Variety has an interesting piece about how the television shows that have writers are faring against the shows without. To my personal chagrin, Leno is still beating Letterman in the ratings. Also, Conan O'Brien's show is topping the ratings of Craig Ferguson.What does this say? Are the NBC shows so entrenched in American culture that it wouldn't matter if Shakespeare were writing Letterman's monologue?
According to the article, reality television shows are also doing the same or better than the scripted shows they've replaced. For example, Wife Swap and Supernanny did about the same as Pushing Daisies and Private Practice, the shows they replaced. Dance War is doing better than the written programming it replaced.
One of the core beliefs regarding reality television is that they have no repeat value. Scripted shows do better in syndication. This better be true otherwise the WGA will have lost a great deal of its bargaining position.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-11-2008 @ 1:42PM
RadioScott said...
I couldn't agree more. I just don't get how anyone could prefer Leno over Letterman. Maybe people are falling asleep in with the TV and Nielsen box still turned on.
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1-11-2008 @ 1:48PM
Oreo said...
I think people like Leno's sick sex jokes so they continue to watch.
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1-11-2008 @ 2:11PM
Scott said...
Scripted shows may do better in repeats, but networks, increasingly, aren't bothering to show repeats (especially for hour-long shows). So that leaves syndication, sales to cable networks, etc. Where those off-network shows are up against other reality shows & game shows, and on the cable networks, their own scripted and reality shows.
If reality shows are getting about the same ratings as the scripted shows they replaced, and are so much cheaper to produce, and repeat airings don't really matter, anyway, why spend all the money on scripted material?
That's what worries me. 2008 may be the year that the whole television industry changes, with the strike being the catalyst. In the end, September-to-May seasons may vanish, 22-episode seasons may vanish, independently-produced series may vanish, and scripted TV may become as rare as literary novels are in the book publishing industry.
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1-11-2008 @ 2:49PM
Vito said...
Well, reruns have been phased out, but DVDs are where networks make quite a bit of money right now. Reality shows don't sell well at all on DVD. Besides that, people burn out on them. If we have months of nothing but reality shows, people will tune out. Gradually, sure, but it'll happen.
1-11-2008 @ 2:49PM
Vito said...
Well, reruns have been phased out, but DVDs are where networks make quite a bit of money right now. Reality shows don't sell well at all on DVD. Besides that, people burn out on them. If we have months of nothing but reality shows, people will tune out. Gradually, sure, but it'll happen.
1-11-2008 @ 2:51PM
Vito said...
Well, reruns have been phased out, but DVDs are where networks make quite a bit of money right now. Reality shows don't sell well at all on DVD. Besides that, people burn out on them. If we have months of nothing but reality shows, people will tune out. Gradually, sure, but it'll happen.
1-11-2008 @ 3:57PM
Tim said...
This is my biggest fear as well...I can only hope that SAG would be able to throw some of it's muscle around if that happened as these reality shows don't have (for the most part) bankable names.
1-11-2008 @ 2:37PM
Midnight13 said...
I really don't see loyal Leno people jumping ship and watching Letterman. This Leno VS. Letterman thing was decided years ago. If you've always watched The Tonight Show, you'll probobly continue to watch it, even without its writers. If you've always preffered Letterman's show, you'll continue to watch that. Maybe if The Tonight Show was still in repeats, while Letterman was new Letterman would win. Frankly I don't care who gets better ratings. I've been watching Letterman for years, so if the roles were reversed and Leno had his writers and Letterman didn't, I'd still watch Letterman. I imagine Tonight Show fans feel the same way.
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1-11-2008 @ 2:44PM
DrMan said...
What it does prove is that people watch the shows because of the host not who they have on. Leno & CBS. I'm a little disappointed that Ferguson isn't taking advantage of the opportunity to get bigger name guests on his show. With only his and Letterman's show supposedly getting SAG people why is Ferguson still stuck with grade C (or lower) celebrities?
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1-11-2008 @ 2:52PM
kevjohn said...
Umm, have you seen Letterman since it's been back on? Are you sure that's the show that still has professional writers??
Don't get me wrong, I'd almost prefer watching a blank screen over Leno. But Dave's latest shows have been fairly ho-hum. It's no surprise he's not exactly burning up the Nielsen charts. The only ratings bump he may get will be primarily from people who are trying to actively support the writers' efforts. And I honestly don't think there are that many folks out there who care much about their cause. ...TV Squadders excluded, of course.
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1-11-2008 @ 3:56PM
Jeff N. said...
Wife Swap and Supernanny are doing better than Pushing Daises!! Crips is that depressing. I would go within 50 feet of those two reality shows. If that is what the public is going to want to watch over scrpted shows, I'm going to end up only watching sports on my HDTV.
Sad!
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1-11-2008 @ 4:08PM
pattie74 said...
I've never gotten Leno's appeal and can't believe more people are watching him than Letterman. Writers or not, Leno's "humor" just isn't funny.
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1-11-2008 @ 6:02PM
eugene said...
So leno, without writers, without any A list celebrities... is still beating Letterman? That's just sad now. It's a good thing NBC is forcing Leno to retire, I mean it's obvious that people don't like him.
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1-11-2008 @ 7:11PM
VP said...
No matter how many times a day the authors at TVsquad tell us Leno sucks, i still prefer him over Letterman. I tuned into a little bit of the late show the first night back and no thanks.
Stewart, Leno & Colbert are good enough for me.
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1-11-2008 @ 9:21PM
Adam said...
People don't care about good writing? Surprise, surprise. Show me a well-written show (e.g. Veronica Mars) and I'll show you a show that is quickly cancelled.
I wonder if there's a business model to the TV on DVD thing without having to spend years on TV first? Maybe spend one or two years on TV, build an audience, and then move to DVD and let the real fans follow.
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1-14-2008 @ 1:44PM
horsenbuggy said...
"Are the NBC shows so entrenched in American culture that it wouldn't matter if Shakespeare were writing Letterman's monologue?"
I think that TV watching is what is so firmly entrenched in American culture. I think we have gotten to the point where people literally don't know what to do in their own homes if the TV is not on. Some may watch a DVD instead of on-air programming. But most just flip through their favorite channels and settle for the best alternative, even if they aren't particularly interested in that program.
When you really think about "middle" America, do you imagine people sitting in their homes with the TV off? I don't. When we were growing up, if anyone was home, the TV was on - even if no one was watching it.
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