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Apple has more than $1 billion budgeted for original programming, Facebook wants its own version of “Scandal” and Google is ready to spend up to $3 million per episode on a drama. The three digital giants have signaled to Hollywood that they are serious about entering a television landscape that Netflix and Amazon shook up just a few years ago. Their arrival will make an already hypercompetitive industry even more ferocious. This year, there are expected to be more than 500 scripted TV shows, more than double the number six years ago. Although there have been some signs that the industry’s output may plateau — cable companies like A&E and WGN have said they are getting out of the scripted television business — the entry of Apple, Facebook and Google into the fray almost guarantees that the volume of shows will continue to grow, even as viewers grapple with a glut of programming and an expanding number of streaming platforms. With the prospect of a flood of tech money about to rush in, Hollywood has welcomed the news....
The "golden age" of TV shows might appear to be in full swing still, and it certainly is in terms of output. The industry is on pace to handily beat the 409 scripted shows released in 2015, continuing an upward trend. But there's a problem: people aren't tuning in, at least in the same numbers. For new episodes last quarter, "average viewership for the top 200 general entertainment series declined 20% year-over-year," according Pacific Crest (using the L+3 measurement, live plus three days). Networks are still pumping out shows, people just seem to have lost a bit of interest.It's even worse with kids' shows, which saw the top 500 series take a 30% viewership dive in Q3 versus last year, the analysts noted in the report....
Last week, we analyzed all of the new fall TV shows to find out which ones are worth watching. As the new TV season kicks off this week, several media buyers have targeted the very same freshman programs as having the best chance to connect with audiences this fall: Designated Survivor, Pitch and This Is Us. But they're also scratching their heads over other fall trends, including the surplus of shows revolving around time travel, and another round of programs based on movies, despite the failure last year of Minority Report, Limitless, Rush Hour and Uncle Buck. The new TV show that is top of mind among buyers, and consistently the first one brought up when talking about the fall season's best bet, is ABC's Designated Survivor, starring this week's Adweek cover subject, Kiefer Sutherland. Sam Armando, lead investment director at Mediavest | Spark, said in the Sutherland profile that putting together a hit series is like completing a puzzle, "and you need all these pieces to kind of fit for success." Designated Survivor, he noted, boasts Sutherland's star power, a relatable premise about an Everyman thrust into an extraordinary situation and propulsive storylines. "All those pieces come together very nicely, so you think it would be successful," said Armando....
It helped to develop all the new ways we watch TV — on-demand, bingeing, mobile. But the Silicon Valley company still has to keep reinventing itself.
Can you go 7 for 7? This is one tough quiz!
Better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town, and this year he's handing out 2015 ratings victories to seemingly everyone.
Several networks are closing out 2015 by declaring calendar year ratings wins, some in the traditional demographics, others in more creative categories. It's the TV version of "everyone gets a trophy." Here's a rundown of which networks seem to be on top in certain demos this year, according to Nielsen...
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According to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, only about half (52 percent) of American homes have a fireplace. For the 48 percent of us who are flueless, it's not easy getting into the holiday spirit—not when just about every popular conception of Christmas revolves around chestnuts roasting on an open fire and Santa Claus coming down the chimney. Fortunately, there is a substitute: the Yule log. Chances are you've already noticed, and probably watched, one of these ersatz holiday fireplaces. But in case you haven't, the Yule log goes like this: It's a video of a fireplace with logs burning inside it. You watch it. That's it. Some Yule logs can get pretty elaborate. Virtual Fireplace, for example, allows viewers to select their own pile of logs and even choose from several different combustion sounds. Some of them are themed, such as the Darth Vader Yule Log, which shows the famous villain's remains atop the logs. (Say what you want, but the thing has over 1.2 million views.) Still others feature internet stars. Celebrity cat Lil Bub, for instance, has his own Yule log video....
Headlines about TV viewership have not been particularly positive. Common themes lately have been: “TV ratings plummeting,” “NFL viewership in decline,”“Millennials unplug from TV,” or “Cord-cutting, cord-shaving growing.” Then there’s a big favorite lately: “TV can’t deliver reach like it used to.” While there’s some truth in all of these ideas, they don’t tell the whole story of TV viewership today. First, overall TV viewership is not falling off a cliff. After four-plus decades of extraordinary growth, there is no question that the average amount of time Americans spend watching old-fashioned TV plateaued over the past few years and has now begun to decline. However, this overall decline is in the very small single digits annually....TV has not lost overall reach. In fact, its overall ad-reach capacity has never been greater. What’s changed is that TV audiences have fragmented their viewing across hundreds of different channels and all of the dayparts, and most major brands keep making the same buys. They’re chasing the few shows with bigger ratings without trying to understand how to scientifically and efficiently re-aggregate the fragmented audiences. Doing so is hard work and takes time and investment, all in short supply in media buying ...
There’s no mistaking the dramatic changes taking place in the video content realm. Consumers are avidly seeking out content from a variety of traditional and new content providers, and they’re eagerly tracking it down across mobile, digital and linear channels. In fact, American media consumption recently hit a new milestone in the first quarter of 2016, with subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) usage now equal in the U.S. with DVR usage. While the myriad content offerings is a bounty for consumers, who now spend 70 hours each week with media, content providers are increasingly challenged to break through and make sure their offerings are front and center. Despite the commotion in the space, however, many of the industry’s best-known content providers agree on one thing: The consumer needs to be the primary consideration. "I’ve been a proponent of a holistic view of content for consumers my whole career,” said Kris Magel, president of Initiative U.S., during a content monetization panel at U.S. Consumer 360 this week in Las Vegas. “And that puts the focus on new technology, new programming and new revenue opportunities. While some have said video has changed more in the past five years than in the past 30, I would argue it’s changed more in the past single year than in the past 30 years.”...
For a while, it seemed like television was being supplanted by online video as cord-cutting increased dramatically. However, it’s becoming more clear that TV and social media are perfect partners, as tweets and other social posts spike around event television. New data from Nielsen Social demonstrates how much activity surrounds broadcast TV, streaming and cable.
Twitter users are highly engaged during popular shows and live television events, both in terms of hashtags and @mentions. #SB50, the official Super Bowl hashtag, received more than 3.7 million tweets. Other live events like the #Oscars also fared very well, with 2.9 million tweets. And scripted television events scored, with #Empire generating 702,000 tweets and @kanyewest receiving 489,000 tweets during his Saturday Night Live performance.
Whether it’s online streaming, cable TV or broadcast TV, recurring series seem to have remarkable staying power on social. Empire received an average of 387,000 tweets from 95,000 authors each episode, while cable-exclusive The Walking Dead received 435,000 tweets from 150,000 authors on average....
Defy Media found that youth preferred digital over cable "because it better suits their lifestyle and has more relatable content." The study also saw cable/satellite TV consumption decrease with age, noting a spike in free digital video consumption. Young people are turning to streaming services because they simply offer the freedom of choice — and more appealing content, the report said. "For TV, you have channels but you're limited to that. On YouTube I can just look up what I'm interested in," 16-year-old Leah said....
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The arrival of Apple, Facebook and Google means that the hypercompetitive world of scripted TV is going to become even more ferocious.