Steve Sternberg

Articles by Steve All articles by Steve

• What's Wrong With TV Audience Measurement, How To Fix It in Research Intelligencer on 10/25/2021
  

  There have been only two instances, more than 20 years apart, when Nielsen was forced to completely overhaul how it reported television audiences - in 1987, when the switch was made from the antiquated household meter/diary system to national people meters, and in 2009, when DVRs and time-shifted viewing led to the switch from program ratings to average commercial minute ratings (C3). How those two fundamental changes were implemented shows how much the industry's priorities have changed over time - or really how the speed of change in the access to video content and in consumer behavior has caused good research to take a back seat to rushing new products to market.

• New Broadcast TV Series: The Good, The Almost Good, And The Too Bad in Research Intelligencer on 10/05/2021
  

  While not having the same impact as last year, the pandemic still caused some production delays among new series, so several of the pilots were not available for screening before the season began. And there are actually more new shows slated for mid-season than are premiering this fall. Nearly half of the new scripted fall TV shows are either reboots and re-imaginings of past series, or are extensions of current successful franchises. The broadcast networks have had mixed results over the years when they tried to revive successful TV shows from the past. Some of the problems with rebooting a show are obvious. In this week's edition, I assess the good, the bad and the really ugly start of these new series.

• New TV Season: Franchises, Reboots, Promo Malpractice, Viewer Loyalty And Other Thoughts in Research Intelligencer on 09/28/2021
  

  There was a time when most people looked forward to the two-week period in late September that heralded a new TV season. During the summer months, the network airwaves were filled with repeats, and as new fall series were promoted on TV shows that could not be fast-forwarded, anticipation built. This anticipation was fed further by the many entertainment news magazine shows, which had exclusive clips of upcoming series, and interviewed TV pundits and critics who would tell viewers which shows were most likely to become hits. In this week's edition, I analyze how old-fashioned the traditional notion of a new fall TV season is and offer some suggestions for framing it in a more modern way.

• The Emmy Awards: Broadcast Networks Promote HBO And Streaming in Research Intelligencer on 09/20/2021
  

  The Emmy Awards telecast alternates among the Big 4 broadcast networks because it has traditionally been seen as a major promotional vehicle for all the broadcast networks. This, of course, hasn't really been true for several years. In the mid-2000s, premium and ad-supported cable networks started to overshadow the broadcast networks for some of the major Emmy awards. It is now primarily a showcase for HBO and streaming services, most notably Netflix (although other streamers are starting to catch up). Of the 102 major comedy and drama nominees in 2021 - best comedy, best drama, best limited series or movie, and the acting nominees in each category (the major awards viewers care most about) - nearly 40% were on Netflix or HBO. In this week's edition, I analyze the recent evolution of the Emmy Awards, and their implications for television.

• 10 Really Good Streaming Shows You May Have Missed in Research Intelligencer on 09/13/2021
  

  The first major original scripted streaming hit series, "House of Cards," debuted on Netflix in 2013. In 2015, less than half of U.S. homes (47%) subscribed to any streaming service, and just 16% subscribed to two or more. By 2017, 64% subscribed to at least one, with 33% subscribing to at least two. In 2020, SVOD subscriptions had risen to the point where 78% of U.S. homes got at least one streaming service, 55% received two or more, and the average household subscribed to three. I bring up these subscriber trends to point out that a lot of people started getting streaming services during the past three or four years. So there are a lot of excellent streaming series that ended their original runs before many people had a chance to see them. In this week's edition, I profile 10 especially good streaming series you may have missed.

• Does The Media Industry Really Want More Accurate Ratings? in Research Intelligencer on 09/07/2021
  

  The advertising and media industries have traditionally relied on Nielsen for national and local television audience measurement as currency for the buying and selling of commercial time (and for evaluating the video landscape). Now it seems that several forces are at work conspiring to have this tradition come to an end - most notably, Comcast-owned NBC Universal, a long-time Nielsen critic, which recently issued a request for proposals to more than 50 companies (including Nielsen) to "build a new measurement ecosystem for us that reflects the future." They believe, as do many others, that current research methodologies are not able to fully measure viewers in an increasingly splintered video environment, and a single source or single metric is no longer viable.

• A Brief History Of Superheroes On TV: Broadening, Diversifying Appeal in Research Intelligencer on 08/23/2021
  

  Superheroes and sci-fi are more popular than ever, as anyone who attends the giant annual comic-cons in San Diego (July) and New York (October) can attest. They both consistently draw 150,000 attendees or more. There are also numerous smaller comic-con events throughout the country, ranging anywhere from a few thousand to 100,000+ attendees. Once considered niche, with very limited appeal, these have become major pop-culture events - but still have a strong focus on sci-fi and superheroes. DC's Batman and Wonder Woman movies, as well as Marvel's many mega successful cinematic efforts, which began with Captain America and the Avengers, have shown that there are large audiences for these stories. The trick has become appealing to the hard-core fans who are well-versed in more than 60 years of comic-book canon, as well as new fans with only a passing or no familiarity with the characters' backstories or superhero mythology. In this week's edition, I provide a succinct, but comprehensive overview of the brief history of superheroes on TV.

