People will tune in to EVENT programming on Saturdays, but they will not watch regular scheduled programming on Saturdays, as a whole.
An NFL Playoff Game, Special NASCAR Race, Olympics, etc.. can and will get great ratings no matter when it is, even on a Saturday. But even if you put a good show on Saturdays, the best you'll see may be 7-8 million, maybe.
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Originally posted by Marc Berman: As I always say, viewers will still watch television on Saturday if the right programming is on.
There's audiences out there. Something female skewing and more older skewing like Close to Home or even Ghost Whisperer could easily draw 9 to 10 million yet on a Saturday. People go out just as much on Fridays as they do Saturdays (at least where I live they do). The networks are doing horribly mainly because they're not even trying.
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Originally posted by TV-aholic: People will tune in to EVENT programming on Saturdays, but they will not watch regular scheduled programming on Saturdays, as a whole.
An NFL Playoff Game, Special NASCAR Race, Olympics, etc.. can and will get great ratings no matter when it is, even on a Saturday. But even if you put a good show on Saturdays, the best you'll see may be 7-8 million, maybe.
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Originally posted by Marc Berman: As I always say, viewers will still watch television on Saturday if the right programming is on.
Originally posted by Marc Berman: As I always say, viewers will still watch television on Saturday if the right programming is on.
Yes, so why did they the networks just give up on programming for Saturdays, was it just not financially viable?
It was really a variety of things. First you had some nets airing movies on Saturday like ABC and the audience for theatricals simply took a nosedive thanks to DVDs. Second, you had nets like NBC that aired more male skewing dramas like the Pretender and Profiler which were never big hits but somehow managed to coast by each year. And you had CBS airing the older skewing stuff, often to first place ratings. Eventually the audiences eroded for the latter two like they have on every other night of the week and eventually NBC gave away to L&O repeats because those were more interesting than the Pretender and Profiler and you had CBS replacing its once iconic block of Dr. Quinn, Early Edition, and Walker with the likes of Hack and the District, which were far less entertaining. Those two again were less entertaining than repeats of CSI and therefore the trend was pretty much set. The problem however became that people eventually decided that they weren't going to stick around for Saturday night repeats (it took about a season for those repeat numbers to nosedive even further) and therefore we arrive at today's Saturday lineups. The networks, by putting crap on Saturdays had led folks to the impression of why even think about watching and that alone will probably kill any attempts at reviving Saturdays. Fridays are getting awfully close to this point too. ABC has been giving Fridays away lately and NBC's new Friday lineup looks like the weakest of all the nets, when just two years ago they were winning several Fridays in the demo. At least Fox still appears to want to improve Fridays. Their new Friday lineup may be the dark horse on the evening.
I wonder how much of the DVR'ed material is watched by people on Saturday? As DVRs increase, more and more people will save up their weeks worth of TV viewing for a Saturday evening catchup. If people are watching Grey's Anatomy, House, CSI, etc... off their DVRs, they are not going to be watching anything the networks offer. It might be hard to 're-train' tv viewers to watch their other shows 'live' so that they have time to watch 'live' Saturday shows.
Originally posted by Obveeus: I wonder how much of the DVR'ed material is watched by people on Saturday? As DVRs increase, more and more people will save up their weeks worth of TV viewing for a Saturday evening catchup. If people are watching Grey's Anatomy, House, CSI, etc... off their DVRs, they are not going to be watching anything the networks offer. It might be hard to 're-train' tv viewers to watch their other shows 'live' so that they have time to watch 'live' Saturday shows.
That's another factor but I think that there enough people at home just like on Fridays to where original programming should still be an option.
Hey all, I'll be posting the ratings this week as Marc is on vacation... and I'll post Sunday as soon as I get 'em! The person who sends them to me says they've been delayed. Anyway... will post when I get them.
Originally posted by TV-aholic: People will tune in to EVENT programming on Saturdays, but they will not watch regular scheduled programming on Saturdays, as a whole.
An NFL Playoff Game, Special NASCAR Race, Olympics, etc.. can and will get great ratings no matter when it is, even on a Saturday. But even if you put a good show on Saturdays, the best you'll see may be 7-8 million, maybe.
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Originally posted by Marc Berman: As I always say, viewers will still watch television on Saturday if the right programming is on.
And when events become regular programming, they're no longer events. x_x
Posts: 406 | Location: Arkansas | Registered: 25 January 2008
I can't speak for anyone else, but I do that all the time. What I don't watch on Wednesday (I save things for that night because it's my traditional tv night, but there's absolutely nothing on) usually gets saved for Saturday. Friday is a big recording night for me, since it's SciFi night and we're usually either out or have guests.
I'm also really bad for having things sitting around on my DVR for several weeks/months. I just watched the last two episodes of Moonlight the other day and I was watching X-mas episodes of some shows in February.
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Originally posted by Obveeus: I wonder how much of the DVR'ed material is watched by people on Saturday? As DVRs increase, more and more people will save up their weeks worth of TV viewing for a Saturday evening catchup. If people are watching Grey's Anatomy, House, CSI, etc... off their DVRs, they are not going to be watching anything the networks offer. It might be hard to 're-train' tv viewers to watch their other shows 'live' so that they have time to watch 'live' Saturday shows.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ammit,
Side note: any chance of seeing DVR numbers on your website for the next month? If not, will the missing weeks of data be filled in later?
Obveeus, it's not likely I'll post any of them until Bill returns on 8/25. I'm pretty sure Bill's intent is to go back and post all the Live+7 data for the missed weeks rather than merely pick up with the most recent data available when he returns.
Posts: 17 | Location: San Francisco, Ca | Registered: 05 October 2007
at T:SCC's numbers. Those numbers are horrible, even for a repeat. I don't know what FOX was thinking repeating a show that was struggling already to find an audience against the Olympics.
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Originally posted by Robert Seidman: i did not post half-hourly detail, but do have hourly detail for Sunday posted here:
Originally posted by Robert Seidman: Obveeus, it's not likely I'll post any of them until Bill returns on 8/25. I'm pretty sure Bill's intent is to go back and post all the Live+7 data for the missed weeks rather than merely pick up with the most recent data available when he returns.
Shocked at scc's numbers....I think ratings for tonight's episode will at least double...I'm more curious to see if prison break outdraws scc...don't know why they are showing prison break at 7 and scc at 8 wben the shows are going to be in opposite slots during the real season. Kinda dumb imo....I really don't see the appeal of the olympics at all. Besides basketball, I think all of the events are some of the most boringist things I've ever watched. Swimming and gymnastics should NEVER be on tv. They make watching golf and nascar the most exilhrating thing ever.
at T:SCC's numbers. Those numbers are horrible, even for a repeat. I don't know what FOX was thinking repeating a show that was struggling already to find an audience against the Olympics. 
