Today's Wall Street Journal has a good story on Mark Burnett, the reality TV king, who's showing signs of stumbling. A few of his shows that advertisers typically clamor over, haven't done
so well -- ratings-wise.
Take the much-hyped "Rock Star: INXS" on CBS. The series is a competition to find the next lead singer for the '80s band INXS. The thrice-weekly series, which
debuted on July 11, has averaged only 3.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, which notes that on some nights it's doing worse than reruns CBS ran in the same time slots a year ago.
This is not good news for MSN, which placed a big bet on "Rock Star," mounting the huge online component that accompanies the series. MSN began negotiations with Burnett's production company a
year ago and wants to use the association to drive traffic not only to the dedicated "Rock Star" site, but to multiple channels on the MSN network. If anyone can afford to experiment, of course, it's
MSN. Even if the series is a flop, Microsoft's online network will use it as a test-bed and case study in how to engage viewers in various parts of its network.
It's true, of course, that no
one watches TV during the summer. Well maybe not no one. But most people are on vacation, engaged in outdoor activities, or just lollygagging about eating ice cream and corn on the cob.
Of
course there's still time for "Rock Star" to stage a turnaround. The mega series runs through early October and viewers may take up with the series in its latter stages. But who knows if there will be
enough passion and excitement to attract viewers in the early fall. Meanwhile, MSN isn't reeling off one press release after another, boasting the high volume of traffic to its "Rock Star" site. But
you never know, things may change.