The Extratextuals

Nielsen have been pretty active recently, with announcements, changes, and additions left, right, and center. I believe Ivan’s going to handle one of those possible changes/shakeups, so I’ll focus on three others.

Increase in the National TV Ratings Sample SizeThere’s the announcement that they’ll be tripling their TV ratings national sample size by 2011 (hence rising from 12,000 households with 35,000 people to 37,000 households with 100,000 people). Sam Ford over at the Convergence Culture Consortium blog discusses this, though more from me below.

Hey! NielsenThey also introduced a service called Hey! Nielsen, which is ostensibly a social networking and opinions site. CCC also beat us to the punch here, with a post from Eleanor Baird. She finds the site interesting in three ways, arguing that it signals:

• “a desire to work with fan groups and give them extra clout, something that I believe echoes a change in attitude in the industry as it tries to quantify things other than eyeballs to sell to advertisers”;
• “a move towards more diverse measurement from an online group”; and
• “an interesting move is that it is seeking to build a more direct, trusting relationship with an audience that probably has fought in the past to keep the shows they wanted on air because of low ratings”

Certainly, offering evidence of Baird’s first point, my quick browse through the site suggested a marked cult fan presence. Hey! Nielsen gives a score to shows that are being talked about, and the day I visited, Supernatural, Jericho, and Firefly easily topped the television scores.more below… Read more…

ads, ratings ads, Nielsen, ratings, social networking sites, surveillance, sweeps

Via Mediaweek, I recently found a survey on consumers’ attitudes towards advertising. Based on an online random survey of 966 Americans 18 years and older from Sept. 5-12, this study is both interesting and truly hilarious. A few highlights:

• Ad people have only marginally more public respect than national politicians and car salesmen, yet less than lawyers, a finding that causes the study’s author to bemoan negative media depictions of advertisers. Awwww. Do you appreciate the irony of an advertiser complaining about poor media depictions?
• One of the charming graphs suggests that 31% see ad people as a necessary evil, and 15% see them as a necessary good. By my math, that means 54% think they’re plain unnecessary, and as many as 85% think they’re evil.
• Another question asked which of the following terms best described their use and attitudes towards the media: “avoider,” “indifferent,” “grazer,” “committed,” or “compulsive.” I find the question interesting since it tells us the divisions the ad industry is making, and that they even think it’s useful to generalize about people’s overall media consumption.
• Only 24% claimed they outright resented advertising, with most simply claiming to ignore it.
• One of my two favorite tidbits comes from a question that asked people to agree or disagree with several statements, including “The Internet helps me make better product choices,” “The Internet has changed the way I shop,” and “I would love to have an ‘invisibility cloak’ sometimes.” I promise I’m not making that last one up. Where’d that come from?! How about “I wish I had a Nimbus 3000,” or “I would love to own a stovepipe hat and have my friends call me Honest Abe” while they’re at it? I’ve seen many silly non-sequiturs in surveys before, but this takes the cake.
• In that same question, though, interestingly for the rationale behind this blog’s focus on extratextuals, the two most agreed-upon statements were “Too many things are overhyped now – movies, products, politicians, and even news” (84% agreed or strongly agreed), and “Everything is a brand now – products; movies; places; people” (74% agreed or strongly disagreed). I’m uncomfortable with the grandpa tone there, though (using “now” to distance from the perfect “then”).
• And, to end with, my other favorite tidbit: respondents were asked whether they described themselves as a “pragmatist,” “idealist,” “skeptic,” “hedonist,” “cynic,” or “geek.” Since when did “geek” become a worldview and a life philosophy? (“Are you a glass half full or half empty kind of person?” “Neither, I’m a geek”).

That said, if anyone thinks ads are all bad – if, in other words, you’re a “cynic,” not a “geek” – check out this wonderful, if banned in the US, ad.

ads ads, surveys

It’s a bit last minute, I know — and I don’t believe it’s open to the public — but Jonathan encouraged me to write a quick post about a panel discussion I’ll be participating in this evening for the Producers’ Guild of America. Since I’m speaking, I’m doubt I’ll be in a position to take notes, but I’ll try to do a post-game write-up in the next few days addressing any interesting points that come up.In the meantime, if you see this and have questions you’d like me to try and raise with the other speakers, post in the comments and I’ll do what I can.And now, the details:

CREATING BLOCKBUSTER WORLDS:
TRANSMEDIA DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION

Wednesday, September 26 (6:30PM – 9PM)

As exemplified by TV series such as Lost and Heroes , video games such as Halo and the work of creators such as JJ Abrams, Joss Whedon, Zach Snyder and Kevin Smith, storytelling has made a quantum leap in the 21st century. Development and production of a single rich narrative across multiple media platforms is the next exciting challenge being faced by producers in the digital age. Right now, major studios, advertising agencies, video game publishers and dozens of Fortune 500 companies are incubating concepts and developing intellectual properties capable of both enthralling and interacting with audiences who will enjoy them on their TV sets, computer screens, game consoles, as well as in the form of theatrical films, graphic novels and toys. There are only a handful of producers with extensive experience in the lucrative field of trans-media storytelling and production, and the PGA will be bringing them to you in this exciting seminar.

