Consumer Guide for Today's Media

Syndicated television is going to court, or at least that’s what the latest numbers show. A tight run for the top syndicated program between Pat Sajak’s “Wheel of Fortune” and Judy Sheindlin’s “Judge Judy” has many asking why so many viewers are tuning in. A current poll from the Nielsen Monitoring System reported that in terms of number of viewers watching these programs, each show is tied for first place amongst all syndicated television programming.

A recent article from the Syndication Network Television Association said viewers felt an emotional attachment feeling the shows were trustworthy and identifiable. Viewers feel like they are on a first name basis with Oprah, Maury, Regis, and many more. This connection has allowed an emotional tie between the audience and the program based on trust. Known as trash television, the human nature attracts viewers and has for decades.

For the week of January 28, Wheel of Fortune took the number one spot with 12.74 million viewers tuning in. Jeopardy followed with Judge Judy coming in 5th with 7.4 million viewers according to the Nielsen Monitoring System .

The Television Business Report issued February 11 reported a tie in first place between the two shows the week of February 4. Whether or not the Judge will be able to hold will have to wait and be seen. While not showing strong the end of January, Judge Judy has made a dominate showing the past few weeks. If this trend continues, Sheindlin’s show could finally overcome the dominate force of “Wheel of Fortune.” Another contender to never forget is Oprah Winfrey. Coming in third place the week of January 28, she is still a major threat especially on the heels of moving to a later air time in the evenings.

The idea of trash television in syndicated programs has constantly been debated. The fact remains that people still tune in. As long as their are viewers, the shows will remain strong and high in ratings. With Oprah Winfrey's recent moves with a primetime television reality show soon to premiere along with her typical talk show, along with the dominate "Wheel of Fortune" presence in evening television, the race for the top will always be tight.

The Nielson Monitoring Company has released the figures from the 2008 Academy Awards. The Awards show was under scrutiny due to the Writers Strike, but was able to be aired after the recent agreement was made. The awards show took top rank according to the Nielsen Monitoring Company pulling in approximately 32 million viewers. This edged American Idol which had approximately 29 million viewers for its Tuesday and Wednesday program. The red carpet came in fifth overall for the week of February 18 having 21.5 million viewers. Compared to past Academy Awards shows, this was the lowest viewing in the past 8 years. Last year’s show drew in 40 million viewers with the top honors of 43 million viewers who watched being awarded to the 2004 and 2001 shows. Did the Oscars lose some of its allure due to the writer’s strike? Or is America finally tuning out of watching celebrities grace the red carpet?

2 million of the 32 million viewers of the Oscars chose to watch the show after it had been aired on their DVR. But the DVR didn’t have to forward through too many commercials. The amount of national commercial minutes in the Awards show actually has lowered to a new low of just 23 minutes of commercials. This is in sharp comparison the high of 27.5 minutes of commercial time in 2005. Out of the advertisers, L’Oreal and Coca-Cola took top honors for national advertisers. J.C. Penney who had the best ad tied in third place with General Motors.

The real buzz of the awards of the wards show was the online traffic the days following. While Yahoo’s Oscars Web site noticed an increase of 201% the day following, this was a decline by over 26% from years past in the amount of unique visitors to the sight. Blogging rose to an outstanding 500% more traffic and posts then the days prior to the show. Overall, Nielsen monitored over 70 million blogs over the span of time leading up to and after the Oscars. With the increase in blogging, the question has to be asked if people will tune out of the show and tune into the internet where they can receive instant feed back of who’s wearing what, who said what, and who surprised everyone with a win. Despite decreasing the overall commercial time, more Americans find it easier to fast forward what they don't want to see. With the internet, it makes fast forwarding even easier. With a click of the mouse, you can see your favorite actors and movies and know immediately how they faired. Whether it’s the increase of internet usage or the anguish of the writer’s strike that made viewers tune out will have to wait and be determined next year. Maybe America is simply tired of knowing who is wearing what and making their own decisions on what movies, shows, and music they like.

