Netflix rebounds
from 3Q subscriber slump
Other shorts: SOTU generates 8,052 tweets per minute
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jan 26, 2012
Netflix rebounds from 3Q subscriber slump
It seems last year's Netflix subscriber exodus was merely a blip and not a trend. During fourth quarter subscriptions began to grow again, going from 23.8 million to 24.4 million, according to numbers released yesterday by the online rental service. The numbers mark a big turnaround from third quarter, during which the company announced a controversial price increase that led it to
shed 800,000 subscribers. What's more, the company also continued to emphasize its shift away from mailing out DVDs and toward offering more content online, including originals that will begin rolling out next month with "Lilyhammer." Netflix chief financial officer David Wells referred to Netflix as a "global Internet TV network" yesterday in a letter to investors, reinforcing its new vision as competitor to cable and broadcast alike. A report out earlier this month said that if Netflix was a TV network, it would be the
15th largest on TV based on its current viewership. The takeaway may be that while people were upset in the short term, that anger didn't diminish their desire in the long term for the flexibility and convenience offered by Netflix' services.
Twitter: SOTU generates 8,052 tweets per minute
Tuesday night's State of the Union address may have been the
least-watched of President Barack Obama's administration, but thousands of people were engaged with the event on Twitter. Between 9:05 and 10:40 p.m. on Tuesday 766,681 tweets were sent using State of the Union-related hashtags, which works out to an average of 8,052 tweets per minute. Education was the top theme during the speech and Republican response, with 35,972 tweets including the #education hashtag sent during that period. Energy (27,215 tweets), jobs (22,502), fairness (8,689) and manufacturing (3,982) rounded out the top five themes on Twitter during the speech. Not all of the tweets were from regular folks watching the speech from their couches at home--548 Twitter messages during that period were from members of Congress. The speech averaged 37.8 million total viewers on TV, according to Nielsen, down from 42.8 million last year and the lowest of Obama's presidency.
Survey: More media hiring in 2012
It may be a better year for advertising and for media jobs in 2012. That's according to the quarterly survey of advertising agencies conducted by STRATA, a Chicago-based media buying and selling software provider. Forty-nine percent of respondents to the fourth-quarter survey said they believe the first half of 2012 will be better than the second half of 2011 for advertising, with an increase in business compared to the same time last year. And 31 percent say they plan to hire in 2012, up from 29 percent in third quarter 2011 and 28 percent at the same time last year. Clients were most interested in spot TV during fourth quarter, with 51 percent saying that was the top medium. Digital was second at 31 percent, though that was down 9 percent from the previous quarter. Spot radio was third at 8 percent. Also of note: 46 percent said they will seek out alternative media in the coming year to avoid competing with political on spot TV.
Programming notes: USA readies reality series
USA is turning to a former Super Bowl MVP for a foray into the reality TV genre. The cable network yesterday said it will premiere the nine-episode series "The Moment" in the third quarter of this year, to be hosted by former quarterback Kurt Warner, who won the Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams in 2000. The show will follow Warner as he helps give people a second chance to return to their careers. Warner is an apt choice for hosting a show about second chances: He was a grocery store bagger just months before joining the Rams. Meanwhile, in other programming, The New York Post claims that Hallmark Channel is hiring Marie Osmond to host a new daily talk show, which will replace the
outgoing "Martha Stewart Show." "Marie" would premiere in September. Elsewhere, Simon Cowell and Will Smith are co-producing a new reality competition with Sony Pictures Television, which will search for top DJs. A network hasn't picked up the project yet. VH1 this Sunday will premiere "Mob Wives: The Sit Down," a half-hour post-show airing after "Mob Wives." Carrie Keagan will host the new program. History on Feb. 9 will debut "Mudcats," a reality series set in the world of competitive hand fishing. And CBS has come to a new agreement with the Academy of Country Music that will keep the ACM Awards on the network through at least 2021. The awards show has aired on the network since 1998.
YouTube and NBC team up for Super Bowl ad contest
Never mind Monday morning quarterbacking. These days the day after the Super Bowl is more about Madison Avenue quarterbacking, with pundits and viewers alike offering their take on who had the game's
best and worst ads. And this year they'll have a new place to do their postgame research. NBC Sports has partnered with YouTube for the YouTube Ad Blitz, which will air all the big game's ads after the last snap. Viewers can then vote for their favorites via the web site, mobile phone or tablet. Voting will be open much longer than many of the other Super Bowl spot rating sites, until Feb. 13 at midnight. The game airs Feb. 5 on NBC, and NBCSports.com will also carry the Ad Blitz gallery. Meanwhile, Hulu, which is part owned by NBCUniversal, this week introduced AdZone, which allows viewers to watch Super Bowl ads going back three decades.
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