Television time-shifted viewing is growing this season -- for almost all shows. Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate media director for Horizon Media, says throughout the season so far there are 19 shows that witnessed 3 million or more viewers after seven days of time-shifted viewing. By comparison, in 2009, there were 11 shows and in 2008 there were only 3 shows. Much of this comes from higher penetration of DVR technology in U.S. TV homes -- now at 37.2% in November 2010, according to Nielsen, versus 32.3% in November 2009 and 26.9% in November 2008. Despite this situation, Adgate says, some programs report a drop in their time-shifted audiences: Fox's "The Cleveland Show" rose to 13.5% -- from 15.3% of its audience coming from time-shifting. Even CW's "90210" dipped a bit -- 35.3% from 36.0% -- while CW's "Smallville" dropped to 31.5% from 35.8%. NBC's "The Office" is the most time-shifted program; in terms of its overall percentage, it grabbed 38.8% more viewers -- up to seven days of time-shifting. Overall, NBC comedy was also first in 2009, with 37.5% compared to 29.0% in 2008. In terms of actual time-shifted viewers, ABC's "Modern Family" had the highest number with 5.465 million; ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" was next at 5.067 million. Both shows topped last year's number for ABC's "House," at 5.038 million. Among first-year shows, NBC's "The Event" was best in time-shifting -- in terms of percentage -- 34% or 3.083 million viewers. CBS' "Hawaii 5-0" had the most time-shifted viewers overall for a new show -- 3.976 million -- accounting for 27.1% of its total seven days audience. One of the biggest upward movers was ABC's "Modern Family," which doubled its time-shifted viewership to 5.465 million in 2010, from 2.613 million in 2009. Fox's "Glee" also climbed high -- to 4.8 million from 2.969 million. And CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" doubled its time-shifted viewers over the last two years. One of the biggest declines was seen with "House," which dropped to 4.148 million in 2010 from 5.038 million in 2009.
A new study claims a rise in TV alcohol advertising to underage young viewers -- and that the distilled spirits industry has breached its self-imposed limits. The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says there was a 71% rise between 2001 and 2009 in TV alcohol commercials seen by young viewers, 12 to 20 years old. The average number of ads seen by young TV viewers increased to 366 in 2009 -- or one alcohol ad per day -- from 217 in 2001 to 366 in 2009. David H. Jernigan, PhD, CAMY director, stated: "This is a significant and troubling escalation and shows the ineffectiveness of the industry's current voluntary standards." The report says the TV industry has blown through their self-regulating limits -- set in 2003 -- in which TV alcohol ads can only air in shows where the percentage of young viewers was 30% or less. Previous to this ruling, the percentage was 50%. CAMY's study says overexposure to TV alcohol ads seen by 12-20 viewers amounted to 14,700 gross ratings points in 2009 -- or 44.1% of all TV alcohol ads seen by young viewers. Of the 315,600 TV alcohol ads seen in 2009, 7.5% -- or 23,700 -- were above the 30% young viewer threshold for a particular program. It says the worst offenders were cable networks: 9% of its TV alcohol ads were above the limit -- 16,200 ads out of 179,900. Overall, youth exposure to distilled spirits advertising grew by nearly 3,000% from 2001 to 2009 on cable. In 2009, five cable networks were more likely to expose youth per capita to alcohol advertising than adults 21+: Comedy Central, BET, E1, FX and Spike. Two of these -- Comedy Central and BET -- delivered more exposure to young viewers than to young adults ages 21-34. In 2009, 12 brands generated half of youth overexposure: Miller Lite, Coors Light, Captain Morgan Rums, Bud Light, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Miller Genuine Draft Light Beer, Crown Royal Whiskey, Corona Extra Beer, Disaronno Originale Amaretto, Smirnoff Vodkas, Miller Chill and Labatt Blue Light Beer. Distilled Spirits Council, which represents major manufacturers, took exception to CAMY's findings, calling it "biased advocacy research." The DSC stated: "CAMY director David Jernigan's conclusion that the "[i]ndustry standards need to be tightened to protect youth from alcohol marketing" ignores the fact that while advertising on cable television increased from 2001-2009, the latest Federal government statistics released yesterday show that alcohol consumption rates among 8th, 10th and 12th graders have continuously declined during this same period and are at historic lows. "Simply put, CAMY's claim that an increase in alcohol advertising is causing teens to drink is undercut by the federal government data and unsupported by the body of scientific literature."
