Posted on 10/24/2010 5:29:44 PM PDT by abb
Television is losing ground in one of its most lucrative strongholds: Thursday nights.
Fewer people in the U.S. are watching Thursday prime-time TV so far this fall, as changing viewing habits, weaker shows and more varied competition take a toll on a night that for decades has showcased some of TV's most high-profile programs, and priciest commercials.
Over the first four Thursday nights of the TV season, an average of 48.5 million people between the ages of 18 and 49 years old were watching prime-time on any channel, broadcast or cable, recorded or live, according to Nielsen Co. estimates. That is down 2.2 million, or 4.3%, from a year earlier. Among all viewers, Thursday-night TV usage is down 1%.
Thursday has long been a TV marquee. In the 1990s, when NBC aired "Seinfeld," "Friends," and "ER" and dubbed the night "Must-See TV," Thursdays often accounted for five of TV's 10 most-watched series.
As recently as 2007, Thursday was the third-most watched night of the week among the 18-to-49 cohort, after Sundays and Mondays. But so far this season, it trails even Tuesdays and Wednesdays in that demographic, which is the most sought-after by advertisers.
The potential cost is high. Marketers often pay higher rates for commercials on Thursday nights because weekends are big shopping times. It is advertisers' last chance to hawk movie tickets, new cars, restaurants and retail products beforehand.
The drop could be the leading edge of a broader phenomenon. The number of people between 18 and 49 watching TV on any night of the week, on any channel, live or recorded, is down 2.7% so far this TV season compared with last.
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(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
NBC cannibalized themselves when they took the 8:30 and 9:30 shows and used them to anchor other nights (even though they needed a little bit of help from their lead-ins) and stuck mediocre crap in their place.
We all want more “dumb white man” and “stupid white cracker man” commercials on TV.
I canceled TV over a year ago and will never go back. 24x7 brainwashing. TV is like The Matrix. I took the blue pill.
The internet is the future for TV. Not hundreds, not thousands, but tens of thousands of streams to choose from. There will be stations dedicated to virtually any interest or hobby you can think of. Ice Fishing? There may be a dozen channels dedicated to nothing but ice fishing. Boring? Not if you are a dedicated ice-fisher. Point is, there will be something for everybody and nobody ever need see a silly sitcom from the networks ever again.
Hell, Free Republic will soon have their own streaming video channels. We will be able to actually see Willie Green as he rants about trains - that is, if he is ever allowed back on FR again.
Fringe.
Sports channels such as ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews and ESPNU in HD.
Fox News Channel and Fox Businesss Channel in HD.
History Channel and Discovery Channel in HD.
Small wonder why I've amassed a good-sized collection of classic anime on DVD and have a Crunchyroll subscription to see the latest anime from TV Tokyo (Japan's #2 broadcaster of anime) online.
Only night I ever watch. Bones and Fringe on Fox and the Mentalist on CBS. By Thursday I’m fried and just want to make it to and through Friday.
Good for you. I am glad you get it. After the fact it felt like I was letting evil in the house. I quit over a year ago but it is sick that a home improvement show is pushing the gay agenda. I loathe TV.
If they would let you pick the 3 or 5 channels you want but they won’t. The reason is your cable/sat TV bill divides up money based on channels using a formula. Disney has like 8 or 9 channels, ditto Viacom/CBS, etc. It ends up they get about $5 to 7 a month. So you are sending TW/CNN money each even if you never watch. It is a total scam.
It’s worse than one home improvement show it was all the channels. Seemed like 90% of the renovations were done on gay or lesbian couples homes. It was blatant that they were pushing acceptance of the life style. Don’t have a problem if you do it but I don’t need it shoved down my throat every time I try to relax and watch T.V..
And what’s the deal with shows like Everyone Loves Raymond. Way to trash your parents as bumbling fools or your wife as a neurotic women. There are so many shows like this.
Don’t need that pushed on my kids who are still impressionable.
Good! The appeal of network TV is an enigma to me. Am I supposed to be enthused by the latest show featuring big guns, special effects, and enough sex to make a prostitute blush? How about the newest comedy show where a bunch of genius women make fun of the stupid white guy? A liberal and conservative screaming at each other under the pretense of ‘news’?
I’ve eliminated TV from my life altogether and I’m all the better for it. Most of my entertainment comes from fine books and classical music. I buy Blu-Ray movies only occasionally, and only if they’re truly among the greats - Band of Brothers, Amadeus, The Matrix, et cetera.
The Internet is my news source. It’s free. It’s instant - I can jump to whatever stories I want without waiting for the news suit to cheerfully run down the list of who got shot, stabbed, and raped today. Thanks to Adblock Plus, I can filter out the scourge of excessive advertising that plagues other mediums and flip it off to support what I like.
There are some very well done, entertaining tv shows. The best shows today match up very well with the best shows of prior eras.
The problem is the rest of tv - the average show of the past was far more substantial than the average quality show of today. And the worst shows these days are much worse than most of the worst shows of the past.
Totally agree.
I don't think "Fringe" is going to last much longer. Besides the interrupts in its schedule, it's not dragging out the story enough to think that the producers expect the show to continue.
In other words, they appear to be planning a wrap, given the pace of the original storyline. There could have been more epis like the "Martha Plimpton" one, instead of just "movin' on over to the alternative side..." so soon.
Just my 2 cents.
I disagree. Thursday night has one of the 3 network TV shows that I try to never miss... Fringe. I love that show, and it's getting more and more interesting. The other two shows I must see are Castle and South Park.
Mark
I remember those days... The days of The Cosby Show, Wings, Cheers, Hill Street Blues... Great TV. Even the first few seasons of ER, when Michael Chriton was involved in the writing, was great, though it eventually got too preachy for me.
Mark
The reason is that people are working second jobs so that they can pay the monthly healthcare premiums that came with their day job.
TV today is mostly ... what a few years ago would have been called XXX rated fare. Totally unnecessary to the story lines. Simply free love, free sex, no attachment, and no concern about health issues. STUPID and denigrating to men and women. Violating the minds of children. Destroying the family.
Stupidity! Jackass! No morals or redeeming loyalty, trust, or compassion for others. Many mind numbing. Filled with varying information that fits their agenda for the world today. Most all of it inaccurate.
God help us, in Jesus name, amen.
I stopped watching TV in 1995. Occasionally I do see a few minutes of it and I never fail to be stunned at the obscenities and the perverse story lines.
So I spend my previous TV time on the Internet where civilization is still ...well...civil.
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