Giant screens, pie charts, and more analysis than a math class. Welcome to Super Tuesday. The primary election day Super Tuesday broke many past presumptions, knocking off normal programming. Due to the writer’s strike, watching a rerun of your favorite show was put on the back burner to watching a showdown between candidates gearing up for November election. Cable news programs CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC battle out for top election coverage, which went to CNN this Super Tuesday. CNN campaigned amongst viewers and have seen their ratings reciprocate. A jump of 40% in viewers has bumped FOX News from the number one seat and replaced them with CNN.

This push gave CNN the top three cable news shows, beating out the ranks of CNN in the late hour coverage. The coverage had approximately 3.8 million viewers tuning in, edging out FOX’s 3.7 million viewers and MSNDC’s 2.3 million viewers during their top shows. The mixture of analysis and breaking news coverage has given CNN a new personality and putting them back in the game for the top news network.

This election is proving to be one for the books. Called an election for change, the amount of viewers tuning in alone during primaries greatly outweighs this time four years ago according to a recent article in Broadcasting and Cable by Marisa Guthrie. All of the news stations are reporting outstanding increase in viewers, including a 295% increase in total viewers for CNN. Fox News total viewers increased 161% and MSNBC saw an unbelievable 458% increase in viewers.

The effort put forth by CNN will be continually monitored as November draws near. While positioned nicely after Super Tuesday, the amount of graphics and screens that Wolf Blitzer and the rest of the CNN team use will be put to the test. Americans want to be informed, but they also have to understand and be able to keep up with the technology being used. CNN could hurt themselves by overloading the technology creating a program for the political savvy and not necessarily the average American.

While most viewers are concerned about March Madness and the upcoming Final Four games, madness among the television networks has been stirring up news. USA Network recent renovations make this network a force to be reckon with.

Typically, USA’s audience offers your basic variety of adults ranging from 35 to 54. With a new line up, the audience and the ratings are growing for the network. USA began controlling prime time ratings in January with 2.89 million viewers tuning in. Along with setting the mark for viewers, the network grabbed four of the top ten rated programs. Anthony Crupi examined these results in an article based of data from Nielsen Media Research.

This trend continued in March with giving USA top honors for the 11 weeks and counting. With the addition of World Wrestling Entertainment, a recent article in Mediaweek stated that viewers averaged near 5.03 million for the network.

The latest win fell short of the trend with a decrease in viewership from 18-49 year old adults. TBS stole this category increasing viewers by 6000 people as seen in an article by Crupi.

The programming of USA, part of the “Character’s Welcome” theme, has welcomed wrestling, a monk, and a psychic to network television. Matea Gold, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, discussed in a recent article that the new brand brought with it a new and younger audience. This has increased USA’s audience over 7 percent bringing in nearly 3 million total viewers. With recent success of shows including Psych and Burn Notice, the network won’t be witching program up too much for viewers. Executives gave a nod to USA for knowing who the channel was and where it was going.

Monk began the race for ratings and continues to exceed expectations. An article on Mediaweek.com reported record setting ratings for the season finale of Monk, running on its sixth season. More than 6.87 million viewers have tuned in to watch a man who for some reason catches the hearts of millions with his OCD. This made the show the most watched episode since the premiere.

In a recent article from Broadcasting and Cable, the Monk monsoon taking over the country looks to have no end in site. The drama has been cleared to show in over 99% of the country.

One strategic method USA utilizes for increasing ratings is vignettes during commercial breaks. In the season premiere of Psych this winter, viewership grew 9 percent during the live viewing for 18-49 year old adults. Applying these figures to the extended viewing of the episode, USA watched total viewership grow 12 percent to 5.31 million viewers. An article from Mediaweek, attributes this increase with ad vignettes.

