The herd instinct in the entertainment media is strong, once the conventional wisdom is in place it seems to have a life of its own, whether it's true or not.
A recent TV Week article by Josef Adalian shows that the CW's powerful PR machine has struck yet again.
"...The CW’s “Gossip Girl.” ....emerged as a certifiable pop-culture phenomenon that, thanks to its download dominance on iTunes, threatened to redefine the definition of “hit show.”"
A "hit show" used to be "a show with lot of viewers". I guess it's now threatening to become "a show with good PR", because Gossip Girl certainly doesn't have a lot of viewers, and we know how meaningless iTunes ranking and revenue is at this point compared to good old fashioned TV advertising.
And even between CW siblings, Gossip Girl gets all the praise, while Reaper has the marginally better 18-49 viewer numbers. Seems that Mom always did love Gossip Girl best.
Two things…
Does anyone else think that by the CW “PRing” the heck out of Gossip Girl might be their attempt to make people think that so many people are watching GG, why don’t I watch it too? (or at least check it out). If so, if GG’s ratings don’t increase next season, will their bid at this end?
Also… I feel like the CW is operating under some sort of glass ceiling. Regardless of the 5th network’s programming, it seems as though there are never big ratings for any of their shows. I think that all of the PR that goes out for Gossip Girl may prove this. No matter what’s on CW, people just don’t think it’s worth watching.
Two things…
Does anyone else think that by the CW “PRing” the heck out of Gossip Girl might be their attempt to make people think that so many people are watching GG, why don’t I watch it too? (or at least check it out). If so, if GG’s ratings don’t increase next season, will their bid at this end?
Also… I feel like the CW is operating under some sort of glass ceiling. Regardless of the 5th network’s programming, it seems as though there are never big ratings for any of their shows. I think that all of the PR that goes out for Gossip Girl may prove this. No matter what’s on CW, people just don’t think it’s worth watching.
Two things…
Does anyone else think that by the CW “PRing” the heck out of Gossip Girl might be their attempt to make people think that so many people are watching GG, why don’t I watch it too? (or at least check it out). If so, if GG’s ratings don’t increase next season, will their bid at this end?
Also… I feel like the CW is operating under some sort of glass ceiling. Regardless of the 5th network’s programming, it seems as though there are never big ratings for any of their shows. I think that all of the PR that goes out for Gossip Girl may prove this. No matter what’s on CW, people just don’t think it’s worth watching.
Peter, two very good points.
I think to some extent that has to be the objective for the GG PR efforts. Although we are TV numbers nuts, we *know* almost no one else is, so the ratings for GG are pretty much unknown to the vast majority of viewers.
I agree with you that the CW has programmed itself into a corner with its stated objectives to attract almost exclusively young women and its relative failure to do so. If you target a relatively small market and miss it, you end up with very little.
Make no mistake though, the CW doesn’t face a technical reach ceiling. They certainly reach more of the US than any cable channel.
Peter, two very good points.
I think to some extent that has to be the objective for the GG PR efforts. Although we are TV numbers nuts, we *know* almost no one else is, so the ratings for GG are pretty much unknown to the vast majority of viewers.
I agree with you that the CW has programmed itself into a corner with its stated objectives to attract almost exclusively young women and its relative failure to do so. If you target a relatively small market and miss it, you end up with very little.
Make no mistake though, the CW doesn’t face a technical reach ceiling. They certainly reach more of the US than any cable channel.
Peter, two very good points.
I think to some extent that has to be the objective for the GG PR efforts. Although we are TV numbers nuts, we *know* almost no one else is, so the ratings for GG are pretty much unknown to the vast majority of viewers.
I agree with you that the CW has programmed itself into a corner with its stated objectives to attract almost exclusively young women and its relative failure to do so. If you target a relatively small market and miss it, you end up with very little.
Make no mistake though, the CW doesn’t face a technical reach ceiling. They certainly reach more of the US than any cable channel.
