Text 3770, 91 rader
Skriven 2006-07-08 18:49:00 av Robert E Starr JR (4243.babylon5)
Ärende: Re: from jms the announce
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Dan Dassow wrote:

> Long ago in a time nearly forgotten, networks commissioned 39 episodes
> per season and broadcast those episodes in sequence from Labor Day to
> Memorial Day. The four networks, ABC, CBS, Dumont and NBC, showed
> reruns during the 13 weeks of summer fully expecting that very few
> people would sit home to watch this leftover fare.

Actually, they mostly ran cheap, original summer replacement series.
When Dumont still existed shooting shows on film was the exception, and
videotape hadn't yet been invented, so there wasn't anything to rerun
except lousy looking kinescopes.  Better to test out new shows as
summer replacements than mess with that.   When reruns did come in they
sometimes saved shows that would otherwise have been cancelled.  both
"All in the Family" and "M*A*S*H" fond audiences during the summer that
saved them.  Rather than watch reruns on NBC and ABC, viewers decided
to sample the competing shows they missed on CBS, and found they liked
what they saw.  This happened because one of the four sweeps periods
falls in July.  Why would they bother with this if no one was watching?


> That was then and this is now. Twenty episodes or less per season is
> now the norm. It is difficult to determine any consistent pattern of
> how the networks show fresh and rerun programs.

Apples, meet oranges.  20 episodes or less is not the norm on ANY
broadcast network.  And ratings "sweeps" periods ONLY apply to
broadcast stations.  (And not actually to the networks, which are
measured via electronic devices.)   Sweeps are used to set ad rates for
local broadcast channels in indvidual markets.  Period.  The networks
try to oblige their affiliates and network owned stations by running
first run episodes out of what is now typically a 24 episode season,
speicals and other stunt programming.  The individual stations do the
same thing, which is why your local ActionNews team always seems to
discover those housewife hookers in your area in November, February,
May or July, and why they run the teaser for the story during a new
episode of "Lost".

Sure, this skews the numbers for those periods, but since everyone is
doing the same thing the ratings are still useful for comparison.
Everybody's bringing their "A" game, so chances are the local station
in 3rd place in Jacksonville, FL or Tonawanda, NY during sweeps is also
going to be in 3rd place come June.  So the advertisers are, in fact,
getting an *accurate* picture of the relative strength of the local
stations.  (Just as a car buyer doesn't expect to actually get 35 mpg
highway in a given car, but can be pretty sure that the 35 mpg car will
get better mileage under the conditions he drives in than the one that
is only EPA rated at 25 mpg.)  And the ratings are not all the stations
(and advertisers) get from sweeps.  They also get demographic info,
which can be more valuable. If I managed dance clubs in Tonawanda, NY,
I may be willing to pay a premium to advertise on certain shows of the
number 3 station if it turns out twice as many of my potential
customers watch them than watch the compeitng shows on the number 1
station.

Since it is too expensive to fit every household in America, or even a
representative sample in each TV market, with "people meters" or other
electronic devices, the paper diaries used during "sweeps" periods
were, are and will remain a practical alternative.  Sampling more
frequently wouldn't improve the accuracy and would increase the cost.
Plus time has to be allowed for preparing, mailing, receiving and
processing the diaries, not to mention updating and changing the
recipients list to keep the same statistically valid and to correct for
bias.  So four time a year (including that July period when viewership
is way down) works out pretty well.

Cable ratings, both basic and premium, are a whole 'nuther story.
(Many basic cable channels simply charge a flat fee per minute of time
and air commericials in rotation on all their shows.  So you may not
buy a spot on "Stargate SG-1" on Sci-Fi.  You buy a 30 second spot on
Sci-Fi to run 30 times a day and it airs on all their shows.)  Since
premium cable channels aren't advertising driven they are far more
interested in a series ability to attract and keep subscribers than raw
ratings, although these are nice for bragging rights.  And, again, they
are not affected by "sweeps" since they have no local affiliates whose
ad rates are set by local ratings.

All-in-all a much less dysfunctional system than you suggest.

Regards, 

Joe
                                                                    
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