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Posts Tagged ‘Television’

May
05/13
Saving The American Soap Opera
Last Updated on Thursday, 9 May 2013 10:24
Written by ModernMediaMix
Sunday, May 5th, 2013

The good old soap opera.  It has been a pastime for your mothers and grandmothers.  If you were anything like me, you were sitting right there at the kitchen table, at the tender age of 9, mystified by the Luke and Laura story.  Those were the days!  But over the years all of the greats have slowly faded away.  “Guiding Light” was cancelled in 2009, “One Life To Live” was cancelled in 2012, “Passions” was cancelled in 2007, “Another World” was cancelled in 1999, and “All My Children” was cancelled in 2011.  What happened…and where did we go wrong?

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Why have soaps only been able to draw in a fraction of the audience they once did?  For starters, more women are going to work now.  They are no longer stay-at-home moms and homemakers.  In some cases they are the breadwinner for the household, and must put their career as a priority.

Cable is a threat.  It offers a variety of viewing options, and consumer’s choices are endless with the DVR, DVD, the Internet, video games all at their fingertips.  Soap opera ratings have consistently declined since the 1970’s, and now soaps are considered a genre of the past.  Fans are falling out of love with the storylines.  These shows are personal to viewers, and once your favorite show is killed off—like a discarded character—who wants to put time and energy into another? It’s just like relationships—they take lots of time to build.

The focus for soaps has become narrower, and the target audience is now shifting to the young adult women.  Producers need a new approach aimed at the boomer audience.  They are too concerned with putting out quick fix content that will be sure to spark ratings, instead of taking their time to develop content made to last.  And let’s not forget about our fathers and sons.  They too should be considered and are an important part of the fan base that needs to be reached.

Ratings are the air that soap operas breathe and these days they’re not breathing much of them.  The Nielsen Ratings System is a setup for failure for daytime TV.  Daytime TV must be watched on the same day it aired to be counted for their ratings. Primetime TV however can be watched in a 7-day period to be counted.  This leaves a big chunk of uncounted viewers, including me.

The executive initiative also needs to change.  Studio executives are so concerned with ratings and money that they have lost concentration on what really matters – the story, the characters, and the development of a soap opera.  Sets were once live and made the viewer feel personally involved.  Now they resemble that of primetime TV shows.  The idea is that you have to spend money to make money, and execs have got to cut the quick gimmicks and get back to the basics.

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But, don’t shed tears just yet.  There may be hope for our beloved soaps after all!  Prospect Park – The Online Network, has agreed to take on “All My Children” and “One Life To Live” via onlinenetwork.com. This new soap opera venture is highly dependent on the intensely loyal fan base.  The hope is that due to the success of Internet-enabled TVs and iPods, web soaps will exceed expectations.  New episodes will premiere this spring on Hulu, Hulu Plus, and iTunes.  Fans will be able to stream 30-minute episodes each weekday via their computers, connected TVs, mobile phones and tablets.  This service is currently free though Hulu.com and Hulu Plus subscriptions but it is not clear if iTunes will provide free version.

Yes, soaps may not be what they used to but every little effort toward keeping them afloat is a positive step and I for one am excited to see what the future holds for this veteran genre.

- Brandi Fields

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Apr
12/13
What’s REAL About Reality Shows?
Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 April 2013 04:07
Written by ModernMediaMix
Friday, April 12th, 2013

They are dominating networks everywhere and viewers just can’t get enough.  From dating shows, talent competitions, and personal exposure, reality TV has definitely proven over the years that it is here to stay.  But, have reality shows gone too far, taking parody and satire to the extreme?  And more importantly, are we wrong for watching?

