Ratings


Do those pesky, lingering ratings bother anyone else? I hate how cited they are and the superfluous importance we put on them in this day and age. I think think they only really matter for shows on broadcast tv now anyways (i.e. CBS, NBC, ABC....)

But anytime a show is doing really well or really poorly the ratings are always the first thing brought up and it forever pisses me off because of how arbitrary such a metric is now what with technology and the amount of options we have. Are we such simpletons that we have to have it all rounded up for us and presented without taking into account any of the artistry or work that was put into a show otherwise?

And you can say the sponsors still have these channels by the balls, but I see certain things some shows get away with and they still have advertising and are standing so that's showing either a) that stuff doesn't matter to viewers so much anymore b) sponsors are loosening up...or maybe both. So, it really has started to resemble something of a relic, in my eyes.

It's still so sad that ratings, in some cases, can still make or break a show no matter how amazing or of quality it may be while shitty ones are free to flourish...or not even shitty ones, good ones on a better network. That imbalance can also be a killer because I'll find myself going, "oh...if only it were on this network it would've lasted!"

Do you think they should matter still? Is it something you take into account when watching something? How quickly till they become completely obsolete? Or rather, do you think they ever will?

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It's all about advertisement dollars.

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Great post! I have a few thoughts.

I run a business, so I guess I have some sympathy for the people who are financing the production. However they might feel about the artistry on display, they, like all of us, have the concern about their business staying in the black.

That said, from what I've read about the issue of ratings, there seems to be some cause for concern about the way the data is collected. My understanding is that there has been a lag in the process, in that the long-relied-upon Nielsen system has become increasingly unreliable in an age in which much content isn't viewed at the time of broadcast, but saved on DVRs, watched On Demand, or binged on disc or other formats. I'm not a savvy to know how methodology might have been adapted to make ratings more accurate.

Even in the era before technology's advances skewed the results, there were issues of shows destined to be huge hits later nearly being euthanized by weak ratings. The low ratings could become a death spiral, with the public avoiding a show because it seemed few others thought it was any good.

Sometimes this was due to poor lead-ins from inferior or played-out shows, or because of being scheduled opposite some ratings Godzilla on another network. I remember feeling disappointed when some show I thought was great was dumped simply because it couldn't dislodge some huge hit it was up against. Sometimes, a scheduling change saved a fledgling hit.

It's the eternal seesaw between Art and Commerce. I think there is some ray of hope in services like Netflix and (ugh) Amazon producing content which might not appeal to networks or cable providers. It would be great if this trend toward niche programming flourishes in ways we might not yet be aware of.

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I appreciate and understand the business angle of it. All of this isn't done for free, after all! Perhaps it's not that it needs to be killed off, but rather the way ratings are done need to be ushered into modern times. The way we do it now is from a bygone era that is seriously lacking when put next to the wildly different way we consume our entertainment.

I get the need to have some kind of tangible thing to quantify tv shows by, but the weight that we let it carry still seems overwrought and unnecessary. I agree that the trend of more niche programming is nice and welcome certainly because that's where my wheelhouse lies, so ya know, I'm biased! But the fact that those are allowed into the landscape more and more, I think, is a positive sign. One that says creators don't have to fear being axed for having an unconventional vision, for committing to story instead of wrapping everything up neatly at the end of every episode, and puts more value on the production of how something is made.

I believe I heard the other day that we'll hit 500 scripted tv shows within the year, and going by the sheer scope and volume of that just kind of makes you wonder how something like ratings could ever stack up and do a proper job of calibrating allllll of that.

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The main reason that the television ratings are in issue for me is that the 18 to 49 demographic is getting so much power and the fact that overall viewers are not really considered as well as they should be I mean you have shows it too well with overall viewing but not as great with 18-49 are hammered for it

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There certainly are a lot of variables when it comes to ratings, how they're gathered, and how networks decide which shows will survive and which won't. I never could figure out why a good, new show is scheduled against an established hit. The new one likely won't knock off the hit show, so why do it? It seems to me to be a waste of time, money, and talent, especially with producers scrambling to find good ideas these days. Networks have no patience these days; gotta win right out of the gate or you're history. Sheesh. There has to be a better way.

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Interesting coincidence considering I got an advance notice yesterday in the mail that I had been chosen to participate in a Nielsen rating survey. I'm supposed to be on the alert for a certain follow up packet.

I don't plan to participate unless there's some worthwhile incentive involved.

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