Love Gossip Girl. It’s definitely a hit at my school, thought that is a small and probably very biased population sample.
Love Gossip Girl. It’s definitely a hit at my school, thought that is a small and probably very biased population sample.
Love Gossip Girl. It’s definitely a hit at my school, thought that is a small and probably very biased population sample.
What irritates me about The CW is the fact that they take their most watched shows, such as Smallville, and push them off to the side like they don’t even matter and continue to try and make Gossip Girl something it isn’t. The shows that are currently making money for The CW network are Smallville and AMNTM. I realize they need a hit (and they might just get it with the 90210 spin-off), but what about shows that are solid like Smallville or even One Tree Hill. You know, shows that have some sort of consistent following. But I’m sure as the sky is blue that they will continue to take their most watched shows for granted while banking on a show that might not even go anywhere.
What irritates me about The CW is the fact that they take their most watched shows, such as Smallville, and push them off to the side like they don’t even matter and continue to try and make Gossip Girl something it isn’t. The shows that are currently making money for The CW network are Smallville and AMNTM. I realize they need a hit (and they might just get it with the 90210 spin-off), but what about shows that are solid like Smallville or even One Tree Hill. You know, shows that have some sort of consistent following. But I’m sure as the sky is blue that they will continue to take their most watched shows for granted while banking on a show that might not even go anywhere.
What irritates me about The CW is the fact that they take their most watched shows, such as Smallville, and push them off to the side like they don’t even matter and continue to try and make Gossip Girl something it isn’t. The shows that are currently making money for The CW network are Smallville and AMNTM. I realize they need a hit (and they might just get it with the 90210 spin-off), but what about shows that are solid like Smallville or even One Tree Hill. You know, shows that have some sort of consistent following. But I’m sure as the sky is blue that they will continue to take their most watched shows for granted while banking on a show that might not even go anywhere.
From what I understand, the CW has very little money for promotion, and so they push their “veteran” shows off to the side in promotion, while they pimp the heck out of their new shows because there’s no other way for them to get promoted… or at least, that’s what they seem to think.
If this is indeed true, I think their biggest mistake is not necessarily how little they promote, but that they don’t promote smart. They don’t spend their money wisely and make their dollars stretch. If what they want is young women, then I think they should promote their shows in places that are both relatively cheap to advertise and are also seen by a lot of young women, such as university periodicals, magazines that are read by young women, myspace, facebook, etc. (at least, I would think that these places would be relatively cheap places to advertise – I don’t know for sure…). I know that they do promote shows on university campuses because there’s a “Reaper” poster as an official advertisement that I think the local affiliate paid for on the wall of the laundry room for the dorms at school. But it hasn’t been changed since last August and it’s not exactly compelling. If they had put a “Supernatural” poster up instead or in addition to the “Reaper” poster, there probably would have been an instant skyrocket in the number of girls addicted to the show in the dorms. ‘Cause really, the guys in “Reaper”? Um… no… I would never turn on my tv just for them. The Winchester brothers though? Yes, thank you, every day! LOL! Plus, if they put more of their dollars into low-cost advertising, then hopefully they would also have enough money to support their “veteran” shows.
From what I understand, the CW has very little money for promotion, and so they push their “veteran” shows off to the side in promotion, while they pimp the heck out of their new shows because there’s no other way for them to get promoted… or at least, that’s what they seem to think.