Reality shows continue to stay relevant because they provide an endless amount of questions such as: “Are we what we watch?” “Are these shows abusive?” and “Is it ok because it’s not us who are the ones looking crazy?” These shows allow viewers to escape the issues in their everyday lives such as the failure of the economy and problems within their own homes.  Viewers enjoy feeling better about their own lives watching others live destructively.  Reality shows let the viewer know that things are not so bad and that there is somebody who is always worse off.

blog2“The Best Funeral Ever” is one of TLC’s newest money-makers on their Sunday night lineup.  This show glorifies the home-going celebrations of the deceased by putting together themed funerals, such as baby back ribs BBQ shindig where an oversized grill serves as a casket.  It’s quite obvious why this show might raise a few eyebrows.  It has even been known to have carnival themed funerals where the ashes even ride the rides.  Other controversial shows are “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” “Teen Mom,” and a Viewer’s Choice favorite “Toddlers & Tiaras,” which routinely pulls in more than 1 million viewers.  In the summer 2010, “Toddlers & Tiaras” premiered with an audience of 1.2 million. During the 2011 season, “Teen Mom” reached their season high in January with 4 million viewers.  3 million of those were in MTV’s target demographic of 12-34 years old.

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TLC says when producing content for their network they are only interested in one thing, will people watch.  When people watch, ads are bought and shows stay on the air, simple as that.  The irony of all this is that the same executive producer of these over-the-top, non-educational programs is the same executive producer for “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?”  Hey, at least they covered all their bases.

The manipulation of these shows can be so deceiving that it can make the viewer questions their own values and beliefs.  The amount of heavy editing creates programs that are sometimes more artificial than the scripted primetime shows.  Here are the Five Biggest Lies that we are fed by our beloved reality shows courtesy of one critic.

  1. They have No Social Message – These people should be looked at as pure entertainers for our viewing pleasure and nothing more.  Women are constantly told ‘how to get a man’ (i.e. The Bachelor) and how to be submissive.  These shows play into the many social biases that surround us and we eat it right up.
  2. They Liberate People from stereotypes and bigotry – It’s like taking one step forward, only to move 3 steps back.  Fascinating drama and humor comes at a price and we watch it every day.
  3. They Dominate TV because viewers want them – What you probably don’t know is that many poorly rated reality shows only exist because they can cost 50-75% less than scripted programs and benefit from revenue streams such as product placement and endorsement deals.  They are merely filling airtime and money has been made long before shows reach our living rooms.
  4. Today’s audience is too sophisticated for manipulation by producers – Producers like to think that content is acceptable because the consumer “knows better”.  The term ‘frankenbiting’ is defined in media as stitching together bits of conversations over time to create scenes which may be partly or completely fabricated.  Pure deception at its finest.
  5. Critical thinking about reality shows means rejecting them – Let’s not be afraid to get educated!  We are human and need our daily dose of entertainment just as much as the next man and that is ok.  Knowing the facts and differentiating between fiction and non-fiction is key here and producers are preying on the weak.

Will I stop watching reality shows? Heck no! The fascination is undeniable however, they are not for everyone and what’s REAL must be understood.

- Brandi Fields

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Mar
25/13
Washington Heights The New Era
Last Updated on Monday, 22 April 2013 09:36
Written by ModernMediaMix
Monday, March 25th, 2013

Networks like Bravo, MTV, and VH1 have all produced shows for viewers to relate to. The most recent series MTV has embarked on is a show about a group of friends in Washington Heights, New York, a prominent area for the Dominican community. The show was created to highlight these young individuals lives as they journey through life and pursue their dreams.

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The show is illustrated through the perspective of main cast members “JP.” Over the course of a few months cast members were embarking on life long dreams. Auditioning for acting gigs, baseball league tryouts, starting fashion lines, to name a few. But what’s a MTV series without drama? There were love triangles, friendships gone bad, and families broken. All of this dramatic material was tapped over the course of a few months.

With the season just ending, the mixed feedback from viewers may have left the cast and MTV a bit confused. Some viewers felt as though the cast members didn’t represent the Latin community well. For that matter, some even felt that they didn’t highlight the Dominican culture at all, which is where most of the cast member’s families hail from. They cast felt as though the show was never intended to be about their Latino background, but more about them as individuals of society trying to find a way out of the world they were so used to.