• Paying More For Less, Can Nielsen Still Measure TV, And Other Things That Make You Go Hmmm... in Research Intelligencer on 08/16/2021
  

  As we approach the end of the second pandemic summer and the start of the new broadcast TV season, here are some things that make me go hmmm... Why are advertisers so willing to pay more for a shrinking product? There are basically three reasons why broadcast network ratings keep declining and yet advertisers are still willing to pay more each year to place commercials on them. In this week's issue, I postulate some explanations for these and other big questions.

• 30 Years Ago 'Median Age' Became A Thing in Research Intelligencer on 08/09/2021
  

  Thirty years ago, when I was VP of Television Research at the late, great Bozell ad agency, I released my first report on median age, which helped change the way TV was measured and how some networks branded themselves. In this week's edition, I recall how I was sitting in the office of my friend, mentor, and boss, the late, great media research guru, John McSherry, and wondering why TV time was still being sold based on broad demographics such as 18-49 and 25-54, when Nielsen had recently made narrower "building-block" demographic segments available.

• Is This Hidden Gem The Best Sci-Fi Series Ever? in Research Intelligencer on 08/02/2021
  

  There are so many sub-genres of science fiction, and so many excellent vastly different sci-fi movies and television series, that singling out any as "the best" seems silly. I mean, how can you compare stories featuring aliens, fantasy, horror, post-apocalyptic, space operas, super heroes, alternate histories, cyberpunk, dystopian futures, parallel worlds, time travel, the supernatural or franchises such as "Star Trek," "Star Wars," "Stargate?" Well, then get ready to suspend your disbelief, because that's exactly what I'm doing in this week's edition, making a case that Neflix's "Dark" may just be the greatest science-fiction series ever.

Comments by Steve All comments by Steve

• New For Fall: Fame Is Fleeting In ABC's Intriguing 'Queens' by Adam Buckman (TVBlog on 10/19/2021)
  

  Wondering if everyone made a deal with ABC not to mention how similar this is to Peacock's excellent Girls5Eva.  When Queens was first announced a lot of people commented on this.  But I haven't seen a single review so far that even mentions Girls5Eva.

• Networks Ramp Up Promos For New Fall Shows by Wayne Friedman (Television News Daily on 08/20/2021)
  

  By not cross-promoting one another's shows as cable has done so successfully for years, the broadcast nets are wasting much of this money, and as usual, several new shows that are not part of a winning franchise will unnecessarily flop.  More promotioal malpractice.

• Pre-Upfront Thoughts On Broadcast TV, Promotions, Nielsen, And AVOD by Steve Sternberg (Research Intelligencer on 04/26/2021)
  

  Thanks Jack. High praise coming from you. 

• 'Wonder Woman 1984' Scores $16.7 Million At Box Office, Highest Pandemic Opening by Wayne Friedman (Television News Daily on 12/28/2020)
  

  Saying Wonder Woman had the highest pandemic opeing is like saying Washington is going to win the NFC East - intereting but meaningless.

• Poll Misfires: Maybe TV Show Questions Would Elicit Truer Results by Wayne Friedman (TV Watch on 11/23/2020)
  

  The idea that people lie in polls because they don't want to admit they are voting for a polarizing candidate is gibberish and the type of nonsense pollsters like to use as an excuse for their inaccuracies. The way most polls are designed and structured is fundamentally flawed as are ridiculously small sample sizes that are no longer representative of a much more splintered universe.  

• Disney+ Overdelivers: 10 Million Subscribers At Launch by Wayne Friedman (Television News Daily on 11/13/2019)
  

  Not sure this was a real overdelivery. In last month's Sternberg Report I said I thought Disney could have more than 10 million subs by 2020, and 30 million in U.S. by 2024.

• Disney's 'Mandalorian' Is Clint Eastwood In Outer Space by Adam Buckman (TVBlog on 11/14/2019)
  

  You beat me to it.  I was starting t write the same thing for The Sternberg Report.  Great minds...

• Nielsen To Add Out-of-Home Viewers To National Ratings In 2020 by Karlene Lukovitz (Digital News Daily on 09/12/2019)
  

  While I seldom disagree with Jack or Ed, and I do not question that bar viewers are attentive to the program, it is simply ridiculous to think that commercials are anywhere near as effective as in home. Anyone who watches sports in a bar, particularly in groups, knows that they can’t hear the commercials and seldom watch them. I did a lot of research on tho subject when I was at Magna. Any agency or advertiser who accepts this is not doing their job. 

• ABC Pushes Big On-Air Promos For New Fall Shows by Wayne Friedman (Television News Daily on 09/06/2019)
  

  But since the broadcast networks foolishly refuse to promote one another's series, much of the promotion you mntion is wasted.  Multiple ads on ABC game and reality shows isn't going to dramatically help a show like Stumptown or Emergece.

• This Will Be A Sellers' Upfront by Dave Morgan (Media Insider on 05/30/2019)
  

  Demand never outweighs supply in TV.  The upfront system creates an artificial demand for what is essentially a (nearly) unlimited supply of rating points.  As long as the upfront system rewards rankings over actual audience size, the networks will continue to be able to charge more for a shrinking product.  Also should note that as average ratings decline, it becomes much easier to estimate future program and network performance, so guarantees, the only reason for advertisers to still want an upfront, are not nearly as useful as they once were.

About Edit

You haven't told us anything about yourself! Surely you've got something to say. Tell us a little something.