Posted on 03/15/2015 7:15:25 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
February was another heartbreaker for the $65 billion television ad business.
Commercial ratings — the viewing “currency” that determines what advertisers pay for TV time — cratered across broadcast and cable networks, marking the fifth straight month of double-digit declines for the industry.
“It’s clear the downward spiral in TV ratings continues with no end in sight,” media analyst Michael Nathanson wrote in a research note on Friday.
Overall prime-time broadcast network ratings were off 12 percent last month compared to a year ago, while cable networks dropped 11 percent, according to his report.
Nathanson looked at so-called C3 ratings, which come in later than traditional ratings. They measure average commercial viewership in shows up to three days after the original air date via DVR playback.
While a couple of networks that carried the Super Bowl and the Olympics last year clearly suffered because of tougher comparisons, almost every channel was hurting.
Looking at total-day C3 ratings, only three networks boosted their audience: HGTV, Discovery and TBS, while TNT, History and Nickelodeon fell the most.
Typically, TV ad sales executives can increase prices to compensate for a ratings decline, citing scarcity. But Nathanson said seismic changes are pressuring networks to hold the line on pricing.
Although some of the ratings declines can be blamed on changes to Nielsen’s measuring methods, among other changes, “we believe these terrible ratings trends are also indicative of changing viewership habits,” he wrote.
The numbers underscore the rapid changes in how TV viewers are consuming content.
Americans are increasingly watching TV shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon streaming and other services. Some 40 percent of households now have subscription video service, Nielsen reported earlier this week.
Yahoo, Amazon and Hulu are among the bidders for the streaming rights to “Seinfeld” episodes, WSJ.com reported Friday.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
InfiniTV to record with cablecard and VideoRedo Suite to remove the commercials - never have to watch commercials again. About 7 minutes (per 1 hour show/movie) to remove commercials and then watch the show commercial free.
The only way to go...
The only thing I watch these days is “The Kelly File”. Television is just a vast waste land.
My wife and I occasionally watch “The Amazing Race,” and this season they have two gay couples competing. Interestingly, they are the only two teams who by not winning a leg, got a special “date night package” randomly provided.
Then, when one of the gay teams came in last in an early show, they made sure to switch it to a “non-elimination round.”
Gays are very much over-represented in the media. 1-3% of the population never looked as great a proportion as now on television.
Netflix has good KDramas.
Our provider forces us to watch the ads on some free, new, on-demand movies. I refuse to watch them.
Heck, maybe one of these days, we'll dump cable.
Have no interest in "TV shows" whether direct broadcast or on any subscription service.
>“It’s clear the downward spiral in TV ratings continues with no end in sight,” media analyst Michael Nathanson wrote in a research note on Friday<
Gee, I guess it wasn’t real bright of the politicians to eliminate most people’s ability to access TV without expensive cable or satellite bills, was it.
Michael Nathanson, meet John Galt.
Huh?
The only thing holding up the complete demise is ESPN. If you could just pay to stream sports channels, it would be lights out for regular TV.
The 0bama plague will be gone, soon.
For your cell phone, consider T-Mobile or Sprint for unlimited data plans. All T-Mobile data plans are unlimited, but get throttled back to under <150 kbps after you reach the monthly limit (unless you get the “unlimited, unlimited plan”).
Make sure you are eating healthy and getting enough sleep. Depression is a terrible thing to flirt with.
Recently saw a promo for a “swingers” program...disgusting...no wonder tv ratings are declining
I am looking into getting Roku or Tivo.
Sadly I am so technology challenged, I am having a really hard time figuring out how everything “fits” together.
Do you know of a site that explains all of this mish mash to a “challenged” person?
Heck...I may just go back to an old fashioned antenna and be done with it.
Thanks, I’ll check it out. Not really a fan of reality TV, but it looks like it could be interesting.
Yep, they took something good and turned it into something stupid.
I loved Discovery Wings. Then it became the Military Channel. Then it became the Hitler channel (which actually wouldn’t be bad but they constantly re-ran the same 5-6 programs all the time). The people that ran that channel into the ground need to be lined up and pimp-slapped.
That’s what I do. Watch football at Buffalo Wild Wings over some hot wings and drinks. My Roku box gets me anything else I need. Conventional TV can go suck it.
If I watched that, I’d have to go slam my head in the car door after.
Even better, get Straight Talk. They have a $45 mo. Unlimited plan that’s truly unlimited. No contracts. Month-to-month or if you’re flush, you can pay for the whole year. Got rid of my old provider two years ago and went with Straight Talk. Have never had a complaint.
Cable TV is one of the biggest con-jobs in U.S. history.
Billed as commercial free 40 years ago, the sultans of sham have gotten millions to pay through the nose to watch their endless commercials, which they’ve already been paid for.
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