Friday, January 15, 2010

A Tech Suggestion for Late Night Talk Shows

The NBC drama continues. They want to bump The Tonight Show back thirty minutes to give Leno a segment. Conan has said NO - he will not violate the integrity of the show by allowing the move.

NBC claims it needs to do something with Leno after cancelling his show and that The Tonight Show ratings are too low. However, what the ratings can't take into account is the amount of people (like me) who watch the show online the next day.

Hulu, NetFlix, and the others track the amount of times a show is viewed - why can't stations factor this into the ratings? I'm sure the popularity of some show would drastically change if they did so. Consider how the music industry charts changed when they went from estimated sales (how many albums were pressed) to actual sales. I think TV is in need of this kind of system.

Come to think of it, the book industry needs it as well...

6 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I think what they are doing to Conan is wrong. And Leno is strangely quiet. Kinda makes him look like a jerk, too.

joe doaks-Author said...

Hmmm. Alex, I am so removed from the world of late night TV as to almost...almost...not know who these people are. You see, old people, that would be me, go to bed early. No, I won't say what time I go to bed, but, it's way earlier than these folks are on, that's for sure.


Best Wishes Galen.
Imagineering Fiction Blog

Helen Ginger said...

I'm sure it has something to do with selling commercials. The more viewed a show is, the more money they can ask for commercials during the program. That, and the news programs that come on after the Leno show were screaming because their viewership had plummeted, which means they have less viewers and those who advertise during the news were most likely grumping and wanting to pay less. It's all about the money, for the shows and for the hosts.

Helen
Straight From Hel

The Old Silly said...

I'm not much of a late night TV buff anymore, the Old Silly is usually all tucked in and nighty night by 10 these days - unless I'm hot in a writers zone blazing through a WIP - but then it's keyboard R Us, not TV. But I tend to agree with you and the correlation to the book industry.

Marvin D Wilson

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I think you're right...they should somehow take online hits into account and whether the show regularly goes viral. Good point, Alex.

Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thanks! And I don't stay up for late night TV either - that's what Hulu is for! And since I know so many who also watch shows in this manner, I think the stations need to include those viewers in their stats. The internet is the future - wake up NBC!