Weekly viewers would take to Twitter and post their opinions about the show. Using #OnTheRise to signify the show and have input on how they felt about certain things. Even with that, ratings were still at a projected low throughout the season. After sitting back and thinking, I realized in many ways some of the viewers who relate to the Latin community might have simply felt no connection to the cast members. The cast view themselves as Latin American, all 2nd generation Dominicans.

I personally hope the show gets the go-ahead for a 2nd season, as I’m interested to know where they end up, and who they end up with. The Washington Heights has started a new era of series and I’m sure as time goes on we’ll begin to see more niche “community” related TV shows aired on these major cable channels.

- Elizabeth Giwa

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Mar
06/13
The “TV Everywhere” Strategy is Struggling
Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 April 2013 04:15
Written by ModernMediaMix
Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

Facing the challenges from new media, traditional cable television operators in the United States have reached a consensus to promote the “TV Everywhere” strategy.

What is the TV Everywhere (TVE) strategy? In short, it’s an attempt to make broadcast and cable programming available online, on-demand and free with a cable subscription. All you need to do is to verify, or authenticate, your cable TV subscription with a username and password, and have a broadband subscription to go with it. Cable operators Comcast and Time-Warner launched this strategy in 2009, and since then Satellite TV operators have basically launched their own TVE deployment.

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However, after three years, the TVE strategy still has a far way to go to achieve its target goals, and it seems to have had little effect on changing the pattern of online media consumption. And online media websites such as Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, and Amazon Prime are continuing to flourish, with their rapidly increasing audience and market share, their expanding coverage from national to global, and more and more content from television providers.

Though various cable TV operators have invested a lot of money in the TVE strategy, the consumers are still not buying it, make the widely promoted strategy into an embarrassing situation.

Why has the TVE strategy achieved little success in the U.S? To analyze its failure, first we might have a look at the business mode of the traditional TV industry. The TV industry in U.S has several significant features. Cable service average revenue per user is very high, generally about $100. Operators are also the distributors of television content, and they need to pay a huge amount of money for the content licensing fees. TV content providers and TV operators form a monopoly relationship of producing and marketing, which makes them further form an alliance to share the interests.

Given this, it is not difficult to understand the biggest reason why the TVE strategy is struggling—content providers still have a monopoly on the high-quality content of the video industry. For instance, although the largest online media operator Netflix has already surpassed the largest cable operator Comcast in the number of users, and even started its own worldwide expansion, its income, however, still cannot compete with that of Comcast.

Traditional TV still controls the largest part of the revenue of the TV industry. This makes the traditional TV operators afraid of weakening their own traditional TV business, as well as fearing the new video media business cannot be profitable when lunching the TVE strategy. Therefore, the operators are hesitate to put some high-quality content into TVE which may hurt their traditional TV business, and the TVE content is becoming just a part of TV content, which greatly reduce the attraction to the TVE users. In fact, the TVE users are limited by these operators, they cannot freely get the content from the Internet.

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With the development of the online media, there is a discrepancy between the interests of the TV content providers and the traditional TV operators. TV content providers found that, via the Internet, they can provide their own content directly to users, such as ESPN and HBO, both have launched their own online media business. Some new media operators such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Prime and so on, offer various platforms and new distribution channels, TV content providers are constantly reaching a variety of content licensing agreements with these new media operators. And, in accordance with the agreement between the TV content providers and traditional TV operators, the TV content providers will never allow the traditional operators put the contents directly into TVE for free if these contents have not been licensed by them. Therefore, traditional operators and content providers are often engaged in lawsuits.

Finally, when TV operators are promoting the TVE strategy, they need to get new license agreements for these online content from the providers, some may have to pay for additional license fees.

However, the commercial interest mode of the TVE strategy is still uncertain, traditional operators cannot quickly get new revenue sources through TVE, yet they have to pay for the huge construction costs of the TVE online platform and the other additional content fees, which all make it more difficult for the operators to advance the TVE strategy.

