HardOCP News
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TV Ratings See Double-Digit Declines For Fifth Straight Month
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Deleted member 108676
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Good.
Sincerely,
DirecTV subscriber...only because there is no LEGAL way of getting NFL games.
Sincerely,
DirecTV subscriber...only because there is no LEGAL way of getting NFL games.
Long term, what I think is going to happen is the Networks are going to have to switch to "A la carte" pricing in order to survive. Which basically means a LOT of networks are going to go under.
Although to be fair, things like the Food Network should really be internet based anyway.
Although to be fair, things like the Food Network should really be internet based anyway.
Are they surprised?
1. More and More advertizing. To the point if there is something I want to watch a hour long show is a half hour when I play it on the DVR. Not counting the crap they put on the screen advertizing during the show.
2. The shows that are on Tv mostly suck. Too many channels not enough content. Mostly scripted reality crap filler that they play non stop re-runs.
3. Way to expensive. Really. Why am I paying for it with all the advertizing that they put on it.
1. More and More advertizing. To the point if there is something I want to watch a hour long show is a half hour when I play it on the DVR. Not counting the crap they put on the screen advertizing during the show.
2. The shows that are on Tv mostly suck. Too many channels not enough content. Mostly scripted reality crap filler that they play non stop re-runs.
3. Way to expensive. Really. Why am I paying for it with all the advertizing that they put on it.
infin@
Gawd
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Exactly! News like this makes me happy! Nice to see what happens to companies that continually gouge their customers and provide less and less quality content. The news channels these days are a joke, along with almost everything else. The only thing I miss is sporting events, but I have a feeling something is coming to fill that void soon.
westrock2000
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This isn't just about cost, this includes the Over The Air broadcasters as well. This is the number of people who just simply watch TV. So broadcasters like ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS can't blame "high prices".
This is about them not being able to market their product. They are not giving people a reason to invest the time or money into using their product.
Apparently setting the record for the youngest homosexual relationship on TV is not what viewers are really into right now. Maybe people aren't into 2 Broke Girls who sit around and make predictable sex jokes every 30 seconds. And even shows like Cosmos, which could have focused on education and understanding, instead took every chance it could to attack religion. As opposed to the original, which was much more understanding of other peoples beliefs (I am not religious).
Seriously, what happened to just good 'ol shows like X-Files and Home Improvement? Even the crime shows like Colombo were better then this dual keyboarding crap we have to live with now.
This is about them not being able to market their product. They are not giving people a reason to invest the time or money into using their product.
Apparently setting the record for the youngest homosexual relationship on TV is not what viewers are really into right now. Maybe people aren't into 2 Broke Girls who sit around and make predictable sex jokes every 30 seconds. And even shows like Cosmos, which could have focused on education and understanding, instead took every chance it could to attack religion. As opposed to the original, which was much more understanding of other peoples beliefs (I am not religious).
Seriously, what happened to just good 'ol shows like X-Files and Home Improvement? Even the crime shows like Colombo were better then this dual keyboarding crap we have to live with now.
dandragonrage
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I'd be more likely to pay for cable TV if the companies delivering it weren't dishonest a-holes. Until then, I will stick to internet which I need and nothing that I don't.
Armenius
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Shows like X-Files and Home Improvement require talent in writing, production and acting that the networks are not willing to pay for anymore. The reality show boom of the late '90s made the execs think they could put very little money and effort into a production and still get tens of millions of viewers with a better ROI. TV viewers are still suffering from the effects of that phenomenon.
Domingo
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While reality TV is like the STD of broadcasting, I'm not sure the rest of the stuff on TV is any worse now. The catch is that we now have millions of options including internet videos, Netflix, OnDemand, etc.
I don't think garbage shows like the Big Bang Theory and Two Broke Girls are any worse than Family Matters, the Golden Girls, and Growing Pains. We just have more options.
People keep saying content (movies, music, TV) is worse now. I think it all just comes down to more options.
I don't think garbage shows like the Big Bang Theory and Two Broke Girls are any worse than Family Matters, the Golden Girls, and Growing Pains. We just have more options.
People keep saying content (movies, music, TV) is worse now. I think it all just comes down to more options.
That's part of it. More choices decreased the revenue from a given unit of advertising as there were more places to shop it. So they put in more ad time in shows. And cable companies created bullshit channels that bundled crap we could get elsewhere or very low cost, low value programming nobody watched and took cash out of subscribers pockets and got ad dollars. But they also cheapened the revenue stream more.
The article is less about overall viewership and more about the ratings that say people are skipping ads in addition to watching less TV.
