Plenty Of Ratings Woe This Season For (TV) Broadcasters (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

TV by the Numbers ^ | November 12, 2008 | Staff

[abb]

After 7 weeks of the 2008-9 broadcast prime-time season (through November 9), there is plenty of woe for the big English broadcast networks with double digit percentage losses in the all important adults 18-49 demo for ABC, NBC, Fox and the CW. CBS has fallen the least in the 18-49 demo, down only 6.7% and holding steady.

Economically, this season is shaping up to be a very difficult one for the big broadcast networks. Viewership is again down, and national spot TV ad rates are crashing.

The 18-34 demo adults performance of the CW continues to be a notable exception to the overall trend this season. Our Nielsen reported ratings show it down just 1.2% vs. last season, a success on a relative basis. CW’s more detailed Nielsen ratings (which we see via press release only) show them up with 18-34 women on the season.

My guess is that CBS, CW and ABC will begin to see some improvement vs. last season in early 2009 when prior year comparisons to the strike damaged portion of the season get a lot easier. NBC may be another matter, their results last season actually improved on a relative basis during the strike, but they have the Super Bowl this year, which will also lead to a huge spike in their average making comparisons tricky.

Univision is up across the board vs. last seasoas is MyNetworkTV (MNT). They’re up drastically over last season, thanks mainly to the addition of Friday Night Smackdown!. Note just their numbers, because their bars are truncated. The scale for the other networks would be useless if I adjusted the scale for them.

Our chart shows broadcast network prime-time season to date average prime-time viewership for the 2008-9 season compared to the 2007-8 season. Click the image for a full sized chart.

[abb]

"By the end of this decade or shortly thereafter, television networks as we know them today will cease to exist. They will be just another url on the world wide web competing against millions of others."

"Network evening newscasts will go dark after the '08 elections and their news divisions disbanded."

Walter Abbott, (b. 1950), Media observer and commentator

[abb]

ping

[ErnBatavia]

Anybody thinks the old media is dead need only look at the election results....alas, alive and kickin’ our collective ass.

[abb]

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/11/13/cable-audiences-grow-as-broadcast-shrinks/8041
Cable Audiences Grow As Broadcast Shrinks

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/media/e3i20170c00f5099aacc0939b806dbfd605
CBS Is Most Watched Net
CBS has 470,000 more viewers than second-place ABC
But all three networks are down year-to-year.

[expatpat]

“English”?

[Dahoser]

Anybody thinks the old media is dead need only look at the election results....alas, alive and kickin’ our collective ass.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that.

[abb]

http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/impressions/2008/11/13/glossed-over
Glossed Over
Why can’t magazines get the Web?

http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/
Newspaper profits swoon, more cuts likely

[mlocher]

The 18-34 demo adults performance of the CW continues to be a notable exception to the overall trend this season.

Prime time shows on the major networks cater to this market. As the economy tanks and people have less money to spend, more, I would think, will be watching TV. The fact that there was a 1.2% drop in this group is surprising to me. I would have thought it would have been a bit better.

When someone turns 35, they gain the wisdom to realize that the network prime time shows are plain crap, many with a liberal agenda.

[econjack]

CBS has fallen the least in the 18-49 demo, down only 6.7% and holding steady.

Like they say: "You can't fall off the floor."

[abb]

http://www.mediapost.com/blogs/on_media/?p=299
Downturn Is Time To Revamp Traditional Media

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Sports_TV_52/Now_even_sports_TV_is_feeling_pinched.asp
Now even sports TV is feeling pinched
Major categories are cutting their ad spending

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Television_44/Untimely_end_for_NBC_s_Worst_Enemy.asp
Untimely end for NBC’s ‘Worst Enemy’

[abb]

Every set of eyeballs on a computer monitor surfing or chatting or gaming is a set not watching TV. That’s where they’re going.

[11th Commandment]

The numbers coming in for the MSM is a good news/bad news thing. Good news is the liberal influence is decreasing, the bad news is that the GOP can not blame its loses on the MSM.

[abb]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/business/media/14news.html?sq=news%20media&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=2&adxnnlx=1226667693-I00+oNVV/mAFzz6k37lQoQ
2 Fox and NBC Stations to Pool Video News Gathering

http://poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=13704
St. Petersburg Times restructures newsroom

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=82&aid=154148
How Two Journal Register Papers Crashed

[FrankR]

"Anybody thinks the old media is dead need only look at the election results....alas, alive and kickin’ our collective ass. "

With the amount of advertising dollars spent on the networks, and then yielding only a 4% lead...is pathetic in terms of ROI for advertising.

This win had a lot more to do with word-of-mouth, and groups like ACORN and "early voting" than the major networks. It also had to do with the fact that the libs "hand picked" the Republican candidate, picking the weakest of the bunch.

There were a LOT more factors in this race than just the MSM.

"Kickin' our collective ass" would have been more like a 10-20% lead.

[mlocher]

Every set of eyeballs on a computer monitor surfing or chatting or gaming is a set not watching TV. That’s where they’re going.

As always, abb, you are correct.

[PrincessB]

The 18-34 demo adults performance of the CW continues to be a notable exception to the overall trend this season. The only show that has really "captured me" this season is on the CW. It's called Easy Money and it's on Sunday nights. The matriarch for the family is one great character with her own set of morals and standards. The whole show has a surreal and seedy feel to it, but I think they hit closer to home than most other shows.

[abb]

The Drive-By Media was important in Obama’s win. They’ve been key in every election in my lifetime. We have to pick the absolute best candidates and run flawless campaigns to win significantly. See 1980 and Reagan’s election.

Contrast that with how the Dem’s can run outright socialists and win. We’ve always been at a disadvantage as far as the Drive-Bys are concerned. It has been that way for many decades.

This is why I do these threads. The Drive-Bys are STILL powerful and I’ve never said otherwise. But the landscape is changing for them financially and I intend to chronicle it here.

Their power is waning and we conservatives had better figure out how to take advantage.

[abb]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/business/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003891027
Lee Closes Out With Smaller Q4 Profit, Loss for Year on Impairment Charge

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Anybody thinks the old media is dead need only look at the election results....alas, alive and kickin’ our collective ass.

My local newspaper, which is part of a chain that's in financial trouble, endorsed Obama and didn't care about the outraged letters-to-the-editor.

[djf]

I like “Life”!

He’s not your ordinary copper... and Reese, that gal is quite the number! Smokin!