What a way to start the day! Being a huge fan of the Robot Chicken series - this comes as great news. I have the first season on DVD, and I need to pick up the other seasons.
If you have never seen them before, catch a few of their episodes on YouTube, and then buy the DVD.
I was on a flight back from NY or Vegas one time, and the plane was full of sales reps, executives, and other Cartoon Network associates. It was the day after the Big Ten TV special had broken some records for them. Being the geek that I am, I congratulated them on the success and wanted to also mention my enjoyment of Robot Chicken. I was going to lead to how I enjoyed a lot of the other Adult Swim shows as well, when the executive responded, "Robot Chicken does nothing for us."
I am immediately quipped and confused, "What?"
"Everyone just downloads it and posts the episodes on YouTube. It does nothing for our Nielsen Ratings."
At that point, I ended the conversation. I realized that I was dealing with someone who does not understand the "geek universe" or even this generation. We were about the same age, but he does not understand that the Nielsen Ratings may no longer hold a sway over the success of a show, and the success of a show can extend beyond a channel of communication.
I know I digress, but I am glad to see that someone at Cartoon Network gets it.
4 comments:
I know this will sound sacrilegious, but Robot Chicken does nothing for me. I get it. I understand why people like it. It just doesn't work for me.
The whole RC Star Wars concept is a sound one. George Lucas has even signed off on both events. It should be fun.
Also, unfortunately the Nielson ratings still matter. It's how they make money and justify the existence of the show.
If they're not making sufficient money on TV, maybe they should look at a direct internet release structure. They can sell add space and update it while the show is airing.
With Tivo, online, and other means of watching a series, I am not quite certain that the Nielsen Ratings are as relevant as they used to be.
While I agree that they represent a large chunk of what people are watching, the ability to track conversations, interests, and other activities (as they relate to a show) may show a following that the Nielsen's does not.
Should we not include the number of people who are now downloading entire series to their PCs and ipods to catch up on something?
I agree about your argument on Nielson's. However, the advertising rates are driven by Nielson's making them very important to the network.
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