- Xuan Li

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Feb
28/13
The Future of Advertising: Watching Commercials in Multiple Platforms
Last Updated on Thursday, 11 April 2013 09:17
Written by ModernMediaMix
Thursday, February 28th, 2013

Television viewing has changed dramatically in recent years: what was once an activity that took place primarily in living rooms, the content of which was organized by networks, today is watched on a variety of devices. We can use DVRs to fast forward in real time, selecting only what we want to see. Even our living room televisions have changed, and are wired for the Internet, so that our selections are infinite. Our options aren’t limited to cable or networks, but include on-demand viewing from a plethora of providers, plus video from various sharing sites. Viewers have increased customization, and—bottom line—no real reason to sit through boring commercials. So how will advertisers reach television watchers in the future?

 One answer is Interactivity. The Internet has opened up new ways for consumers to research goods before they buy them, and interactive commercials capitalize on new consumer preferences.For example, an old Nike ad might sell by allure alone—an attractive woman, compelling music, catchy tagline.   The recent Nike interactive commercials allow viewers to navigate content by selecting what kind of terrain they’ll be running in, and under what conditions. Nike controls how the viewer researches their product.

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Interactive commercials have huge potential for reaching a variety of audiences, and Disney has recognized this potential. Rather than limiting content to, say, families with young children, interactive commercials can also provide content for young couples, or retirees. Disney now offers an interactive on-demand channel, accessible to viewers 24/7.

Yet while interactive commercials seem like a great bet for many products and services, it might not always be fitting for others—for example, floor cleaner, or tooth paste. How will these kinds of products maintain captive audiences—and compete for viewers with interactive commercials.

One possibility may already be evident in blogosphere, where popular bloggers attain sponsorship from big-name brands. Bloggers already have a built-in audience, and they have a credibility that a nameless actor may not. Moreover, they appeal to new ways that consumers research products, much in the same way interactive commercials do.Pantene

Consumers increasingly rely on testimonials and comparisons from “impartial” authorities on the web. A brand of floor cleaner or toothpaste may be infinitely more interesting if it is a part of a trusted blogger’s daily routine. Pantene is one company that has already cashed in on their trend, hiring as their new celebrity face not the typical movie star, but the well known hairstyle blogger Sarah James . Prolific bloggers are already doing videos endorsing products on their blogs, and the form of these kinds of advertisements will likely have the same feel (albeit with slightly higher production values.)

No matter how content is displayed, television commercials in the future will increasingly have to make their audience come to them. Will we be seeing ads for ads in the future? A billboard, print ad, or web banner, perhaps, suggesting the content that awaits?

- Silvia Dadian

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Mar
01/12
The Simpsons’ 500th Episode—More to Come?
Last Updated on Sunday, 4 November 2012 10:16
Written by ModernMediaMix
Thursday, March 1st, 2012

Fox’s favorite animated family, The Simpsons, has been making audiences laugh for more than twenty years.  Over the last two decades, The Simpsons has taken us through an unbelievable number of story arcs—and a South Park episode makes fun of this very fact, in an episode titled “Simpsons Already Did It.”  Homer has bowled a perfect game, toured with the Smashing Pumpkins, prevented two nuclear meltdowns, won a Grammy, won a Pulitzer prize, owned the Denver Broncos, solved an ancient Egyptianpuzzle, and been to outer space (TV Guide News).

We have seen hundreds of celebrity voice appearances on the show, including Larry King, Ringo Starr, and Buzz Aldrin.  The Simpsons franchise has spread from TV into video games, board games, albums, clothing, memorabilia, and a full-length film.  The Simpsons is now the longest running American scripted television series, and just hit the milestone of five hundred episodes on February 19, in the middle of it’s twenty-third season.

The 500th episode began, as all Simpsons do, with the typical intro followed by the “couch gag.”  For the special occasion though, viewers were treated with a conglomeration of every “couch gag” used in the shows run.  The plot follows the Simpson family as they are banished from Springfield because the town is going broke trying to pay for the damage from Homer’s drunken antics and Bart’s boyish pranks.

