Viewers Abandon TV Networks

[Bruce S]

[size=+1]Viewers Abandon TV Networks[/size]

Newsmax 10/22/03 | Limbacher



Fox's smutty and wildly hyped "Skin" is bombing, along with most of the rest of the new television season, and Tinseltown execs just can't figure out why.

Gee, why wouldn't people want to see a TV version of "Romeo and Juliet" set in the porn industry, a story where the pornographer is depicted as the ideal family man and the prosecutor is a villain? Obviously they have better taste.

Only 6.3 million people in the entire nation watched the debut of "Skin," which scored a dismal 2.7 rating in the prized demographic of adult viewers under 50.

The plunge in TV viewers is unprecedented, the New York Times reported today. Old - and we do mean old - favorites such as NBC's "ER" and "Friends" are shedding viewers even faster than the Democrat party is losing voters.

Fox's "Joe Millionaire" attracted only 6.8 million viewers Monday, far below its peak of 40 million.

Men between 18 and 24 are especially uninterested in the boob tube. Viewership in this group has plunged 20 percent in a year.

"Frankly what we're seeing strains credulity," said Alan Wurtzel, the president of research for NBC. Believe it. Here's a shocking idea: If you offer a decent program, people might watch it. Hollywood big shots ought to note that one of the season's few successes, "Joan of Arcadia," doesn't treat religious faith with the usual contempt displayed by the Left Coast.

 

[Bruce S]

the REAL problem with Hollywood and TV, is the executives. They lead lives that MIRROR this crud we are seeing on the TV, so they, liking these things themselves, think that WE, the potential viewers will too. Some, the more honest ones, KNOW these shows are terrible, mind rotting, but they have AGENDA'S, and those agenda's are shoving Homosexuality, perversion, and low morality down the throats of the viewers. Knowing full well that these shows WILL BOMB, they continue pushing the crud out the door, and the AGENDA remains intact.

So, viewers vote, the only way they can, they tune out. Now this has been going on for DECADES now, so the trend is not new, it COULD be turned around in a heartbeat, if they WANTED you back, they KNOW what you want, and will support.

Only THEY don't think YOU deserve to have decent entertainment, the AGENDA is to pervert the nation, and they will go to the bitter end defending that agenda.

It is the same agenda we see in some out of control denominations, the same agenda the ACLU is promoting, the same agenda you see in the movies.

Entertainment made in the USA has the rest of the world, especially the Muslims thinking that ALL Americans are perverted sex crazed, homosexual loving, maritalially unfaithful people. We are not, but the entertainment people ARE, so they promote this, and will continue to LOSE MONEY doing so, profits matter, of course, but the AGENDA is more important than the profits, so the downward spiral will continue to the bitter end.

 

[SirKenin]

This was a story I enjoyed reading. I hate TV, and it should be no secret why.

We've put up with their crud for years. It's time for positive change. Thanks for posting that.

 

[Rango]

They believe they are the societal elites. That they are the chosen wise ones to lead the masses along the evolutionary path of enlightenment where the individual decides what is right or wrong. Morality is for cave men. They make movies that they know will not do as well as a family oriented film at the box office but for them it has artistic merit so it's worth it. These TV shows are just more of the same. They have suceeded to a point but they are just too disconnected from the average joe to see the limits he will tolerate.



added: Bruce, I typed this before you posted your second post, couldn't agree more. It's ironic that the Hollywood elites blame conservatism, Christianity, Bush, capitalism, mom's apple pie, etc. for the Muslim hatred while they are the number one reason.

 

[notto]

Yep, Rupert Murdock has an agenda outside of money. That made me laugh.

 

[HeatherJay]

It's just all the same anymore. I have, maybe 3 or 4 shows a week that I like to watch faithfully.

I watch Fear Factor on Monday night (my kids love the gross stuff). After that we watch Monday Night Football.

There's nothing worth watching on Tuesday night, so the kiddios watch movies.

Wednesday night is church night, so no TV then. After we get home, we watch Jeff Corwin and the Crocodile Hunter.

Thursday night, we watch Survivor, then usually on of the night time news shows like Date Line.

Nothing on Friday, we usually rent a movie or something.

Weekend programming is pretty pathetic too. The only channels that we watch on a regular basis are Discovery, TLC, and Animal Planet...you can usually find something decent and interesting there...not to mention that the kids might actually learn something.

I would be thrilled if TV execs would actually put on something that doesn't just try to be the most controversial thing on TV. I would also feel much safer letting my small kids watch TV alone. *sigh*

Love, Heather

 

[ashibaka]

I only watch PBS and C-SPAN. I can't imagine moving from "Washington Journal" to "Crossfire".

 

[feral]

I don't watch television...maybe three times a year if something really exciting is on (like shark week on discovery ) and I'm at someones house who owns a television. My own, bought for renting movies, doesn't get a single channel, even local. I'm not surprised many people aren't showing interest. Who wants to see the same old scenes, badly re-written, the same cheating and betrayal, the same useless, braindead bimbo falling in love with an old man (read Newsweeks old 1999 article on older men being cast as lovers of women 20-40 years younger). Who cares who is having sex and why, and who really wants to watch uneducated fools line up to be humiliated on 'reality' television?

