[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

[Recon Dad]

At USA, hot new “Royal Pains” and returnee “Burn Notice” have beat out scripted repeats on ABC, NBC and CBS in their Thursday night slots.

Burn Notice is a really good show with a great cast.

[La Lydia]

According to Nielsen, in last month's May sweep, Univision

* was the #1 network on Friday nights, broadcast or cable, among Adults 18-34,Persons 12-34; and the #3 network, broadcast or cable, among Adults 18-49 (beating NBC, FOX, and CW) and #4 network, broadcast or cable, among Total Viewers 2+ (beating FOX and CW)

* ranked as the #4 network among all Adults 18-34 and all Persons 12-34, beating NBC and CW

* ranked as the #5 network among all Total Viewers 2+ and Adults 18-49

* out-delivered at least one or more of the English-language broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC or FOX) on nearly six out of seven nights (85% of the time or 23 out of 27 nights) among Adults 18-34

* out-delivered at least one or more of the English-language broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC or FOX) on one out of three nights (41% of the time or 11 out of 27 nights) among Adults 18-49.

This May, the most-watched station in the country was is once again Univision`s Los Angeles flagship station KMEX among Adults 18-49, regardless of language.

* Univision`s KMEX in Los Angeles and WXTV in New York once again win the #1 and #2 early evening local newscast rankings among Adults 18-49 in the entire country, regardless of language.

* Univision stations ranked #1 in primetime in the following markets:

* Adults 18-34: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, and Sacramento

* Adults 18-49: Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Dallas

* Persons 12-34: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, and Sacramento

* Total Viewers 2+: Los Angeles, Miami, and Houston

Univision`s early evening local newscast averaged higher viewership than ABC, CBS and NBC`s local newscasts combined among Adults 18-34, regardless of language, in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas,andPhoenix.

* Univision stations delivered the #1 11pm (10pm Central) late local news, regardless of language, in the following markets:

* Adults 18-34: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, and Sacramento

* Adults 18-49: Los Angeles, Houston, and Phoenix

* Adults 25-54: Los Angeles, Houston, and Phoenix

[CIB-173RDABN]

Commercials! It may just be my impression, but they are just so many of them. I sometimes for fun count the number of commercials in a break. I have counted as high as 12! Six minutes of 30 second spots. I should point out that the sound is off.

In this they are like policticians. Higher taxes more money, more commercials, more money. The truth is just the opposite.

I have access to over 200 channels via my cable provider, and I swear there are hours and hours there is nothing on I wish to watch. (This is actually good as it gives me time to do more important things).

Television viewing is a habit. They are helping me break the habit.

I am old enough to remember “must see TV”. Shows it seems like everyone in the nation watched each week and then discussed the next day at work. Are there any must see TV shows on today? Not for me. If I miss an episode of a show I know that it will appear three, four, five or a dozen more times in the next six months. Who cares anymore.

[sergeantdave]

Reading the line-up, it looks like 90% of the TV offerings are for ditzy liberal women, bed-wetting college kids and losers with the attention span of a nit.

And to realize these morons can vote is depressing.

[rockrr]

It’s interesting that the article neglected to mention the single largest reason for the dip in viewership - the DTV switch. By and large cable TV viewers were unaffected by the switch, but OTA (Over The Air) viewers of locally broadcast signals were hit - some hit hard.

Analog isn’t digital and the two technologies have different presentations in their communities. Analog is a bandwidth hog, but you can still view a tolerable 15% signal-strength analog reception (if you don’t mind a little snow) whereas anything less than ~60% digital signal and your picture freezes or disappears altogether.

Although both types of signal are “line of sight”, analog is (was) much more tolerant of topological events (like hills and trees). That means the old analog signal could travel up to four times the distance before degrading to the point of unsuitability.

The bottom line is that for huge numbers of OTA viewers, their TV’s went dark, and for the poor among us, will stay dark.

[Poser]

Burn Notice
Saving Grace
Formula 1 qualifying
Red Sox baseball

I’d watch womens tennis but they grunt and shriek so annoyingly that I can’t stand it.

[Richard Kimball]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but the networks own all the cable channels. All the demise of over the air broadcasting does is create a cartel of Time-Warner, Direct TV, GrandeCom and a few others who depend on subscription fees as opposed to advertising.

This means ratings don't count, unless enough people cancel cable or satellite broadcasts. TVLand got into primetime cable running Andy Griffith, the Munsters, Leave it to Beaver, My Three Sons, the Donna Reed Show, and countless other classic shows. Now, they run She's Got the Look, Roseanne and Fresh Prince. Their ratings have dropped dramatically, and they respond with an Annie Hall, "well la-de-da." Why? Cause they don't care as long as the subscription money pours in, and it will pour in as long as the gay/lesbian connection that runs most of the entertainment industry keeps funneling money to their lovers, knowing it doesn't matter what people watch as long as they pay the subscription fees.