So just as my law license dues lets me live and gives me a slick magazine (how archaic) once a month, my humongous cable bill lets me catch old movies I did not even knew existed.

    My point: cable needs to go a la carte. Without the power of the government monopoly known as their local franchise agreements and the bundles of worthless stations, Comcast and the rest of pay TV would not survive.

    Cable does need to go a la carte. But they may resist for as long as they can.

    Actually you can get TCM with the SlingTV movie package. You’ll need a set top box like a Roku box (approx. $99 at any major retailer or online) to connect to your TV and your Internet connection. SlingTV will cost you $20/month + $5 additional per month to get 4 Epix commercial-free movie channels and TCM. With the basic SlingTV offering you also get HGTV, ESPN, ESPN2, AMC, Food Network, Disney, and several others. Sure saves on paying Comcast every month.

    • #47
  18. Brian Watt Inactive
    Brian Watt
    @BrianWatt

    For those who may have missed it, I did write about many aspects of this topic back in June, here.

    • #48
  19. jetstream Inactive
    jetstream
    @jetstream

    Whiskey Sam:I watch fewer shows than before. The quality simply isn’t there. From a technical standpoint, the shows are much better than the past, and some dramas are extremely well written. However, I can only watch so many cop, lawyer, or doctor shows. It is more about who is in the show, who is writing it, or some other “in” that makes me take notice that it might be worth watching. There isn’t a single new show this season I have an interest in. I watch about 20 shows but because of the off-shifted seasons now on cable and outside sources, I’m never really watching more than five TV series at any one time. That breaks down to one show a night during the week.

    Silk Stockings? art deco cool ..

    Wasn’t La Femme Nikita also on USA?

    • #49
  20. Freeven Member
    Freeven
    @Freeven

    Jon Gabriel, Ed.: Fox foolishly ran the awards opposite “Sunday Night Football”…

    This probably wasn’t Fox’s decision. I worked on the Emmys and Oscars years ago and also for ABC, and the dates for these things were set years in advance. In addition, which network broadcasts the show was not negotiated but done through a rotation. It’s possible things have changed since then, but at the time the networks got what they got and made the most of it.

    • #50
  21. Matt Balzer Member
    Matt Balzer
    @MattBalzer

    Whiskey Sam:Good on you for loving the Packers, Jon! We need to do a meet-up at the owner’s meeting one year.

    This seems relevant.

    • #51
  22. Rudolf Halbensinn Inactive
    Rudolf Halbensinn
    @RudolfHalbensinn

    Interesting.  I visit the USA about every 4 years or so.  Each time I come I am a bit curious about the current trends in television entertainment but you know….

    There are so many more interesting things to do.  Visiting parks, watching people on the street, buying books in English, etc.

    So many of the sitcoms have that irritating canned-laughter.  Thank you very much but I don’t need taped-ha-ha to signal an instance of intended humour.

    You seem to think I am not very smart.

    That alone is enough to make this tourist avoid the tube.

    • #52
  23. Dave L Member
    Dave L
    @DaveL

    I cut the cable and satellite some years ago. Put up a small antenna to get local TV. Watch the local news and weather and some sports, but hardly anything else on regular TV. Do subscribe to amazon prime and occasionally watch a movie or show there. Don’t miss cable or satellite. I am also a Packers fan and watched the game.

    • #53
  24. John Hanson Coolidge
    John Hanson
    @JohnHanson

    I have zero interest in looking at celebrities.  They have some skills from  which they manage to earn a living just like the rest of us, and most of them are so far left they forgot one can turn right at a red light after a stop (If one doesn’t live in NYC).

    Then their speeches fall into, thank a lot of people I have never heard of , leftist rant on some topic I have no interest in, or stale jokes I don’t find very funny.  So why would I ever watch.   I think watching grass grow to use a cliché is much more interesting.  So if I am watching TV it will always be something else.

    • #54
  25. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    No great insight, but network TV by and large reflects the culture.  And TV’s largest potential audience–those who grew up with it and don’t get out much anymore (i.e., those ubiquitous boomers) aren’t particularly on board with the forced portrayal of the culture on network TV.  Most sitcoms, a long-time staple, are equal parts crude and dumb.  The other staple, cop/action shows, are now so imbued with diversity that there are five-six “leads” in every show so that the requisite ethnic/gender bases can be covered, detracting from the plot (“Now who’s that person?” “What does she do?”  “Where’s Jim Rockford?”).  Making matters worse, the younger demographic that advertisers covet is too busy with social media 24/7 to much care about anything that’s not on their smartphone screen.  Result: death spiral.

    • #55
  26. Man With the Axe Inactive
    Man With the Axe
    @ManWiththeAxe

    This thread prompted me to investigate getting rid of cable (actually DirecTV). But I’ll have to wait until the football season is over. I have the NFL ticket and my boys come over on Sundays to watch.

    I have to find a way to get Fox News, and then I could cut the cord. I subscribe to Netflix and Amazon Prime, and would be willing to subscribe to more if I didn’t have such a big cable bill.

    If anyone hasn’t watched “Justified” (on Amazon) you should give it a try. You have to persevere through the merely good first 8 or so episodes until it gets to be really great.

    • #56
  27. Man With the Axe Inactive
    Man With the Axe
    @ManWiththeAxe

    It is hard to imagine anything more boring than an awards show. Even the Oscars are boring, but I watch them anyway, because it is a way to stay current with the culture. But the Emmys? I’d rather stare into space.

    I have no prejudice against broadcast TV as opposed to “higher culture.” But there just hasn’t been much to grab my attention since “Justified.” I stayed with “Big Bang Theory” and “Modern Family” for a couple of seasons but got tired of them. I have never been able to summon any interest in any of the CSI type of shows. I did like “Dexter,” “Game of Thrones,” and a couple of other such shows.

    Now, I watch news, sports, and movies.

    I DVR the news. I’m currently only about 8 months behind. I can’t wait to plow my way through the backlog and finally find out what’s been happening this election season.

    • #57
  28. RPD Inactive
    RPD
    @RPD

    I’ve always watched far too much TV. Probably always will.

    I stick with DirecTV for the Sunday Ticket so I can see my out of market team, and Plenty of NFl Network. I DVR car shows on the weekends (MAV and Spike mostly) And Bib Bang Theory. The rest is over my Roku for Netflix, Amazon Prime, sometimes HULU and Crunchyroll.  I’ve also found Youtube content increasingly interesting. It’s a rare night I don’t run across a thread that holds my interest.

    • #58
  29. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    I do watch the small shows, but I download ’em via iTunes, and I couldn’t give a hoot of interest if the do or don’t win some award. The only award they need is my $30 to $40 season’s pass subscription fee.

    • #59
  30. John Hendrix Thatcher
    John Hendrix
    @JohnHendrix

    I discontinued watching TV about 15 years ago. TV just wasn’t entertaining me.

    The only reason I seem to turn it on anymore is to watch the presidential debates.

    • #60
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