Well no shit. It's getting ridiculous. I had a DVRed show, and there was actually a point where they did the "in case you missed it" bumper, the "after the next commercials" bumper and literally ONE sentence of anyone speaking in about 30 seconds of actual show.
Yakk
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Just looks like an industry which needs to realigning itself with the times, much like the newspapers and magazines are doing IMO.
collegeboy69us
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tikiman2012
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Nelson Muntz says "Ha Ha!"
Almost a decade without cable here. OTA antenna only for most of that time. Only recently picked up Netflix.
I don't like the idea of the cable companies getting paid on the front end and the back end. If I have to pay for cable, then I don't want commercials. I will not pay somebody to waste my time with commercials. I can simply pick up any printed media or online media & read the advertisements for 15 minutes every half hour if I wanted that, which would be fucking asinine! Plus, most of their channels suck ass anyway.
Almost a decade without cable here. OTA antenna only for most of that time. Only recently picked up Netflix.
I don't like the idea of the cable companies getting paid on the front end and the back end. If I have to pay for cable, then I don't want commercials. I will not pay somebody to waste my time with commercials. I can simply pick up any printed media or online media & read the advertisements for 15 minutes every half hour if I wanted that, which would be fucking asinine! Plus, most of their channels suck ass anyway.
Cmdrmonkey
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Actually I'd say that on premium channels like HBO, Showtime, and AMC, TV is the best it's ever been. Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and Game of Thrones are incredible shows that are on par with the best movies in terms of their writing and acting.
heatlesssun
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I have not seen the new show, but as a kid I watched the original Cosmos and read the book. I grew up in the Christian faith and still hold those beliefs today though I'm not religious by any stretch. But I recall very well how Cosmos made me question Christianity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZOT_xAIWbA
From the original Cosmos.
If that's not an attack on religion I don't know what would be. No conservative American politician would ever say these words in this day and age any liberal politician that did would be considered "anti-religion" by conservatives in the extreme.
The whole point of the original Cosmos was to promote scientific methods and mainstream scientific theories like Big Bang and Evolution in direct conflict of many deeply held religious beliefs. It was in no way shape or form understanding of beliefs outside those of modern mainstream science.
AMC is a basic cable channel that makes money of a (relatively) small carriage and advertising.
steakman1971
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There is good content - but it is hard to find. A few recent shows that my wife and I enjoyed: Dexter (Showtime), Game of Thrones (HBO), Walking Dead (AMC), Sons of Anarchy (FX), etc. A few other channels I watched (when I had cable): FoodNetwork, Travel Channel, History Channel, SciFi, etc.
I have a lot of entertainment choices: TV, games, internet browsing, books, etc. I am busy and don't have more than 2-3 hours leisure time each day. I can't justify paying cable for maybe 1/5 of my allotted free time. I use HuluPlus, Netflix, and watch reruns on some OTA channels.
The last OTA series I probably really spent time watching was Seinfeld. That was from the 90's. There are some OK sitcoms now, but none have really caught my attention.
To retain/grow customers, cable should consider:
1. Go a la carte.
2. Lower prices.
3. on-demand. Who wants to wait for broadcast (except certain events such as sports)
If cable won't do it, the content providers will end up going their eventually. I'm curious to see how HBO does with their new option in April. I think it's a little pricey, but will admit I want to watch Game of Thrones. After that is done, will they have enough content to keep me? (Actually, not even sure I can get this as I don't have an AppleTV. Whole different story though
)
I have a lot of entertainment choices: TV, games, internet browsing, books, etc. I am busy and don't have more than 2-3 hours leisure time each day. I can't justify paying cable for maybe 1/5 of my allotted free time. I use HuluPlus, Netflix, and watch reruns on some OTA channels.
The last OTA series I probably really spent time watching was Seinfeld. That was from the 90's. There are some OK sitcoms now, but none have really caught my attention.
To retain/grow customers, cable should consider:
