Showbiz Sandbox 250: TV Ratings Have Become Messy, Misleading and Downright Maddening
September 22, 2014
Picking the winners and losers out of this year’s new television shows has never been more difficult. Just ask Marc Berman, editor-in-chief of TV Media Insights, joins us to explain how DVR’s and on-demand viewing have made overnight TV ratings very problematic. Berman says that these days the number of viewers watching a show when it airs is less important than its total audience during the week that follows.
Those looking for entertainment on a screen larger than the average television can head to movie theaters where they can watch the recently released “Maze Runner” in the new Barco Escape format. The experimental offering wraps three screens around the audience to provide a 270 degree viewing experience.
At the other end of the spectrum there are screens of a less significant size, like those found on the ever increasing number of e-readers. Amazon continues to improve its Kindle line and new the latest gadgets from Apple have excited publishing industry observers. We’ll explain why.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including Sony’s $2 billion loss, Stevie Wonder heads out on tour and the twentieth anniversary of the sitcom “Friends”.
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TV Media Insights
http://www.tvmediainsights.com/
‘Maze Runner’ Sequel to Hit Theaters in 2015
http://variety.com/2014/film/news/maze-runner-sequel-september-2015-1201310235/
Barco Escape Gets First Real World Test With “Maze Runner”
http://celluloidjunkie.com/2014/09/21/barco-escape-gets-first-real-world-test-maze-runner/
How Many New Customers Will Apple iBooks Get From the New iOS 8?
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2014/how-many-new-customers-will-apple-ibooks-get-from-the-new-ios-8/
Kindle Voyage Back-Ordered, Now Ships on 21 November
http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/09/21/kindle-voyage-back-ordered-now-ships-21-november/
Fiction Long List Announced for National Book Awards
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/national-book-awards-fiction/
National Book Awards Nominees, Nonfiction
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/national-book-awards-nonfiction/
Man Booker Prize 2014 – And Then There Were Six
http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2014/09/man-booker-prize-2014
Sony Expects $2 Billion Loss for Fiscal Year
http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/sony-expects-2-billion-loss-for-fiscal-year-1201307413/
TBS to Celebrate 20-Years of “Friends”
http://www.tvmediainsights.com/tbs-celebrate-20-years-friends/
Star Wars Ordered a ‘DroneShield’ to Prevent Leaks On Set
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/star-wars-ordered-a-droneshield-before-its-set-got-droned
Stevie Wonder to Tour, Playing ‘Songs in the Key of Life’
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/stevie-wonder-to-tour-playing-songs-in-the-key-of-life/
‘Bourne’ Producer Talks Matt Damon’s Return: We’re “On Two Tracks” Now
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bourne-producer-talks-matt-damons-733445
FX “Probably” Won’t Continue 10/90 Show Strategy, CEO Says
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fx-wont-continue-10-90-733721
Lionsgate Acquires Rights to ‘The Smosh Movie,’ Starring YouTube Comedy Duo
http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/lionsgate-acquires-worldwide-rights-to-the-smosh-movie-starring-youtube-comedy-duo-1201308432/
Time Warner Cable To Broadcast Final Dodger Games On Local TV
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-dodgers-tv-time-warner-cable-20140916-story.html
TV Media Insights Newsletter
http://www.tvmediainsights.com/topics/newsletter/
CBS Shifts Ratings Focus to Live Plus 7, Adding Projections to Daily Reports
http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/cbs-shifts-ratings-focus-to-live-plus-7-adding-projections-to-daily-reports-1201307649/
How Many Scripted Series Can the TV Biz — and Viewers — Handle?
http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/new-television-fall-season-glut-of-content-1201306075/
Polly Bergen Dies At 84, Emmy Winning Actress
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/arts/polly-bergen-dies-at-84-emmy-winning-actress.html
Joan Rivers Promotes iPhone 6 on Facebook from Beyond the Grave
http://time.com/3415150/joan-rivers-iphone-6-facebook-post/
I’m catching up on all the new fall TV shows (“Gotham” was really silly and not good). So this is a perfect time to chat with Marc Berman the editor in chief of TV Media Insights, a website and daily email that parses TV ratings and the latest industry news. I was surprised to hear even he doesn’t get regular info on most cable TV shows. Now when is some advertiser gonna step up and leak all the data on how many people watched all these shows on fX and ESPN? We shouldn’t depend on channels only doling out the good news.