June 12th, 2007
Want to Keep ‘Jericho’ on the Air? CBS Pleads with you not to Tivo It
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
Fans did their best to save ‘Jericho’, even sending CBS 25 tons of peanuts. And CBS reversed its decision, though only for 7 episodes. But they do so with a plea: don’t time-shift it!
In considering the network’s potential fall lineup last month, CBS decided that the 7.7 million viewers who tuned in to the season finale — down from an estimated 11.6 million eight months earlier, according to Nielsen Media Research — were not enough to justify its continuation for a second season.
So when outraged fans of the show began contacting CBS en masse, the network’s executives were initially unsure where they were coming from. An estimated 700,000 households — roughly 8 percent of the audience that watched the show live — recorded “Jericho” for later viewing. Source: The New York Times
We Say: I think if you look at the demographic that tends to watch shows like ‘Jericho’, I’d think you would find a high percentage of them time-shifting stuff. And, if I’m not in a Nielsen household, what difference does it make, anyway? Instead of trying to get us watch live, how about learning to adjust for the new trends when determining viewership? I thought that was what the new Nielsen ratings were supposed to do anyway.
Jane says:
You are right- these networks need to find a new way to count all viewers. Please, everybody, sign this petition asking that they do that.
http://www.petitiononline.com/62951S/petition.html
June 12th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
lisa coultrup says:
You are so right, the networks have to see that the times as the song says, are a changing. We in the demographics they want all have lives that are fluid, and yet we still manage to watch, that should be all that counts, not what means of viewing we use.
Thanks so much for reporting on this issue, Jericho is a great show and with blog’s like this one reporting on this, we will be able to get new viewers for our ranks!
June 12th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Mike says:
I ALWAYS record the evening shows. I dont understand how if the signal is coming through to the dvr, why cant they count it? Same as a signal coming through to the tv isnt it?
Antiquated systems are ridiculous. Kinda like Verizon and its wonderful copper ( FIOS is yet to be seen in a majority of areas )
Mike
I for one will try to watch it live, but depending on the situation, it might still go to the dvr.
June 13th, 2007 at 3:22 am
Curt says:
Although I usually record my night shows as well, mostly because I’m still cooking dinner or (g-d forbid) DVR’s allow a young tv-loving man to have a social life, it really doesn’t matter (as said above) if we watch it live or not since in my 30 years i’ve only ever known one other person to be a Neilsen poll family - and that wasn’t even with the box.
I don’t really want tv folks in my business anyway, but if it’d save a great show like JERICHO, then I’m all for it.
June 13th, 2007 at 6:53 am
Kevin K. says:
I ONLY watch live the shows I absolutely MUST watch when they are broadcast. The world did not exist when Babylon 5 was on and I always watched Seinfeld. Everything else for at least 25 years has been taped (now DVR-ed) in my house.
The networks need to come into the ’00’s and figure out how to more accurately determine viewership be it time shifted or not.
June 13th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Another Mike says:
I don’t watch broadcast tv so I’m don’t count in either side of the statistics. I only watched Jericho (and I liked it )from CBS’s own Innertube website. I really wonder if that counted in their numbers.
June 13th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Judi says:
I used to watch live and on CBS innertube both. When Jericho was on Wednesday nights I had to do this, now that it is on Friday night, I can watch live with no problem. CBS still needs to figure these people tho because not everyone that watches can watch live tv and shouldn’t be left out of the viewership numbers.
June 13th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Benjamin VH says:
You’ve got to be kidding me with this!! I haven’t watched live TV in 6 years! Considering how much the TV Networks rely on ratings you’d think they would actually consider fully rethinking the way they collect the stats. It’s completely insane to be collecting information based on the live broadcasts I know 20 other people off the top of my head that watch 20+ hours of TV a week non of which is live, ages 22 - 35.
June 17th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Jeff says:
I love the show . I am a former Army Ranger and I think it is good to show the public that unpleasent things can happen in our own backyard. I would love to actually speak to speak to the producers or the writers for the show.
Rangers lead the way
February 11th, 2008 at 2:23 pm