1. Go a la carte.
2. Lower prices.
3. on-demand. Who wants to wait for broadcast (except certain events such as sports)
If cable won't do it, the content providers will end up going their eventually. I'm curious to see how HBO does with their new option in April. I think it's a little pricey, but will admit I want to watch Game of Thrones. After that is done, will they have enough content to keep me? (Actually, not even sure I can get this as I don't have an AppleTV. Whole different story though
)ViperGrendal
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Funny thing is I agree with most of what he says there. Sagan would then turn and backhand slap any belief system that fell outside of his view. There was no room for things that fell outside of his "sphere" of understanding. He would go as far as citing examples that he KNEW were regarded as wrong even by the people that believed in that topic. Guy was really a hypocrite fundamentally. Unfortunately Tyson followed in Sagan's footsteps with this which kinda crushed my view of him. I'm all about challenging peoples beliefs if they want to challenge others, but people need to be respected for those same beliefs as long as it doesn't harm or degrade others in the process. JMHO
Back on topic, I agree that the quality of some TV shows is as good as ever. The execs just keep milking the $ from both ends, and people are getting fed up with it. Drop the crap most people don't want and make advertisers pay up for the air time on the shows that demand it. Quit passing the buck onto the consumer. And, quit creating crap content so it can be filled with more commercial air time. The internet is the place for all that garbage most of us don't want to see. Those that do can click a link and watch commercials there. I'm sure most of that audience won't know how to get around that anyway.
Me, if I have to I'll just wait to watch whatever it is. there is nothing I NEED to see so bad that I'll pay $120 a month and sit through a bunch of filler to see.
The TV dial is over-saturated, simple as that. Too many networks, too many channels, too many shows. There are so many networks now that half of them play infomercials 12 hours a day. I can remember back when you waited all week to see your favorite shows (Knight Rider and Dukes of Hazzard back to back on Friday nights, for me). Remember this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkYS2I9dfRs
When that came on, it was actually something SPECIAL. An EVENT. Since then the sheer number of channels and multiple sources of electronic entertainment has killed any excitement that could possibly be generated. It's not entirely the TV industry's fault, but they have been slow to change. The entire system needs to be scrapped, networks need to be culled, and their offerings need to be more focused, with fewer channels, fewer advertisements, and better pricing. I don't see any cable companies taking less revenue, so they'll probably just be buried under a landslide of bad ratings and dropped customers until they go under completely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkYS2I9dfRs
When that came on, it was actually something SPECIAL. An EVENT. Since then the sheer number of channels and multiple sources of electronic entertainment has killed any excitement that could possibly be generated. It's not entirely the TV industry's fault, but they have been slow to change. The entire system needs to be scrapped, networks need to be culled, and their offerings need to be more focused, with fewer channels, fewer advertisements, and better pricing. I don't see any cable companies taking less revenue, so they'll probably just be buried under a landslide of bad ratings and dropped customers until they go under completely.
Today's TV is getting pretty ugly. I'm not much of a fan for reality or crime tv which seems to be the flavor of the day they cram down our throats non-stop, ok, maybe American Ninja Warrior. BBT hooked me with clever nerd humor then the jokes/pranks/situations turned stale as the network tried to go for the broadest possible audience appeal, and they cut Penny's hair. I was psyched for Cosmos but they turned it into a anti-religious/political HATE bandwagon, shoulda stuck to the mystery of science theme like Sagan did. There are still some gems out there like Archer, GOT, Mythbusters but I'm not going to pay $150 a month or sit through another Progressive commercial with Flo's stupid hijinks to watch them.
eh, there are not too many shows. It is that the shows mostly suck. A lot of them my wife and I have just had to stop watching because the writing is so bad. There is still some good tv but a lot of it is now on AMC or other alternative channels.
I have to agree with this post. To much political correctness, to much gay, to much sex and too many pointless reality shows. Two Broke Girls I turned on once and couldn't believe the language and sexual over tones of that show...and its not even funny. Plus the additional advertising minutes that shrink the average show watching time now.
heatlesssun
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Not exactly sure what hypocrisy you're referring to but that's not germane to the point I was making. The original Cosmos had no regard for religious faith and was a direct attack on it. I have no idea how a show that promoted Big Bang and Evolution pretty much as fact could be anything else.
This is only the tip of the iceberg, they are so out of touch that they think it's ok to insulting their audience. 100+ channels, and most the time there isn't anything worth watching. If it wasn't for having a DVR to record the few shows worth watching, I would have dropped cable a long time ago.
Reality shows, shock TV, and attacking religion may get the producers invited to the right parties in hollyweird , but it's a huge turnoff to many people who are giving up on watching TV.
It's amazing how many shows are just direct rip-offs of other shows. It's like the TV producers think their entire audience is too dumb to figure it out.
If there's a new show series I want to watch, I now just pay for it on Amazon Prime. Buying one series every other month or so is far cheaper than a cable subscription and there aren't any commercials.
If there's a new show series I want to watch, I now just pay for it on Amazon Prime. Buying one series every other month or so is far cheaper than a cable subscription and there aren't any commercials.
GotNoRice
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I'm extremely disappointed with the lack of scientific content on TV these days. My biggest disappointment was probably back when the "SciFi Channel" became the "SyFy Channel" and switched over to showing mostly reality TV and trash television.
