Where Did The Primetime Broadcast Audience Go?

Ask Not Where the Broadcast Audience Went, It Went To Cable

We’ve seen that primetime broadcast network viewership has been on the decline since the early 80’s. But we’ve also seen that primetime TV viewing by household has been relatively flat from the early 90’s. Where did the primetime network audience go?

It went, and continues to go, to cable.

The chart, table and text below have now been updated with the final numbers from the 2007-8 season. Note that the percentage of US TV HHs (rating) viewing during prime-time has risen slowly over time, but the broadcast networks share of viewing has continued to drop for the entire period.

As the prime-time broadcast network audience began declining in the early 1980’s, it shifted to cable networks, and by an ever increasing amount, basic/ad supported cable networks.

Some interesting trends jump out.

Over the past 20+ years, Independent Stations have joined up and become Network Affiliates. Note the ever growing list of networks below. I am looking for good data on the number of Independent stations vs. Network Affiliates over time, but conventional wisdom is that their numbers have shrunk substantially. That’s why I colored both of those series blue. I think they should be considered part of the same viewership trend. Taken together, those two groups have gone from a rating of 54.5 to 27.9, a decline of 49%.

At the same time, Public broadcast primetime viewing has fallen from a HH rating of 2.6 to 1.4, a similar percentage decline of about 54%.

Although I was mostly coherent in the mid-80’s, it was quite a surprise that in 1984-85 audiences were watching more Premium/Pay Cable than Ad/Basic cable.

What is undeniable is that the growth of Ad Supported/Basic cable viewing was not followed by a similar growth in premium/pay cable viewing. Premium/Pay cable has seen its share fall modestly during the period. It’s hard to compare the Premium/Pay Cable numbers before 1999 with those after 1999 because of the definition change (noted below) though.

In fact, today more people watch “other” cable (shopping, music, etc) cable than watch premium/pay cable.

(source: http://tvbythenumbers.com)

A Grinchy Recipe on How to Worsen Economic Woes.

Please click the posting title above to hear the actual audio...

"Early to bed. Early to rise. Work like a dog and Advertise"

Black Friday and Thanksgiving Weekend Sales

Much has been said about the economy's impact on retail sales this weekend. Lots of doom and gloom. But there is one thing, one category, one item that I believe will turn what might have been a decline in consumer spending into a net gain. 

For the past year, TV viewers have been bombarded by a focused media campaign telling them that the digital TV revolution is coming on February 17, 2009. The networks and local broadcasters have been airing commercials that say "on February 17th 2009 TV as we know it will fade to black". 

Most people don't understand what this change will mean to them, and virtually everyone is confused. No wonder we're confused, the government is behind this campaign . There are millions of people that think that their current TVs will no longer work after February 17th. 

So, here's what will make the difference in Black Friday sales this year... TV sales will push retail sales numbers over the top, exceeding last year's numbers. 

I was in Costo yesterday and I couldn't believe the number of people with 2 or 3 TVs in their carts! I wandered through the TV aisles and listened to the buzz. An amazing number of shoppers were under the impression that unless they replaced all the TVs in the house, that they wouldn't be able to watch TV. 

Maybe it's confusion. Maybe they are looking for the right gift to put under the tree. Maybe they're just looking for an excuse to buy that great new plasma set they've been eyeing for months. But one thing is for sure, they're spending thousands of dollars on high-tech, and that will make the difference in retail sales this weekend.

9/11, 7 years later...

I started my day as I do every September 11th, at Connecticut's September 11th memorial. It is located in Sherwood Island State Park in Westport. It is an understated memorial on the shore of Long Island Sound. There is a large granite memorial that commemorates all the people that were lost, and there are 2 rows of smaller stones that contain the names of every Connecticut resident that was lost that day. People gathered there on September 11, 2001 because it has a clear view of lower Manhattan. Today was particularly emotional. There was no organized memorial planned, that was 2 nights ago with the Governor and other dignitaries. As I sat there this morning, I noticed more people than ever before coming up to pay their respects and remember. A mom with her 2 young daughters brought flowers, photos, and letters for their daddy, a guy on a bicycle rode up, took off his helmet, walked over to the memorial and immediately started bawling his eyes out. One guy was there when I arrived, and was still there when I left. He'll be there all day. And yet another guy showed up and quietly read a letter to his loved one. Other individuals and groups came and went, but everyone cried. And that's good. It was heartening to see that so many people still take the time to remember. I will never forget.

"Much Ado About Nothing" CT Free Shakespeare in Bridgeport

The Bard hits Bridgeport! Check out this 70's version of this Shakespeare classic.

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
Bridgeport, CT

Frid. - Sun., July 18 - 20
Wed. - Sun., July 23 - 27
Wed., July 30 - Sat., August - 2

Main stage show begins at 8:00 p.m.

The Zoo’s Picnic Grove opens at 6:30 p.m. for people to enjoy picnic dinners brought from home, or purchased from the Zoo’s concession stands. People are also welcome to bring blankets and lawn chairs. The Zoo itself will not be open for touring during the evening.

The Accidental Mayor

The Accidental Mayor
Documentary filmmaker Larry Locke explores urban idealism and self-destruction through Bridgeport mayor John Fabrizi. Monday, June 9 at 7PM at the Barnum Museum, 820 Main St., Bridgeport. $30 (to benefit the Barnum Museum and City Lights Gallery), (203) 311-1104, www.contemporarylives.com
check out the trailer on YouTube:

Bijou Square Key to Downtown Revival

There was something in the air here at Bijou Square at the grand opening party at Two Boots this past Wednesday. Something you could feel. It was a sense of amazement that hundreds of people were together eating and drinking and listening to live music on Fairfield Avenue in downtown Bridgeport. For me, it was a sense of pride that all this was happening in the same building that BAM moved to just 6 short months ago. I looked around the room as the first band started playing, I could see that others shared my sense of pride... and amazement. Others that work downtown, members of the media, city employees... we would walk past each other and say "unbelievable", "it's really happening", "this is simply amazing".