The Latest in TV Reality: a Sharp Drop in Viewers
Where did everybody go?
One month into the new TV season, overall audience levels have taken a hard tumble from those last year. New shows have sputtered, and scores of established series have slipped in the standings. Even some of the biggest hits -- "Friends," "ER," "Survivor," "CSI" and "Monday Night Football" -- have lost millions of viewers.
Network executives can't explain it.
"When there are so many top 10 shows showing significant declines, and on different networks and on different nights of the week, you really start wondering what's going on," said Mitch Metcalf, scheduling chief for General Electric Co.'s NBC. "A lot of us are scratching our heads."
The mystery of the more-than-3% drop could end up costing broadcasters tens of millions of dollars.
The networks sold a record $9.3 billion in prime-time commercial spots for the season -- by promising advertisers higher ratings. If viewership levels don't creep up soon, networks will be forced to give advertisers millions of dollars in free air time to make up for the faulty ratings guarantees.
Advertisers, which allocate their money based on ratings points, are watching closely.
"It's a big concern, particularly when you're paying the kind of dollars that we have to pay, and the target audience that we're looking for is shifting away from the networks," said Bill Cella, chairman of ad-buying firm Magna Global USA.
Most advertisers are being cautious, he said, holding off on new orders, and that is causing the market to soften.
There are a lot of reasons for the viewership slide, though they don't necessarily add up.
A major one is undoubtedly the stellar ratings for the Fox Broadcasting Co.'s telecasts of Major League Baseball playoffs and the solid performance of the World Series, also on the News Corp.-owned network. That has enabled Fox to steal from its rivals and be the only broadcaster to increase viewership this season -- it's up 32%.
"Baseball has just been a beast to compete against," said Lloyd Braun, entertainment chairman at Walt Disney Co.'s ABC. "It's been a real anomaly this fall."
Cable channels have picked off some of the network's viewers by offering original programming. And, as always, there are other entertainment options, such as video games and big-screen movies, to lure people away from the tube.
TV executives noticed that they had a problem as soon as the fall season began last month -- long before the baseball playoffs heated up.
