I was reading the reviews of the new fall programming (most of which debuts next week) and was wondering, in a world where nearly 20% of the population owns some form of TiVo or other DVR device, how do people find new programming?
Not that I'm a fan of the "focus group of one", but I don't think I'm a unique person when it comes to media usage.
I took most of the summer off from TV. Oh sure, we record "Rescue Me", "30 Days", and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", along with the new versions of a couple of Travel shows and new "Dog Whisperer" episodes. And then, when it's convenient, I catch a ballgame or two, and we watch the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. That's about it.
So now it's time for season premiers -- I'm not sure when they all start, but I'm excited that I know that someday soon "Lost", "24", "Nip/Tuck", "Desparate Housewives", My Name is Earl" and "The Office" will start showing up in my program box. But what about new programming? I don't really sit at home and sample. I haven't watched anything on the networks in nearly 3 months, so I haven't really caught any glimpses of any of the new programs. And honestly, I really don't have a desire to add any new programs to my list -- I really don't have time for it anyway. So likely I'll end up only watching what I watched last season.
(I do confess that I have a small hit list that I want to sample and may choose one, but I honestly ONLY know of these programs because my job requires me to watch the pilots and have a working knowledge of the shows -- the truth is my wife almost 100% relies on me to pick out the new shows that we watch).
So what happens when these programs run their course? Will I have replaced them with other programming? How will I know what to watch when things no longer get recorded for me?
DVR's are both great and horrible for the networks. In some ways they allow the recent serial dramas to exist -- because I now no longer have to revolve my life around catching "24" -- I can just catch it whenever i see it come up. But it also has created a huge challenge in launching new programs -- and relying on the few major influencers to affect the viewing habits of the many. They may also need to show some patience and allow the word of mouth to spread about a show (which is something they've never done a good job of -- as many shows get yanked before they build the audience and need the time to build -- aka Seinfeld and the Office).
Are the networks smart enough to figure out how to launch new shows? We'll see.
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