Maybe it's the recession. Maybe it's just more conservative times, but people may be taking it a little easier than in previous years when it comes to holiday overindulgence. Procter & Gamble's Pepto-Bismol is on the lookout for such "under-indulgers" and is instead encouraging people to live it up a little bit via a tongue-in-cheek marketing campaign. The campaign, which includes a television commercial and a series of Web videos, stars comedic actor Ken Jeong, who is probably best known for his role as Senor Chang on NBC's "Community" (or the crazed mobster in "The Hangover"). In the videos (available on the brand's Facebook page), Jeong and two pink lab-suited assistants look to eradicate under-indulgence. In the television commercial, for instance, Jeong crashes a boring holiday party, knocking partially filled plates out of people's hands and repopulating sparse party tables with giant meats, cheeses and cookies. "Together, we're going to eradicate under-indulgence once and for all," Jeong tells the camera. "And if you overdo it, Pepto-Bismol: got you covered." "Ken fits perfectly with our witty brand character given his comedic background and increasing popularity onscreen," says Nathan Fox, brand manager for Pepto-Bismol at Procter & Gamble, in response to e-mailed questions. A longer Web video, "Tummy Time," takes place in an under-indulger's stomach, which is -- as Jeong describes it -- "joyless" and "empty." When the under-indulger finally eats a couple of cookies (depicted as huge foam pieces that fall from the "sky") Jeong goes into action, spraying them with pink liquid. "And if you overdo it," he says, "choose Pepto-Bismol." But the wit also extends to the brand's place in popular culture, he says. "Pepto has generated an incredible pop-culture relevance ranging from multiple references to our recognizable 'Pepto-Bismol Pink' color to inclusion in humorous news stories and social media conversations regarding upset stomach," Fox says. "This allows us to execute a tongue-in-cheek strategy." In addition to Facebook and television, the campaign, created by Funnyordie.com, will also be supported through a YouTube channel and through extensive public relations, Fox says.
Cablevision, which spent years building its lucrative footprint in the New York area, is now operating in the Rockies. The company has completed its acquisition of cable operator Bresnan Communications, which has about 300,000 TV customers in four Western states. The operator has a potential customer base of 629,000 homes in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, giving Cablevision expansion opportunities. Cablevision serves 3 million TV customers in the New York region. The acquisition price is $1.37 billion, from a group of owners led by Providence Equity Partners. Cablevision's share price has soared recently, as it has spun off Madison Square Garden and likely will do so with the Rainbow programming unit. The rise continued Tuesday, as the stock price was up slightly to $34.70. Bresnan offers TV, Internet and phone service and sells them as a triple-play with a starter offer of about $100 a month. Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge stated that his company has "tremendous respect for the Bresnan management team and employees" and plans to continue a "strong commitment to localism and local operations." The 26-year-old Bresnan displayed some of the technological bent Cablevision is known for. Last year, it entered into a trial of dynamic ad insertion into VOD programming in four Montana markets. It has also been in a similar trial with Cablevision's Rainbow unit as it seeks to allow networks to insert updated creative into VOD streams, even as the same programming sits on a menu for months at a time.