Producers who attend this seminar will become familiar with the following:

• The definition, history and near-future of trans-media storytelling, development and production
• Success stories and notorious trans-media failures
• Creative and technical elements that form successful trans-media franchises
• What (and who) you need to know to understand the ambition and scope of trans-media production
• The conceptual building blocks for successful trans-media development and implementation
• Facing the challenges of working with large conglomerates
• Rollout strategies
• The role of product placement, sponsors and promotions
• What goes into developing a trans-media deal
• Examples, illustrations and models

Read more…

Uncategorized speaking, transmedia

We all seem to have our set price for how much any media should cost. I’m cheap, so mine are likely lower than many. Only two of my (admittedly small collection of) PS2 games were ever bought new, since $50 seems too much. I don’t buy CDs anymore, only singles, and even then only in $10 batches. I all but gave up on live theatre after leaving England where, as a student, I lived ten minutes from most theatres of note, and could get student rush seats for $20 or lower. When I go to the movie theatre in New York, I usually try to see two films for the price of one, since $11.75 is too much for most films. I get most of my books through publisher payments for doing reviews, since I don’t like spending $30 on a book. I don’t buy DVDs for the most part, since they’re too pricey.

This places most of my media purchases between $1 and $15. Now, on one hand, I’m very aware that there is little logic to this, comparatively. A video game will offer potentially hundreds of hours of entertainment if it’s good, yet I won’t spend $50 on it? Ditto with a CD for $20? But I don’t make sense, so let’s not rely on the presence of a rational Jonathan to solve this issue. Instead, let me push past the irrationality of me, and discuss how these cost decisions affect my consumption. Price makes certain types of consumption more likely and other less likely. Read on below the fold. Read more…

Uncategorized binge fandom, price

As described over on Jason Mittell’s Just TV blog, Jason, Ivan, Derek, and I recently set up a Fantasy Television League draft. The draftees were the new primetime network shows (with Don’t Forget the Lyrics and The Singing Bee dropped from contention due to early starts, and CW Now and Online Nation dropped since, well, they’re different). Each of us got six picks, and as the season progresses, we’ll get 1 point if the show lives to the November sweeps, 2 for February sweeps, 3 for May sweeps, and 4 for renewal. In addition, we could each dub one of our picks a Designated Stinker, and whoever’s stinker is around the least before its network parent kills it, gets 5 points. Obviously, this competition could take a while to decide. But following Jason’s explanation of his picks on his blog, and in the spirit of our blog crossover, Crisis on Infinite Blogs, I’m now explaining my own picks.

First, I should explain how the ordering went. Since I’d seen most of the pilots at the Paley Center, it seemed fair that I pick last. Ivan had seen 8 pilots with me, so he was third. Then, randomly we picked Derek to go first, a pick he squandered with youthful naivety on Bionic Woman. Draft order reversed each round.

I’ve already blogged about my reactions to the pilots, but let me add a few words on my strategery of picking here. In likely contrast to my draft opponents, I’ll probably only watch one of my six shows (Reaper), but I’m happy enough with these as predicted survivors. When Kidnapped can get canned yet The War at Home gets a full season, or when Freaks and Geeks gets the boot, yet Ghost Whisperer (and, indeed, Jennifer Love Hewitt’s career) continues to linger on television like a stubborn fart, one learns quickly not to pick by quality.More below the fold Read more…

draft draft, pilots

Over the past week, Jonathan has offered a great overview of all the new programs being offered by the broadcast networks. But for me, their appeal on their own isn’t as important as whether I have room for them amidst the shows I’m still watching from last season. So I thought I’d offer a complement to Jonathan’s review of the new network menu by sharing the selections I’ll personally be making. I’d encourage you to post your own here too.

To begin, there are a couple things I should explain about my television watching habits.

Read more…

Uncategorized

Last year marked the first for The CW, the upstart hybrid of The WB and UPN. So programming was mostly about picking which shows from which networks they liked. This year therefore represents their first go at producing their own shows with their own imprint on them.The exec who introduced them proudly noted that 3 of the 4 were listed by USA Today on its Top 10 New Shows to watch list. So what did I think? Below the fold, the final installment of my fall pilot reviews Read more…

previews Aliens in America, CW, fall previews, Gossip Girl, Life is Wild, pilots, Reaper

As premier dates rapidly approach, let me offer the fourth of five installments, with my reactions to three of CBS’s pilots. None are much to write home about, but they are something to blog about, so here we go, below the fold: Read more…

previews Big Bang Theory, Cane, CBS, fall previews, pilots, Viva Laughlin

NBC sure loves superpowers: first Heroes last year, now the time-traveling Journeyman (though don’t expect much similarity between Kevin McKidd and Hiro), the new Bionic Woman, the supposed super-cop in Life, and super agent Chuck. Maybe Dwight from The Office is next in line for powers? Below the fold, I continue with my fall pilot reviews. Read more…

previews Bionic Woman, Chuck, fall previews, Journeyman, Life, NBC, pilots

Continuing with my reactions to the pilots for new shows, below the fold, I review ABC’s Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Samantha Who?, and Big Shots. Sorry Grey’s Anatomy fans, ABC didn’t show Private Practice. Nor did they show Cavemen, Carpoolers, or Women’s Murder Club. Read more…

previews ABC, Big Shots, Dirty Sexy Money, fall previews, pilots, Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who?