Archive for February, 2011

Probst Tell Survivor Fans: TiVo Doesn’t Help Our Ratings

Feb 17

Posted by Davis in Disclosure - I own stock in co. mentioned, Marketing, TiVo, TV | Comments off

Over the years, I’ve had more than one love affair with a TV show, but no matter how much I’ve enjoyed epic hits like 24, Alias or Joey Grecco’s Cheaters, none of them have been able to generate the level of excitement that I feel when I watch Survivor. I’m not sure if it’s the Machiavellian nature of the show or simply being able to watch an assortment of characters who are so wacky that they end up making Gilligan Island look like the Love Boat, but I love the show so much, that I even organized a home version of the game with my family over the holidays (I ended up getting voted out 2nd for trying to emulate Russell Hantz’s bulldog strategy)

Because it is the number #1 show on my Season Pass priority list, you would think that I would never miss an episode, but every year, Survivor changes the name of their show just a little bit, so that DVR subscribers have to resubscribe to each new season. I’ve gone as far as sending angry emails to the Tribune company (the supplier of TiVo’s guide data), but to no avail.

While this may or may not be hurting Survivor’s DVR ratings, the fact that the producers of the show haven’t noticed has always baffled me. It would be like me changing my RSS feed every six months, so that only my superfans could easily follow my blog. Unless you like languishing in obscurity, this isn’t a very good strategy for retaining an audience or capturing people’s attention.

Recently, Jeff Probst, the host of Survivor, launched a blog to promote the show and other charitable causes that he cares about. On his site, he solicits questions from fans and answers the more common ones. While all tidbits about the show caught my attention, one particular answer jumped out at me. While answering the question of how long will Survivor continue to run, Probst says that the survival of Survivor is dependent upon live viewers because “TiVo doesn’t help our ratings.”

Now Jeff Probst certainly isn’t the first one to appeal to their fans to ditch the DVR, but I think that his pleas are at least a little bit misguided. I’m not sure whether it’s because the producers of the show don’t care about the DVR ratings or the advertisers themselves, but either way I think that there is a lot more value to a DVR viewer then his answer would suggest.

Over the years, I may have fast forwarded my way through more than one commercial break, but I haven’t been able to avoid the product placements that are embedded in the show. I don’t know whether or not the show makes more money from these ads, but I would suspect that they do.

Whether it’s Sears demonstrating the utility of their Craftsmen line of tools or Sprint demonstrating how you can keep in touch with loved ones on their new fancy cell phones, throughout a season there are many times where branding creeps into the show. While some may find this an annoyance, I actually enjoy this type of advertainment and it undoubtedly makes me more willing to spend my money on a brand.

During 2002, 24 introduced several cars during their program and I can tell you with 100% certainty that seeing those cars zip around in that show is what made me seek the out and ultimately buy my Thunderbird. When was the last time anyone could say the same thing about a car commercial?

Furthermore, even though I TiVo the show to watch later, because the program always leaves me wanting more, it drives me to the CBS website where you can view all kinds of clips and interviews that don’t make it to television. Unlike viewers who are tuning into the show online instead of live or on DVR, these clips are additive and include lots of spammy pre-roll ads that I wouldn’t put up with if I didn’t stay excited about the show.

It could be that Survivor is so good that they don’t need to rollover their DVR viewers every season, but by ignoring this opportunity, they are losing the ability to turn their more passive fans into passionate ones. With DVR penetration now exceeding 40% of all viewers, this kind of backwards thinking will ultimately hurt them and the show’s long term chances. So while I can appreciate that a live viewer may be worth more money to the show, I’m going to continue to time shift it, so that advertisers can learn how much more valuable it is to capture my heart for 44 minutes, then it is to hold my attention hostage for 60.

Unable To Raise Money Blockbuster Turns To The Lucrative Used DVD Market

Feb 14

Posted by Davis in DVDs, Media, TV | Comments off


Blockbuster Store Closing
Originally uploaded by Michael Kappel

Poor Blockbuster, even after wiping out their debt via bankruptcy they still can’t seem to figure out the home entertainment market. When he noticed that a nearby Blockbuster was closing down, Dan Rayburn with StreamingMedia.com decided to pop in for some bargains. After a closer look however he noticed that prices for used DVDs were 2 times the cost of a new one at Amazon.

“Apparently Blockbuster doesn’t know what movies rent OR sell for these days. I don’t like seeing a company go under, it puts a lot of people out of jobs, but in this case, as a consumer, one can’t help but be happy to see Blockbuster closing down. Any company that treats consumers as if they are idiots and thinks they don’t already know of other options in the market for getting movies cheaper and in better quality, does not deserve to stay in business.”

Harsh words, but he hits the nail right on the hammer. I get the sense that Blockbuster’s creditors never really took the problems at the company all that seriously. Nevermind having to be crazy to loan them money to begin with, the way they’ve chosen to negotiate is nearly schizophrenic. Even before they went into bankruptcy there were all kinds of mixed signals. Now they can’t seem to figure out whether they want to save the company or just liquidate it for the pocket change that is left. My guess is that they thought they could turn this thing around by raising prices and injecting a little bit of cash, but now that consumers have walked away and are clearly not interested in paying these prices, they are bleeding cash in a bad way.

Fast forward to today and their creditors seem like they are having second thoughts about throwing good money after bad. With each delay, it’s looking increasingly likely that Blockbuster’s bankruptcy will end up getting a sequel (or at least a chapter 11 written.) Blockbuster may try to put what’s left of their company on the auction block, but unless they can prove that they can stop losing money, there’s no way that they’ll get anywhere close to the $300 million they’ll need to survive. My advice for the savvy bargain shoppers . . . hold off on your DVD purchases for six more months so you can take advantage of their real liquidation sale.