• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 5, 2008

Someone has finally figured out a way to stop the time-shifting of TV shows, as well as viewers' avoidance of TV commercials: Get a TV network schedule filled with plenty of repeats, reality shows, and, of course, a strike.

All this is a lethal combination, according to Magna Global USA. Viewers must have known TV was in a ho-hum state over the past few months, and didn't waste their precious DVR hard-drives.

Not that DVRs weren't used. But it was more like the way baseball players work these days -- in spring-training mode, just playing a couple of innings rather than a whole game.  With all this came less base stealing, some would say less fast-forwarding of commercials.

Lessons for marketers? Look for boring shows on boring networks where the viewers are almost asleep or too lazy to reach for the remote. Marketers will then have consumers right where they want them -- apathetic and ready for subliminal messaging, and a return to '60s television.

Still it's hard to hope for a little TV strike every year. And, of course, there is the downside for marketers -- like way less ratings points with which to run those TV commercials. Since January live and live plus 7 day ratings have been in virtual free-fall, down 19% and 16%, respectively.

The positive in all of this was what TV did before the strike, according to Magna. Among adults 18-49, the year-to-year live program decline for the five broadcast networks was 12% during the fourth quarter, while the drop off on live+7 ratings was only 6%.  

Magna says that 6% means overall weekly viewing decline was in line with normal audience erosion over the past few years. But one guesses, with that you probably have more time-shifting and fast-forwarding.

So, in media buying as in everything else, you don't get something for nothing. Pick the TV idiosyncrasy you can live with.