 

[Wolseley]

I watch Joan of Arcadia (not a bad show, actually, minus the crappy rock soundtrack) and JAG. After that, if there's no good movies on AMC, I usually read a book or slap an old movie into the VCR.

My wife likes CSI and CSI: Miami; I stopped watching CSI last year after it seemed like every week the program dealt with incest in one form or another.

 

[loribee59]

***absolutely SHAMELESS plugging***

To those who have PAX channel~ there ARE some very GOOD shows on there:

"DOC" & "Sue Thomas: F. B. Eye" both on Sunday nights. Excellent shows, that have heart, and doesn't insult your intelligence. See it see it see it! *shamlessly plugging these WONDERFUL shows*

Also~ check out the HALLMARK channel, too...they have good shows as well. I've been taping MASH nightly (thank God for closed captioning!)

I've also watch the Discovery Channels for educational or for home interior stuff. And I keep an eye on PBS for "Great Performances"

All other stuff~ bleargh! Too insulting, too crappy for me to digest. UGH. If there's nothing on, I'll just rent a good movie.

~Lori

 

[SirKenin]

If there's nothing on, I'll just rent a good movie.

~Lori

Getting harder to find those too.

 

[the Colonel]

The only shows I like watching faithfully are Hal Lindsey's international news update, Stargate: SG1, Enterprise (even Star Trek is getting sleazy now ), and I am a fan of According to Jim (a modern day "I Love Lucy"). Sadly, I must admit I watch Boston Public.

 

[revolutio]

Getting harder to find those too.

Most of my favorite movies are foreign films. That or independent.

 

[BarbB]

Most of my favorite movies are foreign films. That or independent.

Me too so IFC and Bravo. I love HGTV and Animal Planet also! My guilty pleasure is Survivor! CSI has finally gotten out of the sex business and Missing is pretty good. Other than that - not too much!

 

[notto]

I love West Wing!
*ducks*

 

[revolutio]

I love West Wing!
*ducks*

Best scripted thing on television ever.

 

[Susan]

Hmm, yeah, I agree with most of the people here that a good portion of what's on TV is *really* inane, and in the case of "reality TV," exploitative. In fact, you couldn't pay me to watch a large portion of it.

While a lot of people might think I'm a flaming liberal because I openly watch anime, I'm actually a somewhat picky viewer. Usually, I only watch news and current events programs, documentaries/legitimate historical programs (NOT "history garbage" like "The History of Pr0n," and I'm not a war buff either ) baseball, and the occasional classic TV show from before I was born LOL.

I'm just not a big TV fan, unlike everyone else I seem to know. I just don't really *care* about much of what's on, and I prefer to use my brain when I do watch something-not just sit and vegetate before inane humor centering around how much one TV writer can swear, the American culture's equivalent of fanservice, cliched plotlines, dumb characters, and other such slop served up by both broadcast and cable networks.

LOL, I'll stop ranting now.

 

[Doctrine1st]

the REAL problem with Hollywood and TV, is the executives. They lead lives that MIRROR this crud we are seeing on the TV, so they, liking these things themselves, think that WE, the potential viewers will too. Some, the more honest ones, KNOW these shows are terrible, mind rotting, but they have AGENDA'S, and those agenda's are shoving Homosexuality, perversion, and low morality down the throats of the viewers. Knowing full well that these shows WILL BOMB, they continue pushing the crud out the door, and the AGENDA remains intact.

You do understand that the owner of the station you pointedly refered to in your O.P. is one of this adminstrations and Republicans biggest contributors and supporters.

So it's not a left coast liberal attack with some agenda, it's not people mirroring their shows after their lives, it's rich folks exploiting whoever and whatever they can for a buck. And thus the campaign contributions.

 

[lunachick]

Good rant, though, Susan.

I've never been a great television watcher, and when people refer to series that were being broadcast in my youth, I barely remember them because I hardly ever watched it and still don't.

As a kid, I was into music, books, the beach, and my horse.

I have a TV set now, because of my daughter, really - but I can live without it. My daughter will watch a couple of programmes after school to chill out for a bit, then she's off to play outside with the rest of the neighbourhood young'uns. We watch the Saturday evening family movie together, and they are always nice.

Mostly, though, there's music playing in the house - everything from Bach to John Coltrane to Billie Holiday, Tool, and everything in between.

My own viewing is reserved to the news and occassional vege-outs if I'm feeling ill or just exhausted or something. Heck, I forget to turn the set on when there's things I want to watch! (That can be annoying, sometimes. )

Of my 20 adult years, I've lived about 12 or 13 of them without a television, and didn't miss it one bit.

Anyway, with regard to the OP - you should be pleased people are moving away from the TV. Hopefully, it means they are doing other things - like playing sport, playing with their kids, or just playing - or reading, or engaging themselves in hobbies, being creative, or any manner of enriching pastimes. (yes, yes, I know, I'm a dreamer. But you never know - they could be. LOL! )

 

[Doctrine1st]

The food network is the only station worth watching. Long live the Iron chefs.