Steve Sternberg

Articles by Steve All articles by Steve

• Streaming Now: The Rise And Fall Of Ad-Supported Cable TV in Research Intelligencer on 01/25/2021
  

  Twenty years ago, with very few exceptions, four broadcast networks were the only places you could find new original scripted series programming - and basically only six or seven months out of the year. This started to change in the late 1990s with the debuts of HBO's "Oz," "The Sopranos," and "Sex in the City," then changed for good in 2002 with the premiere of FX's "The Shield." In this week's edition, I examine how that all changed again with Netflix's 2013 launch of "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black," and why the shift toward original streaming series may mean the fall of ad-supported cable TV.

• 10 More Hidden Gems To Stream in Research Intelligencer on 12/15/2020
  

  I've been analyzing television research and programming for more than 30 years, and have always prided myself on being able to keep on top of the ever-changing video landscape. In the era of Peak TV+, however, it takes longer and longer to become aware of new linear TV series, much less the wide array of original scripted streaming content. It's simply not possible to know what's available without exploring each service every month (or week). There are no fall or mid-seasons. Every time I start searching for something new to watch on Netflix, for example, there are several new series and movies I've never heard of, increasingly originating in other countries. In this week's edition, I offer my take on 10 more "hidden gems" worth streaming.

• New Television Season Things To Ponder in Research Intelligencer on 11/17/2020
  

  More issues with TV audience measurement, network promotional follies, why ratings don't matter anymore and how shows are dealing COVID-19 and police brutality are among the things I've been pondering during the pandemic. Want to hear more?

• TV Shows To Stream As You Wait For Your Favorites To Return in Research Intelligencer on 10/29/2020
  

  This week's edition focuses on some of the best original scripted series available to stream.

• A Dozen Binge-Worthy Hidden Gems To Stream in Research Intelligencer on 09/28/2020
  

  I've been analyzing television programming for more than 30 years. There was a time, not too long ago, when I could list every show on TV on any given night off the top of my head. Not today. This is the era of Peak TV+. In addition to broadcast television and ad-supported and premium cable, we now have several major streaming services - the first three, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video (which have only been producing original content for about seven years), were joined three years ago by CBS All Access (soon to be rebranded Paramount+), and over the past year by Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and Peacock. There are also numerous smaller and more niche streaming services. In this week's edition, I give my picks for the most binge-worthy shows from Must Stream TV.

• How To Make The Emmys Better in Research Intelligencer on 09/09/2020
  

  My mother-in-law hasn't watched the Emmy Awards in five or six years. The main reason, as she puts it, "none of the shows I watch get nominated anymore." Now, I'm sure the networks aren't particularly concerned about the 75-plus crowd, but they do seem intent on driving away generations of people who grew up watching the Emmys without doing much to bring in younger viewers. I also know a fair number of 45-plus viewers that no longer watch the Emmys. The Emmys continues to award TV series that most people haven't seen, which only serves to depress ratings. In this week's edition, I explain how to fix this.

• Advertisers To Waste Money On Out-of-Home 'Viewing' in Research Intelligencer on 07/22/2020
  

  Nielsen recently announced it is delaying plans to incorporate out-of-home viewing into its regular ratings reports, which had been scheduled to start with the upcoming fall TV season. There was an immediate backlash from the broadcast networks, and Nielsen quickly reversed itself. It is now going to include this data starting in September 2020 as originally planned. The real headline should not be "Backlash From Networks Causes Nielsen to Reverse Itself," but rather, "Paying For Phantom Viewers - Why Is There No Backlash From Advertisers?" Read this week's edition to find out why.

• When The Big Lie Meets The Big Truth: Why TV Is No Longer Trump's Friend in Research Intelligencer on 07/06/2020
  

  The concept of "the big lie" is essentially that if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it people will eventually believe it. Since most people tell small lies themselves in their everyday lives, while they would never tell colossal lies -- so have trouble believing someone else would -- they are more likely to fall for the big lie than a small lie. President Trump has not only been a master media manipulator, he has also been a master of the big lie - simple statements that strike an emotional chord, require no additional explanation, can be repeated loudly and often, and are amplified by the conservative media/social media echo chamber. Recent examples of President Trump's big lies include, the Russia hoax, CNN and The New York Times are fake news, and mainstream media is the enemy of the people. In this week's edition, I examine how this has turned TV from Trump's best friend to his worst enemy.

• Netflix Is Still The Best Thing Ever in Research Intelligencer on 06/08/2020
  

  In 2011, I wrote my first report on streaming, titled, Netflix is the Best Thing Ever. This was a year before its first original scripted series, Lilyhammer, and two years before the streaming service debuted its first major hit, "House of Cards." My household had just subscribed to Netflix, and I thought it had a potentially brilliant model for success and was poised to enjoy tremendous growth. There were some initial drawbacks, of course, but nine years later I make the case in this week's edition why Netflix still is the best thing ever.

• Diary of a Mad House Life: Musings Of A Self-Quarantined TV Viewer in Research Intelligencer on 05/19/2020
  

  As I'm writing this, it's the 60th day we've been self-quarantined in Hoboken New Jersey. I'm in my apartment with my wife, my son who turns 21 this week, and my 80-plus-year-old mother-in-law. In this week's edition, I provide my first-person account of TV viewing life under quarantine.

Comments by Steve All comments by Steve

• '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.

• 4 In 10 Ad Execs Predict Upfront Will Either Diminish Or Disappear In Five Years by Joe Mandese (Research Intelligencer on 05/08/2019)
  

  Real story is that more than 40% of advertisers and agencies think the upfront will expand.

• Older Companies' Message To Netflix: We Want Our Shows Back by Adam Buckman (TVBlog on 04/29/2019)
  

  I think tthat even though Friends and The Office might be Netflix's most viewed shows, most people get Netflix for original series, not off-net stuff.  Once they get it, they start watching a lot of other things.  So I expect that it might be annoying to lose Friends, it probably won't contribute much to churn.  On average, viewers willspend less time with aNetflix, but it won't inhibit subscriber growth much.

• Shorter TV Ads Command More Viewer Attention by Wayne Friedman (Television News Daily on 10/11/2018)
  

  This is the type of gibberish research that leads to gibberish headlines. 

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