The vignettes, sponsored by Alltel, created a mix genre of entertainment and advertising for television. High commercial ratings are not unusual for USA, which nests in the top of networks being able to keep audiences tuned n during commercials. USA loses just four percent of its audience during commercial breaks.

With the start of new episodes on prime time TV, USA still must deliver to the audience. The younger programming and commercial attractions have attracted newer viewers, but the loyalty has yet to be put to the test this year. The madness around USA could affect programming on all networks. Interactive commercial programming keeps audience interested and tuned into the network. The tides are changing to programming for all ages.

While this will be a gradual shift, the tides have begun moving. Networks such as USA whose programming is based off this change will be used as the forerunner to gauge audience response. If the audience continues to respond as it has, USA will be the first of many to come.

The other night I missed the premier of a new show touted the past few weeks in magazines and articles. Did I TiVo it, record the episode on VHS, or just hope that one day I might watch who fell for who on a rerun? Simply put, I loaded up the trustworthy laptop and tuned in online. The growing trend of online viewing has created a love affair, more than the show I wanted to watch, between the world of television and the world of the internet. Recent occurrences in media trends towards the internet have been noted as affecting live television viewership, but helps set record ratings for shows overall.

A recent move from CBS has brought a beloved American past time, March Madness, to the click of a mouse. A recent article by Paul Gough discusses how the station who used to black out games online has now switched to a constant, live stream of all the games being played. With over 1.4 million viewers watching online last year, the numbers are not yet in with how many have brought the game to them this year. CBS launched the multiplatform allowing users to not register or pay for the games. An application on Facebook allowing members to post their bracket was project to break 3 million members before the first tip off.

Television remains top pick for many viewers, and the ratings prove it. The backlash from the writer’s strike won’t stop viewers from tuning in. A study reviewed by the Hollywood Reporter states that 62 percent of viewers will return to their favorite programming as new episodes are released. With programming including March Madness, the American Idol finale, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and a heated political election in the future, ratings are expected to raise as audiences tune in. Already, 82 percent of viewers feel like they are watching as much TV as they always have.

The love affair between internet and television remains a mystery unfolding for the media world. With new technology allowing online viewers to stream their favorite episodes with limited commercials and now YouTube coming to a TiVo near you, this battle urges on. Michelle Quinn, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, recently wrote about the new deal that will allow someone with TiVo to upload videos from YouTube to watch. Neilson Online reported that YouTube accounts for 57 percent of the 1116.7 million monthly online video views. This number, growing each year, has made itself a major player in the online viewing market.

No matter the internet push, television is here to stay and will remain as a primary source of entertainment and news. The ratings, however, could be affected drastically with more programming heading towards the web. Already, viewership numbers can be deciphered between those viewing live, on a recording device, or online. These numbers have the opportunity to change drastically and with it advertising and commercials must adjust. While I enjoy the internet, nothing is better than sitting on your couch watching your favorite show. With commercials, the idea of TiVo and DVR capabilities will be a force to be reckoned with. With new technology and new ideas, the ties of the internet and television to the media will be changing for years to come.

I love sitting in my journalism class because everyday I know I can hear something about sports. Rightfully so, when almost half the class’ future interests involve the sports market. Walking through campus, I hear groups of students discussing draft picks, who’s the best relief pitcher in baseball, even remnants of the 2008 NCAA Championship and the 2007 BCS Orange Bowl Championship. The sports market can not be beat whether in the minds of fans or in the ratings system. I even have to admit tuning into sports a lot more the past few years, especially with the lack of television programming interesting me. With ratings racing up the charts, are people tuning out of regular television and tuning into sports more than ever?

The top 10 cable programs for the week of April 21, 2008, as recorded in an article by the Nielson Monitoring System, touted four of the top ten cable programs as sports programming. The NFL Draft came in number with over 5 million viewers, edging out the NBA Playoffs between the Suns and the Spurs by almost a half million viewers. Other noted programs were the NBA playoffs on ESPN and TNT, bringing in between 3.75 million and 4 million viewers.

