10/10/2010
6/11/2008
I'm Back and so are Reality TV shows
Sorry for the absence - I've been celebrating the end of my 3rd year at USC and needed some R&R. However, I am back and ready to continue providing cool articles on what is happening in the future of entertainment.
I will make this next blog short and sweet - TV networks are rapidly switching places for 1st.
Back in the hey day of my youth (10 years ago I think will do it), NBC was king of the sitcoms and had it all - Friends, Fraiser, Seinfeld... Nothing could compete. More recently, CBS has had their CSI spinoffs and have been number one for years. ABC has enjoyed success with Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives. However, a distant 4th was always FOX. Not any more - guess whose number one - FOX.
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? A network that came out of no where 20 years ago is now the number one network? This is simply because people no longer watched sitcoms or tv shows live. They wait for when they are available and simply play it on their DVR. Fox however has EVENTS and not shows. You don't watch the American Idol Finale 2 weeks later and still get the same excitement - everyone around the water cooler has already spoiled the ending. You have to watch it then and there. That is was Fox does right - event television. They got the Emmy's this past go around, they have American Ido and Top Chef and with Fox Reality creating a slew of new television shows on the cheap, Fox will remain number one for years to come.
NBC, the perennial favorite from youth does have the Olympics coming up and those will be a huge help to the struggling network, but I think it is fair to say that FOX, once touted as a joke of network without any quality programming, is now the network to beat. What is ironic is that the same quality of programming is being pumped into FOX, it just turns out that people's tastes are evolving and now FOX provides mostly content that must be viewed then and there - it cannot wait a couple weeks.
With this, I want to write a dirge for all network programming. Days will go away when quality shows like Lost, 24 and others were free. They are simply too expensive for the ratings they deliver. Soon, everything we watch for free will be reality and the only sit-coms, serials or dramas that we can get are on pay cable. I'm sad, but not surprise - it is the nature of the beast - technology makes everyone able to produce shows and with that unlimited ocean of choices, not enough eyes hit the good stuff.
DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE RATINGS SYSTEM PROVIDED MY NIELSEN - (a show like ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT gets cancelled, when millions probably watched but just weren't a 'Nielsen Family').
Until next time - God Speed.
C-Wickity
I will make this next blog short and sweet - TV networks are rapidly switching places for 1st.
Back in the hey day of my youth (10 years ago I think will do it), NBC was king of the sitcoms and had it all - Friends, Fraiser, Seinfeld... Nothing could compete. More recently, CBS has had their CSI spinoffs and have been number one for years. ABC has enjoyed success with Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives. However, a distant 4th was always FOX. Not any more - guess whose number one - FOX.
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? A network that came out of no where 20 years ago is now the number one network? This is simply because people no longer watched sitcoms or tv shows live. They wait for when they are available and simply play it on their DVR. Fox however has EVENTS and not shows. You don't watch the American Idol Finale 2 weeks later and still get the same excitement - everyone around the water cooler has already spoiled the ending. You have to watch it then and there. That is was Fox does right - event television. They got the Emmy's this past go around, they have American Ido and Top Chef and with Fox Reality creating a slew of new television shows on the cheap, Fox will remain number one for years to come.
NBC, the perennial favorite from youth does have the Olympics coming up and those will be a huge help to the struggling network, but I think it is fair to say that FOX, once touted as a joke of network without any quality programming, is now the network to beat. What is ironic is that the same quality of programming is being pumped into FOX, it just turns out that people's tastes are evolving and now FOX provides mostly content that must be viewed then and there - it cannot wait a couple weeks.
With this, I want to write a dirge for all network programming. Days will go away when quality shows like Lost, 24 and others were free. They are simply too expensive for the ratings they deliver. Soon, everything we watch for free will be reality and the only sit-coms, serials or dramas that we can get are on pay cable. I'm sad, but not surprise - it is the nature of the beast - technology makes everyone able to produce shows and with that unlimited ocean of choices, not enough eyes hit the good stuff.
DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE RATINGS SYSTEM PROVIDED MY NIELSEN - (a show like ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT gets cancelled, when millions probably watched but just weren't a 'Nielsen Family').
Until next time - God Speed.
C-Wickity
4/26/2008
New Ways of 'Reaching' Your Audience
Precursor: This blog is about technology and its affect on entertainment. Technology is not just new computers and gagets, but rather technological advances can be in the form of new techniques. That is what this blog will focus on - the new techniques employed when marketing a film.
FIRST OFF: Reach, in marketing terms, refers to how many people have literally scene/heard your ads. You want your reach to be as high as possible and be as cheap as possible - these two ideals rarely are attained simutaneously.
To reach an audience with a tentpole film back in 1995, the most expensive marketing campaign was for Toy Story (35 million dollars total). There were some just below that number, but the majority of films were much lower. This summer will see the total money spent on marketing come within striking distance of being the same as the film's entire production budget.
For example, the tentpole films of Indiana Jones, Speed Racer and the Dark Knight could all see their marketing budget be exactly the same as their 150 million production budgets. Now this drastic leap from 35 million to 150 million in just over a decade may sound crazy and simply a waste of money, but the new technology being employed is SUBTLE PRODUCT PLACEMENT.
Sex and the City, a movie that is expected to bring women to the theaters in droves, has deals with Mercedes Benz, Skyy Vodka and Vitaminwater. These deals are not small ventures, but rather multi-million dollar partnerships that translate into marketing budgets that seem astronomical. It simply is not the case.