If this is indeed true, I think their biggest mistake is not necessarily how little they promote, but that they don’t promote smart. They don’t spend their money wisely and make their dollars stretch. If what they want is young women, then I think they should promote their shows in places that are both relatively cheap to advertise and are also seen by a lot of young women, such as university periodicals, magazines that are read by young women, myspace, facebook, etc. (at least, I would think that these places would be relatively cheap places to advertise – I don’t know for sure…). I know that they do promote shows on university campuses because there’s a “Reaper” poster as an official advertisement that I think the local affiliate paid for on the wall of the laundry room for the dorms at school. But it hasn’t been changed since last August and it’s not exactly compelling. If they had put a “Supernatural” poster up instead or in addition to the “Reaper” poster, there probably would have been an instant skyrocket in the number of girls addicted to the show in the dorms. ‘Cause really, the guys in “Reaper”? Um… no… I would never turn on my tv just for them. The Winchester brothers though? Yes, thank you, every day! LOL! Plus, if they put more of their dollars into low-cost advertising, then hopefully they would also have enough money to support their “veteran” shows.
From what I understand, the CW has very little money for promotion, and so they push their “veteran” shows off to the side in promotion, while they pimp the heck out of their new shows because there’s no other way for them to get promoted… or at least, that’s what they seem to think.
If this is indeed true, I think their biggest mistake is not necessarily how little they promote, but that they don’t promote smart. They don’t spend their money wisely and make their dollars stretch. If what they want is young women, then I think they should promote their shows in places that are both relatively cheap to advertise and are also seen by a lot of young women, such as university periodicals, magazines that are read by young women, myspace, facebook, etc. (at least, I would think that these places would be relatively cheap places to advertise – I don’t know for sure…). I know that they do promote shows on university campuses because there’s a “Reaper” poster as an official advertisement that I think the local affiliate paid for on the wall of the laundry room for the dorms at school. But it hasn’t been changed since last August and it’s not exactly compelling. If they had put a “Supernatural” poster up instead or in addition to the “Reaper” poster, there probably would have been an instant skyrocket in the number of girls addicted to the show in the dorms. ‘Cause really, the guys in “Reaper”? Um… no… I would never turn on my tv just for them. The Winchester brothers though? Yes, thank you, every day! LOL! Plus, if they put more of their dollars into low-cost advertising, then hopefully they would also have enough money to support their “veteran” shows.
I completly agree with Peter L…. No matter what’s on CW, people just don’t think it’s worth watching.
I completly agree with Peter L…. No matter what’s on CW, people just don’t think it’s worth watching.
I completly agree with Peter L…. No matter what’s on CW, people just don’t think it’s worth watching.
The problem with the CW is that they spend so much time promoting a show with stagnant ratings that they alienate the viewers watching other things on the network (Smallville, Supernatural). Therefore, they lack a crossover audience that is watching more than one or two of their shows.
The CW’s aggressive targeting of their “demo” audience is just plain annoying, if not an outright lie. My favorite was an article where they were claiming that tons of people were watching Gossip Girl, but they couldn’t track them so they were working with Neilsen. Ooookay . . . you know what? They are going to find that their numbers don’t change – the same people who watch it live are the same people who go online for it. It’s not a whole bunch of new viewers. And how come Nielsen had no problem tracking the 6 million young viewers the WB used to get before Les Moonves and his brown nosed companion Dawn Ostroff got ahold of the network?
Please. The CW is like viewers of canceled TV shows who blame the ratings system. I don’t see other networks complaining . . .
The problem with the CW is that they spend so much time promoting a show with stagnant ratings that they alienate the viewers watching other things on the network (Smallville, Supernatural). Therefore, they lack a crossover audience that is watching more than one or two of their shows.
The CW’s aggressive targeting of their “demo” audience is just plain annoying, if not an outright lie. My favorite was an article where they were claiming that tons of people were watching Gossip Girl, but they couldn’t track them so they were working with Neilsen. Ooookay . . . you know what? They are going to find that their numbers don’t change – the same people who watch it live are the same people who go online for it. It’s not a whole bunch of new viewers. And how come Nielsen had no problem tracking the 6 million young viewers the WB used to get before Les Moonves and his brown nosed companion Dawn Ostroff got ahold of the network?
Please. The CW is like viewers of canceled TV shows who blame the ratings system. I don’t see other networks complaining . . .