Landel Hobbs, an advocate for cable operators' boosting ad sales and a leader in the formation of Canoe Ventures, is stepping down as COO of Time Warner Cable. Hobbs has also overseen TWC's recent emphasis on tiering, where it tries to find ways to market differently to customers based on their usage patterns. He will be replaced by CFO Robert Marcus, who becomes president-COO. Glenn Britt remains chairman-CEO, but the move puts Marcus in position to take over the country's second-largest cable operator when Britt retires. Hobbs and Comcast's Steve Burke have helped move Canoe along by converting set-top-boxes in their respective systems to an EBIF-based technology. That has allowed Canoe -- owned by the six largest cable operators -- to offer cable networks the opportunity to sell interactive advertising that can run simultaneously in homes served by both TWC and Comcast. Hobbs joined TWC in 2001, and Britt stated he has offered "leadership in operations and marketing" as TWC has faced "increased competition and technological change." Much of the competition has come from AT&T and Verizon becoming pay-TV distributors. As for tiering, TWC recently launched a SignatureHome package targeting consumers who want multi-room DVRs and rocket-speed Internet and attentive service, while also teeing up a service that offers only selected cable channels for a discount price. Britt said Hobbs' replacement, Marcus, has "strategic insight and clear understanding of consumers." He joined TWC in 2005 as senior executive vice president, a role that included oversight over M&A and programming.
MTV Networks (MTVN) has implemented Janrain Engage to give site visitors one log-in across the network of more than 50 properties, as well as the ability to share articles, comments, and video clips with friends on multiple social networks and sites including Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo and MySpace. After about six weeks into deployment across seven sites, MTVN has identified positive trends through A/B testing, but it's too early to speculate about specifics because of the variety of sites the network runs, according to T.J. Marchetti, VP of social media product development at MTV Networks. "We replaced the Facebook Connect integration and then allowed all the brands to design specific experiences such as setting up how they would like to see registration screens," he says. The technology aims to remove hurdles and allow site visitors to connect and share content more easily. The content is shared on social networks and draws visitors back to the MTVN sites. The process is the same for TeenNick.com as it is for VH1.com, ColbertNation.com or TheDailyShow.com. The company plans to extend the deployment throughout 2011. The ability to post back to multiple social networks allows site visitors to share messages with friends. Larry Drebes, Janrain chief executive officer, says the MTVN properties now have a 12-to-1 referral rate. That means 12 additional clicks occur for the one post. "It's free marketing for the properties by the users," he says. Another advantage to outsourcing the social feature means it removes engineering burdens from MTVN, putting the responsibility on Janrain, Drebes says. That movement created a new service industry for Janrain. About half of the company's nearly fifty employees are engineers or have technical skills. He tends to hire the "Web heads" -- those a little on the "nerdy side." Web operators want to increasingly outsource technology not central to their core content, so Janrain staked out user management as a service where it can excel. There's a ton of operational behind-the-scenes plumbing, from privacy and security, that the company can support. As more focus turns to consumer data it will become more important for companies to get it correct. MTVN joins the list of entertainment companies adopting Janrain. They include Universal Music Group, EMI Music, Warner Music, Windup Records and Sonora, Terra Networks.
TV shows with a sudden rise in viewership are rare these days: NBC now has one of those in "The Sing-Off." The second-year limited series "Sing-Off," an a cappella group competition program, has been on a tear lately. Monday night's performance rose sharply, up nearly 20% to a Nielsen preliminary 3.3 rating/10 share among 18-49 viewers. The previous week, its second season debut, was at a 2.8 rating. All this was on top of a 22% gain from a year ago, when it posted a 2.3 rating in its season debut and a 2.3 rating in its season finale -- typically the two biggest episodes of a reality competition show. In between, the series had a dip in ratings. For NBC, the numbers added to glimmers of good fortune -- at least on the reality genre front. On Monday, the network announced a new reality singing competition show, "The Voice of America" -- to be launched next spring and produced by successful and veteran reality producers Mark Burnett of "Survivor" and "Apprentice" fame, and John de Mol, producer of "Big Brother" and "Fear Factor." The show aims to go after Fox's "American Idol" and its new competition show produced by Simon Cowell, "The X Factor." On Monday, NBC lifted its fortunes from a week ago to a 2.6/7 from a 2.4. But it still couldn't catch Monday night leader CBS, which saw its strong comedy lineup rise to a 3.5/9 from a 3.3 rating. CBS' "Two and a Half Men" grew to a 4.4/11 from a 4.2 rating a week ago at 9 p.m. -- the best-performing show of the night. "Mike & Molly" put on three-tenths of a rating point to a 3.7/9. Some of CBS' and NBC's gains may have come from lackluster competition, particularly ABC. "Skating with the Stars" continued to suffer, now down to a 0.7 rating/2 share among 18-49 viewers -- a 30% drop from its rating the previous week. After that. ABC's "Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You" dropped to a low 1.1 rating/3 share. Fox also witnessed growth this week -- running a better-viewed lineup of "House" (2.4 rating/6 share) and "Lie To Me" (1.9 rating/5 share) repeats versus fresh programming of "American Country Awards" (1.5 rating) of a week ago. For the night, Fox was at a 2.1 rating/5 share versus its 1.5 rating of a week ago.