But a lot of new TV shows, even when I'm watching them without commercials, are just hard to sit through. Too much artificial drama and not enough actual plot or story.
But a lot of new TV shows, even when I'm watching them without commercials, are just hard to sit through. Too much artificial drama and not enough actual plot or story.
sfsuphysics
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Oh no, they're going to lose money from the commercial sponsors! One way to fix that though, low rates but many more commercials!
ViperGrendal
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Eh, because Sagan and Tyson kinda sell themselves as "philosophers" of a sort and "open to all knowledge". Then turn and attack things that they've deemed "false" without much thought given to the subject. I just think they both should have stuck to the science and left people's beliefs alone. Whatever, it's off topic anyway....
In the future all TVs will just be a computer monitor. A monitor for all devices. Networks that cater to the poorest nations will survive. I don't think anyone will pay for any tv channels online. There's already a lot of content online for free. The future will be like what google is doing with advertisements as in popups and ad interruptions inbetween the shows for revenue. The population as a whole wont pay for a single channel. The whole industry would collapse before it came to that lol. The future is online. After all the old timers are dead there will be a new era of entertainment. The internet will be the source of all entertainment. For people like us its been the main source of entertainment for the past 20 years but for people in the mainstream its just now starting to really take over the averages joes. The future is online for everything. A lot of companies are going to go under because of the changes. Maybe even some isps.
D
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Yes. But since there is no edit button in here...
Football is the only sport I won't watch recorded. To be fair the only other sport I watch is IMSA, FIA endurance, and F1...and only about 14 people watch those in America so I don't have to worry about people ruining the outcome. Hell, it took me 5 weeks to watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year (yes, I watched ALL 24 hours of it) and no one made a peep about it.
dandragonrage
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The thing about beliefs is that just because a lot of people believe them doesn't make them right.
There may or may not be some sort of being in a higher plane than we are, but I can 100% guarantee you he/she/it/they are nothing like what any religion tells you.
As far as I'm concerned, NDT is right to attack religion. Religion is wrong, period, and every single positive thing you can get out of any religion can also be had without religion.
Being open to all knowledge =/= open to random people's illogical beliefs.
heatlesssun
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Not exactly. Faith in Jesus Christ as stated by Christianity brings eternal life. At any rate, we don't live in a world that's particularly tolerant of true faith. Sure people will support the idea of religious freedom and tolerance if it so happens to coincide with their own beliefs and agendas. But belief in Almighty God, the creator of the universe that gave his son Jesus Christ to the world to be crucified so that humans could have eternal life which can only be achieved by obedience and service to Him.
Techies are not a group that's very big on the idea.
P4B
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trying to find something worth watching on cable laughable. Trying to get a signal for over the air good luck even if your in a big city. netflix lame after a few weeks. same with amazon and the others
When the time came to tighten the belt a bit and eliminate unnecessary expenses recently, cable was the first bill on the chopping block. A discussion with Charter on how low I could get the bill sealed the deal.
The lowest price they would offer for barebones basic cable was $59.99 and $7 per box. $67 a month to watch a handful of commercial laden shows has crossed into unreasonable territory. Turned the boxes in the next day and will likely never be a cable tv subscriber again. Nice of them to tack on an extra $10 per month for a dry connection but that is apparently common practice. A few weeks in to being a cable cutter there is no going back.
The lowest price they would offer for barebones basic cable was $59.99 and $7 per box. $67 a month to watch a handful of commercial laden shows has crossed into unreasonable territory. Turned the boxes in the next day and will likely never be a cable tv subscriber again. Nice of them to tack on an extra $10 per month for a dry connection but that is apparently common practice. A few weeks in to being a cable cutter there is no going back.
Something I don't understand is how retransmission fees for cable companies are even legal. It would seem to me that the cable companies are doing the major networks a favor by rebroadcasting the signal for them at no charge. Those are just extra ratings for the networks so they can charge more in advertising. It seems like it would be a pretty clear win-win, but greed...
Technically, we the people own the airwaves. If the broadcasters don't want to go out of their way to ensure everyone has access, then they shouldn't be allowed to go out of their way to block technologies that bring those services to otherwise neglected areas either.
Technically, we the people own the airwaves. If the broadcasters don't want to go out of their way to ensure everyone has access, then they shouldn't be allowed to go out of their way to block technologies that bring those services to otherwise neglected areas either.
Congress changed the law in 1992 to make retransmission require the consent of the broadcaster.
But in practical terms, one can say today retransmission fees for broadcast networks are basically making up for the loss of advertising revenue caused by widespread adoption of DVRs.