Although the episode does have jokes for its long time viewers, it is a prime example of the current state of the show.  Any fan can tell you that The Simpsons is past its prime.  Its highest rated episode, “Bart Gets an F,” ran in 1990.  Although the ratings have dropped over the past two decades, the loyalty of fans has stayed strong.  The Simpsons became a part of American culture in the 1990s, and paved the way for animated series like South Park.  Fans continue to watch in the millions, but some now view the show with a bittersweet taste.  The creators of The Simpsons are aware of this current attitude, and decided to end this special episode with a message to their fans that read, “Thanks for 500 shows.  All we ask is that you go out and get some fresh air before logging on the Internet and saying how much this sucked.”

So, what does the future hold for The Simpsons?  There will be seven more episodes in the twenty-third season, but beyond that, the future is shrouded in mystery.  Although the 500th episode garnered a 30 per cent increase in viewers of the 18-24 demographic, this may be the final season for the series.  Negotiations between executives of 20th Century Fox TV and the voice actors are not going well after the studio asked the voice actors to take a 45 per cent pay cut.  The absolutely irreplaceable voice actors responded with a proposal for a 30 per cent pay cut if they received a percentage of the massive memorabilia revenue.  Negotiations are still under way, but 20th Century Fox TV released a statement saying, “… We believe this brilliant series can and should continue, but we cannot produce future seasons under its current financial model” (Inside TV).

Personally, I can’t see this being the end of The Simpsons.  However, the people at Fox are notorious for canceling good programs, and I have a gut wrenching feeling that some of our favorite Simpsons characters may sound less familiar next season.

-Nathan Mitchell

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Jan
15/12
Soap Operas in Turkey and Africa
Last Updated on Sunday, 4 November 2012 10:19
Written by ModernMediaMix
Sunday, January 15th, 2012

Soap operas are a mainstay on daytime television in the United States. Their name derives from the type of advertisements, which were featured during commercial breaks—soap and household cleaning supplies used to be the majority of ads for soap operas.

Throughout popular culture soap operas have been the brunt of many jokes. When an actor is second rate at best they are suggested to try out for the soaps. Amnesia and long-lost evil twins seem to make their way into soap opera plotlines. In short, U.S. audiences view soap operas with derision.

Other countries, however, use soap operas in an entirely different manner. In other nations, the most popular soap operas are used as platforms for discussion.

      

The Turkish soap opera “Noor,” serves as an outlet and a forum for many people. Within the plotline of this soap opera, writers have found a creative outlet to talk about many controversial issues such as drinking alcohol, premarital sex, and abortion. Mohannad, the main character, faces tribulations involving love and faith, which has a large appeal in many Middle Eastern cultures, and the show attracts millions of viewers.

A similar situation exists in Africa with the show Isidingo. Isidingo follows the life and struggles of one of the shows most popular characters, a young woman named Nandipha. Nandipha is raped during her travels on the savannah and must struggle with contracting the AIDS virus.

Producers of the Isidingo created a plotline that breaks the silence on an issue that affects many Africans. Part of the problem is that certain governments in Africa have taken an aggressive stance against the distribution of anti-retroviral AIDS drugs.  There are also educational and cultural barriers that hinder the use of condoms.  With many people affected by AIDS in Africa and millions tuning in to watch Isidingo, it is undeniable that television can be used as a great platform for change.

The question becomes, “Why isn’t America doing the same?” I think that we could learn a thing or two from countries using television as a platform for discussion. Change could be on the horizon. Americans could be discussing hot button issues rather than following the lives of several well-to-do housewives. Wouldn’t a show focused on the trials of being impoverished in America be a better topic? How about soap operas with characters that are struggling with unemployment?

