Jericho Fans Await Smoke Signal

Rich of Copywrite Ink writes today about the mixed messages from CBS to Jericho fans. One point he makes is:

"When you have several thousand fans promoting a show at a set time every Friday night, they feel kind of silly when their friends call them, e-mail them, or twit them back to ask “What show?”

That's what happened August 10 when CBS pre-empted Jericho and aired a football game. Fans were left to find out for themselves and new viewers may still be wondering what happened. What CBS has failed to learn after all this time is that fans just want to be kept informed. We're out here working for new viewers then this new viewer goes to watch Jericho and they see football instead. There was no announcement at the end of last week's show to let any viewers know when Jericho would be back. We already know about the next pre-emption on August 24th but it would be nice for CBS to announce to new viewers when Jericho will be back. CBS is also skipping an episode and they haven't explained that either.

Rich discusses the inconsistencies in statements by Nina Tassler and Les Moonves. I hope they have a clearer sense of things now:

June 6, 2007:
In a message on the CBS board Nina says:
"It needs to grow on the CBS Television Network, as well as on the many digital platforms where we make the show available."
***Here she mentions watching more than just our TV.***

In the June 9, 2007 New York Times


"CBS now has a message: Please watch “Jericho” on broadcast television.

Because CBS finances its shows based on measures of viewership of regularly scheduled broadcasts, “it’s of primary importance,” Nina Tassler, the president of CBS Entertainment, said in an interview.

“We want them to watch on Wednesday at 8 o’clock,” or whenever CBS schedules the return of the series later this year, Ms. Tassler said. “And we need them to recruit new viewers who are going to watch the broadcast.”

***Now she's back to watching Jericho only on TV.***



The very next day Moonves is interviewed by Ken Auletta of the New Yorker."
He says, “So at the end of the day, as long as I'm getting paid for it, I don't care whether you are watching CSI on CBS at 9 p.m. on Thursday night, on your DVR, if you are getting it on Amazon.com, or CBS.com. So once again, the distinction, you are still watching CSI.”

***Moonves just wants money no matter what. How much is he losing by not counting all his Jericho viewers?***

***Does Moonves even know who his viewers are? ***

Look at this quote about Katie Couric:


"Moonves says Couric's newscast is designed to attract younger audiences to network news, and that evening news broadcasts will die if they rely on viewers more than 60 years old. Moonves should realize that young adults in their 20s and 30s, the demographic that advertisers target, don't consider the 50-year-old Couric as being in their age group. The best way to get today's 25-year-old interested in the news is to wait about 15 years until that person has a steady job, a family and property-tax bills. Moonves might take solace in the fact that more 60-year-olds emerge each year."

*** Yes, maybe you should hire Paris Hilton. ***


Rich also asks,"CBS cannot be dependent on the Nielsen ratings and free from it at the same time. Can they?"

***Excellent question but they seem to think they can have it both ways.***



Here's something interesting:
"ComScore Counts Ads and Plans to Count TV Viewers"

"Perhaps most intriguing, he said comScore is planning a new service that will measure television viewership, putting it in competition with Nielsen’s lifeblood.

If that happens, the competition will become far more interesting than a debate about how to measure audience engagement."



Give us a sign,CBS,that you're listening. We'll even accept smoke signals.