I posted earlier in March about Speed Racer and its marketing budget exceeding 150 million. Well, after further examination, I have to disagree with my initial assumption that this amount was absurd for a movie that, I felt, would not make that money back. The budget for marketing has increased because the international community has increased (foreign box office is key for a films success and thusly you must spend lots of money on advertisements) and product placement deals have inflated all the marketing budgets to levels that would seem crazy to anyone who does not see the fine print.
I will end with one of the greatest stories I remember over the past year involving product placement. Rolex was James Bond's watch for years. Omega wanted the title. For Casino Royale, the newest Bond film, Omega paid millions of dollars to have this campy dialog.
HOT BOND BABE: (woman is insulting James, looks at his watch) "Rolex?"
BOND: "Omega"
HOT BOND BABE: "Gorgeous..."
Barely recognizable, but that brought the marketing campaign well over 2-3 million dollars from Omega alone. The Bond Franchise should of just had the entire script filled with these references (sarcastic comment -- they did...)
That is all, -- back to the final papers of my 6th college semester year...
FIRST OFF: Reach, in marketing terms, refers to how many people have literally scene/heard your ads. You want your reach to be as high as possible and be as cheap as possible - these two ideals rarely are attained simutaneously.
To reach an audience with a tentpole film back in 1995, the most expensive marketing campaign was for Toy Story (35 million dollars total). There were some just below that number, but the majority of films were much lower. This summer will see the total money spent on marketing come within striking distance of being the same as the film's entire production budget.
For example, the tentpole films of Indiana Jones, Speed Racer and the Dark Knight could all see their marketing budget be exactly the same as their 150 million production budgets. Now this drastic leap from 35 million to 150 million in just over a decade may sound crazy and simply a waste of money, but the new technology being employed is SUBTLE PRODUCT PLACEMENT.
Sex and the City, a movie that is expected to bring women to the theaters in droves, has deals with Mercedes Benz, Skyy Vodka and Vitaminwater. These deals are not small ventures, but rather multi-million dollar partnerships that translate into marketing budgets that seem astronomical. It simply is not the case.
I posted earlier in March about Speed Racer and its marketing budget exceeding 150 million. Well, after further examination, I have to disagree with my initial assumption that this amount was absurd for a movie that, I felt, would not make that money back. The budget for marketing has increased because the international community has increased (foreign box office is key for a films success and thusly you must spend lots of money on advertisements) and product placement deals have inflated all the marketing budgets to levels that would seem crazy to anyone who does not see the fine print.
I will end with one of the greatest stories I remember over the past year involving product placement. Rolex was James Bond's watch for years. Omega wanted the title. For Casino Royale, the newest Bond film, Omega paid millions of dollars to have this campy dialog.
HOT BOND BABE: (woman is insulting James, looks at his watch) "Rolex?"
BOND: "Omega"
HOT BOND BABE: "Gorgeous..."Barely recognizable, but that brought the marketing campaign well over 2-3 million dollars from Omega alone. The Bond Franchise should of just had the entire script filled with these references (sarcastic comment -- they did...)
That is all, -- back to the final papers of my 6th college semester year...
4/23/2008
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
This quote describes the future of cash flow for entertainment and I LOVE IT:
“The axiom in Hollywood is that content is king, but those who control access to the king, control the kingdom,” Verrone continued. “Because of federal regulations -- or lack thereof -- that control is in the hands of neither the consumer nor the content creators, but the distributors.”
VERRONE is president of the Writer's Guild of America West.
“The axiom in Hollywood is that content is king, but those who control access to the king, control the kingdom,” Verrone continued. “Because of federal regulations -- or lack thereof -- that control is in the hands of neither the consumer nor the content creators, but the distributors.”
VERRONE is president of the Writer's Guild of America West.
4/19/2008
VIDEOGAMES KILL
I was reading about the April launch of the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV - a titled that has long been delayed.
This title is shipping to stores 3 days before Iron Man (and although industry pundits predict movie goers will be willing to part ways from the game to see the first superhero movie in almost a year), they are worried that the game could cause a ripple effect that will destroy TV and Film revenues.
When Halo 3 launched, TV shows were coming back from Summer hiatus. The only demographic that was down - THE ONLY ONE - was men 18-24. Why? Because they were all cooped up at home with a tub of red vines and a 24-pack of mountain dew trying to frag all their friends in Slayer-mode.
When Super Smash Bros launched a couple months back, the male 18-24 demographic dramatically dropped due supposedly to these men playing the game.
With over 400 million expected to be made by Take-Two (The publishers for GTAIV) in the first week alone, this revenue is seen as a golden ticket for the gaming industry -- I myself have no system but am considering buying one so I can play this game...
Basically, TV and Film executives have new trouble in town - once seen as a passing fad in the 80's when pong and pac-man were hits, videogames now can be considered almost as big a threat to film/tv revenues as piracy. DUNT DUNT DUNT.
I must be going now - I need to finish my brickbreaker game (going for a high score).
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED - MARY THURTLE, a USC Major in Dance and Baller of Choreography, wrote similar statements in a thesis for WRIT-340 for USC - see below:
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED - MARY THURTLE, a USC Major in Dance and Baller of Choreography, wrote similar statements in a thesis for WRIT-340 for USC - see below:
"Another budding factor that affects crowds at the box office is |
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