Mainstream media abandons live viewership ratings reporting as wave of dissent shifts viewers to indy media outlets

Friday, December 04, 2015 by: J. D. Heyes
Tags: media ratings, mainstream media, alternative news

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(NaturalNews) The mainstream media is collapsing. Legacy newspapers, news shows and broadcast networks ABC, CBS, and NBC continue to shed readers and viewers, in large part because of liberal, anti-American content, but also because technology is leaving them (and their advertisers) behind.

Another indication of that came recently after Fox, which is owned by 21st Century Fox, announced it would no longer publish or announce live ratings for its shows – a figure based on the estimated number of people watching the network's programs – because executives say the measure is no longer important, given that many people "record" programs for later viewing.

As reported by Bloomberg News, the network execs said so-called "live plus" same-day ratings for live events like awards and sports shows will still be provided, but for most pre-taped entertainment like weekly sitcoms and other scheduled programming, Fox will only measure viewership in three- and seven-day increments.

When the numbers no longer add up, they're suddenly 'worthless'

The move makes Fox the first large network to abandon the daily ritual of publishing ratings in emails to journalists that cover the television industry. Viewership figures, which come from the premier ratings service, Nielsen, are repackaged by network number-crunchers in a way that spins even disappointing viewership figures in a positive manner.

"There will no longer be THAT email in your inbox every morning at 8AM, because THAT email is no longer relevant," Dana Walden and Gary Newman, who share the titles of chairman and chief executive officer at Fox Television Group, said in a memo, as reported by Bloomberg News. "The connections between viewers and our shows today are more complex and, in many ways, deeper than ever – but they no longer only happen overnight."

Live audiences for all four major broadcast networks have been falling for years, Bloomberg News reported. First, viewers migrated to niche programming on cable channels, but then they began using technology like TiVo to record programming. And even more recently, an increasing number of viewers are abandoning traditional television and cable programming altogether in favor of alternative media programming and streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, where users don't even have to have a TV to watch the shows and movies they want.

As further reported by Bloomberg News:

"Media executives have responded by stressing the growth in delayed viewing and trying to get more compensation. CBS Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves has said overnight ratings are 'worthless.'"

And what else would a network TV executive say when his or her network continues to shed viewers and revenue? Back when networks had monopolies and near-monopolies on programming, overnight and daily viewership figures were all-important measures of popularity, used by networks to woo advertisers. But now, when even the number-crunchers and PR folks can no longer put lipstick on a pig, and make poor viewership figures look somewhat better, overnight ratings are "worthless."

Mainstream media is a dying brand

And speaking of corporate advertisers, some have been reluctant to pay for delayed viewing because they know that when a viewer tapes a show they generally fast-forward through the commercials. But some have been paying for shows that are viewed as much as seven days after they originally aired, up from the traditional three days, Bloomberg noted.

That won't capture all viewing, however, and that's a big reason ratings firm Nielsen plans to introduce a new tool that enables networks to count total viewers for each show, both on TV and online, for a month or more.

"Sports are the big exception to the drop in ratings. Live viewing for professional football has increased in the current season, as did ratings for Major League Baseball's World Series," Bloomberg reported.

That said, there is no reason to expect the current trend of decreased viewership and readership for mainstream media products to rebound anytime soon, as Natural News editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, has predicted.

Sources:

Bloomberg.com

TalkNetwork.com

NaturalNews.com