TNTs ratings have risen overall holding the NBA Playoffs. An article by Jon Consoli in Mediaweek stated that TNT is averaging over 20 percent higher ratings compared to last year’s post season coverage. Overall for the 17 games played on TNT, their ratings rose more than thirty percent.

Overall for the NBA, Consoli reported over 1.2 million households tuning in for the 2007-2008 season. This comes as the highest number of households watching the games in the past six years. Overall, the NBA has seen an increase in game coverage by over 14 percent. With numbers like these, basketball has set a precedence not only on television but also online.

The coverage of the NCAA March Madness tournament proved to be a success for CBS both online and on television. Peter Whoriskey, Washington Post Staff Writer, discussed this successful market in a recent publication. The network gained $4.83 for every viewer online, totaling over 4.8 million viewers. The 132 television viewers who watched the tournament on TV brought in $4.12 per viewer. Executives noted online advertising came at a higher price than television ads, a switch that will surely continue in sports to come.

Basketball isn’t the only sport profiting from increased ratings. The Nissan Open raked in over 31 percent more viewers than the past few years. The final round was able to pull the highest ratings the PGA Tournament has been able to pull since 2004. The Masters followed this trend drawing in record ratings as noted in a recent article by the Associated Press. The second round became the most-viewed round on cable despite the fourth round coverage being down from 2007.

The rise in demographics for sports programming has swept the spectrum, reaching from young adults upward. I associate this trend with a renewed interest in sporting events on television. With ratings down for prime time viewing, it seems the shift in America has been away from the reality television shows, the dramas and the crime shows, and back to your great sporting events. With the upcoming Olympic Games, this trend won’t be over soon. Grey’s and Desperate Housewives won’t be taken away soon, but they do have a strong competitor to contend with, America's favorite past time, sports.

After any major world event, war, natural disaster, recession, the country is looked upon to see how it comes out of its wounds. While not as drastic as the following examples, many people are looking at the post-writers strike affect on television programming. Many noted an early jump to the ratings as programs rolled out their final episodes for the season. Yet overall, audiences are tuning out of the big hitter shows and tuning in to the unexpected.

The ratings for the top shows including American Idol, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy are dropping at a shocking rate following the strike. An article by John Rash in Advertising Age noted that Fox’s American Idol is down 22 percent from last season. This show along with others are simply failing to meet expectations. Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy slipped over 16 percent from the past few years followed by Lost sliding down 14 percent.

Some shows harder hit include Fox’s House, which while placing fifth overall in the rankings for the week is over 24 percent off its average viewership for this time of the year. Crime show CSI slipped 18 percent, following the trend with lower ratings. The question is, where are all the viewers going?

Many have decided to cut the commercial time and tune directly in online. In February, video views toppled 10 billion feeds as noted in a publication by Todd Spangler in Multichannel News. This number was up 66 percent over the past few years. This attracted over 135 million viewers spending approximately 204 minutes online viewing videos.

Because of this trend, many networks are pulling their television shows from online to try and draw viewers back to television. Brian Steinberg wrote in an article for Advertising Age that the CW will be pulling the last five episodes of its run away show of the season, Gossip Girl, from the net hoping to lure viewers back to the television. Executives are still unsure of how to maximize the profit from the online community so are luring viewers with contests that force them to tune in to the show.

Many are saying the drop in viewership is due to the end of the writers strike and a disappointment in programming. Honestly, I think it’s a trend our nation will lean closer and closer too. Audiences are finding it hard to tune in and be berated by commercials during their favorite programming. This helps increases the desire for more online programming by the major networks. I also think audiences are finding other programming. A recent post of mine explains the increase in sporting events ratings, which could be a possibility. I find it entertaining that the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch was able to produce the highest rankings of any season premiere ever for them, bringing in 3.39 million viewers. Maybe people are simply tired of the dramas and want more real life drama. Whatever the case, programs continue to slip and may be in jeopardy.