~David Goold

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Jul
30/11
Living Independently: A Blessing and a Curse
Last Updated on Sunday, 4 November 2012 10:25
Written by Tamara John
Saturday, July 30th, 2011

I am currently interning with a privately owned independent broadcasting company in Chicago-land. As an observer in this company, I realize that existing as an independent media company has its benefits but also its disadvantages. One of the advantages of being an independent company in Chicago is location. Chicago is the third largest media market in the United States and is what some consider to be the #1 market for radio and television. A media company in such a large market has a larger and more diverse potential audience. As an independent company, decisions can be made much faster. For example, a Southern Illinois media affiliate of a large media conglomerate must first go through corporate before major decisions can be made. However, decisions can be made by just walking down the hall.  There are no “suits” coming in to check operations because everyone in this broadcasting company is in the same building.

One challenge faced by this independent broadcaster is programming. Often times, because the company is not a major conglomerate, it can be boxed out of programming by network-affiliated stations. Distributors may choose to go with a well-known station. An independent broadcaster does not have as many resources as a major conglomerate and therefore may not have the funds to purchase more popular syndicated programming. This challenge also relates to the sales department when selling advertising space. Major advertisers may completely refuse to advertise on an upcoming network. Furthermore, if the network does not subscribe to Nielsen, they are not even considered for advertising by most major ad. agencies.

My company, much like many other media companies, is facing the challenge of penetrating and adapting to our social media society. While networks that primarily produce original programming such as MTV can also put their programming online, strict licensing agreements with distributors makes this nearly impossible for a TV station that is heavily reliant on syndicated programming. Finally, I must say that in such a competitive and challenging global media age, I fully believe that my company is doing quite well as an independent. I also believe that there is a bright future ahead for it!

-Tamara John

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Jul
29/11
TV is Downsizing Too!
Last Updated on Sunday, 4 November 2012 10:27
Written by lyoung87
Friday, July 29th, 2011

As an intern at a television network affiliate in the 5th largest media market (Dallas, TX), I am learning so much about the world of media. In addition to being exposed to advertising sales, programming, and media research (i.e. Nielsen ratings,  audience behaviors, etc), I am also exposed to the other activities that occur in TV stations. The presence of those activities, and the lack there of, is what motivated me to address a very important media issue. That media issue is downsizing.

From my observations, downsizing at this affiliate is sparked by two major factors. One being the advancements in technology. The other is the economy. Since the beginning of my internship, I have witnessed the devastating state of the economy take its toll on the medium of TV. Like many companies, my station’s response to the economy was to cut and double jobs. For instance, there are affiliate employees that handle day–to-day tasks for other affiliates across the country. An example of this is the voice-overs for promos created by the station. Prior to working with the Creative Director, I always thought that voice-overs were done internally by an employee of that particular station. The Creative Director informed me that in order to save the network money, voice-overs for all of the network’s affiliates are done by one man in Florida. Since the technology is so advanced , media files can be sent  electronically in a matter of seconds. As a result, the Dallas affiliate emails the script to Florida and waits for the audio file to be returned.  Once it is received, a member of the Creative team edits it into the promo. The above is an example of a downsizing that may seem harmless. However, recently, my affiliate’s network has implemented a new system for loading the content that is to be aired.

About two weeks ago, the network decided to terminate the positions of individuals in charge of “feeding” the transmitters that air not only network content, but local content as well. This means that my station and its sister stations across the country no longer have someone on site to control the loading of TV programs and commercials. Instead, the network decided to have one man in charge of loading the transmitters of its affiliate stations.  From the network’s perspective, enabling one location to control the content for all of the affiliates is a tremendous money saver. However, this decision makes it extremely difficult for affiliates to solve any on-air issues. . The is one dramatic example of downsizing because it forced every affiliate to lay-off many individuals in their Operations department.

Prior to my internship, I was aware of the fact that technology allowed robotic cameras to replace positions such as camera operators and technical directors. Unfortunately, I was not expecting downsizing to ever impact the Operations department.  Overall, my internship has taught me that downsizing is an issue for all companies-television stations included.

-LaCreanna Young

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