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| Research | |
story, beyond ratings More and more, other factors determine a show's success May 27, 2009 In past years, media people were wont to evaluate the new shows rolled out at upfront week in terms of how they would do in the Nielsen ratings. But these days that’s just part of the picture for savvy buyers. One must also take into account online viewing, blog buzz, mobile activity and press coverage to get a sense of which shows are truly the most popular among viewers. And it's those measures that are the basis for Optimedia’s 2009 Content Power Ratings, released earlier this month. Top-rated shows like “American Idol” and “Grey’s Anatomy” still rank very high on Optimedia’s Power scale, as one might expect, but also up there in the top 20 are shows with more minimal TV ratings, like “30 Rock” and “Bones.” Optimedia argues that these shows, which it calls surprise hits, provide a huge value to the networks that goes well beyond ratings, in terms of critical acclaim and online popularity. Further, the findings provide yet more ammunition for media departments’ longtime argument for a more all-encompassing form of viewership measurement. Greg Kahn, senior vice president of strategic insights at Optimedia, talks to Media Life about the real value of “Saturday Night Live,” the need for a new ratings system, and why all the networks should keep working to develop surprise hits. What was the most surprising or interesting thing you learned from this study? Although their television ratings may be declining, the broadcast networks still have tremendous value in the marketplace. Twenty-nine of the top 30 Content Power Rated shows are distributed by broadcast networks. What's the most important thing media buyers or planners can take from it? There are many factors that go into determining the strength of a television property, and therefore there are many factors that should be considered when creating advertising integrations. I’d recommend that media planners/buyers begin to evaluate audience delivery within a three-screen (TV, web, mobile) environment. I’d also suggest that planners/buyers go deeper than reach metrics to quantify viewer involvement and word-of-mouth. Obviously there were some big differences between TV ratings and your rankings. How critical is it for Nielsen, or someone else, to come up with a measurement system that moves beyond simply TV ratings as viewers move toward watching shows on their own schedule? Extremely critical. The industry at large recognizes the importance of developing new metrics to keep pace with the shift that has taken place with content consumption. The challenge is in getting the top measurement companies to work in partnership to create one standard. Until that happens, how can media people be sure that they are getting the full picture of a show's performance? By aggregating many different data streams, just as Optimedia has done with Content Power Ratings. What shows provide the best example of TV not telling the whole story and why? “Saturday Night Live,” particularly in the last year, has become an internet sensation. “Gossip Girl” has tremendous press from consumer magazines and also fairs very well in Google search. “Mad Men” is perceived as a very high-quality show—both by journalists and viewers. Are networks doing all they can to drive these so-called "surprise hits?" What other ways could they bolster non-TV support of these shows? Not universally. The more networks can make these shows accessible, the more the consumer will have an opportunity to sample them. Today’s viewers want to access content anywhere, at any time. They also want the ability to catch up on all past episodes that they may have missed. Not all networks make their content available. Moreover, networks should consider using search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) as ways to drive more traffic to their shows’ websites. Which cable shows performed best in this ranking and why? In primetime AMC’s “Mad Men” and Showtime’s “Dexter” were ranked No. 30 and No. 33, respectively. They did well across involvement and advocacy for nearly every measure. In late night Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” performed best within the cable universe. Online streaming helped build audiences to these shows. Which network has done the best job driving total cross-platform audience, involvement, and advocacy for its shows? There's no one clear winner here. Of the top 20 shows, six are on Fox, five on ABC, four on NBC and CBS each, and one on CW. Each network has shows that perform well for different reasons. Which genre of programming tends to do best in these rankings and why? Again, no one clear genre outperforms others. The top 20 shows encompass reality, science fiction, animation, comedy, and procedurals. What’s more important than genre is the quality of the production and the marketability of the show.
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