Give me television equipment surveys -- and then give me real results. The truth seems to be somewhere in between. Talk to the chief executive at Best Buy, the nation's largest electronic retailer, and you'll get the lowdown on what is really going on with 3D and Internet-connected TVs: Consumers just aren't buying as many as had been expected. Best Buy's chief executive Brian Dunn told analysts on Tuesday: "There was confusion about 3D early (on)... It was a little short on content." Though overall U.S. retail numbers are slightly improving in this economy, many big-ticket, newfangled electronic consumer products aren't really moving. Seems the new-age electronics/media consumer is more cautious -- not sure where all the new digital TV/Internet technology will end up. Who wants to buy a 3D Internet-connected HD TV screen for the holidays 2010, only to discover that a better TV screen of the future (3D with no special glasses required, for example) will be on sale in 2011? Television sets may last 10 years or more for some people. Who can spend $1,000 or $2,000 every few years for the latest and greatest? Consumer electronics executives say TV sales will improve once more 3D content becomes available next year -- and when consumers start recording their own content on 3D-enabled camcorders. Significant quality and performance always seem to be promised with new technology. But how much real improvement? One business analyst said: "When you get into $2,000 TVs, you start thinking: 'At what point do I really need this, and is it going to make my viewing experience that much better?'" Of course, when and if all the world's TV content is produced in 3D, much will change with consumers, especially if pricing takes its usual consumer electronics path and declines. Future surveys over 3D TVs may appear to be glowing -- but the current business reality on the street may be yielding more of a down-to-earth, two-dimensional result.
This guy in a gym is talking: "So I go to sleep watching TV; when I wake up, it's watching me." You may not think privacy issues are much of a concern for traditional media, but some people think otherwise. Interactive TV promotions, video-on-demand services, TiVo prompts in the middle of commercials, addressable advertising -- these are all asking for our attention, and in theory giving us more entertainment value. Though Internet and mobile platforms seem to garner more concerns over privacy, TV, for all its laid-back, lean-back media profile, still makes the average consumer wonder a bit -- even if he/she isn't exactly sure what is going on. All this will only get worse as traditional TV services, Internet platforms, and new devices look to make our entertaining-needy lives easier. Future TV remotes will look more like our most portable mobile devices -- iPads, tablets, and perhaps bigger and smarter mobile phones. In return for this convenience, those who are watching "The Good Wife" will be told there is an important "Hoarders" episodes to be seen or that Hyundai has a great deal on a turbo-powered car they can't live without, or there's some new natural pet food on the market, perfect for their lazy cats (redundant!) No matter. Suspicious TV consumers will carefully eye TV marketers in this new age. Seems that the guy in the gym was watching ESPN's "SportsCenter" at bedtime, and then drifted off. In the morning, the gym man, in a somewhat confused state, said the TV set was still on -- but not on the same station. (Ah. Hah!) No LeBron James-Dwayne Wade Miami Heat highlights. "DirecTV was doing something," he said. (Or maybe it was because he was asleep, crushing the remote for 10 hours!) Instead, NBC's Al Roker "or some other guy was giving me the weather" -- in big full-screen view. "Was he staring at you?" TV Watch asked. "Seems that way," says the guy. Yeah, but was he selling anything? "I don't think so." Sneaky bastards.