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Post by lilymaybeme on Jan 5, 2009 14:34:03 GMT -5
Along the lines of what we were discussing earlier, and just to show some of us aren't totally crazy and that this stuff does happen! Here's an interesting article from Variety. link: www.variety.com/article/VR1117972657.html?categoryid=14&cs=1Excerpt: "Are Nielsen households going to avail themselves of this website more than the general population? If so, we have a system that may undermine or create problems with the national sample," said Jack Wakshlag, chief research officer of Turner Networks. Film and TV fan sites have become part of the media's marketing plans. Bloggers are courted and even paid. And network and studio marketers do everything they can to boost buzz through Internet advertising, paid search and anonymous posts to blogs and fan sites....... Perhaps not surprisingly, "Jericho," canceled by CBS last spring, is the No. 1 rated show and had double the Hey! Nielsen rating of second-place "Heroes." Nielsen said it will police Hey! Nielsen for any sign of corporate interest, or for the rabid fans who may want to make their vote count more than once.......
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Post by DonnaJo on Jan 5, 2009 19:54:55 GMT -5
Thanks for the link, lily. I read this article too, at the Major Case site. The article specifically mention the TWoP site (Television Without Pity) which is huge and draws thousands of posters an hour.
Perhaps a site of that magnitude might have a few paid posters floating around in forums like "American Idol" and "Dancing With The Stars," not a site like this for a show like LOCI that is struggling to survive & make it from season to season. I don't see why anyone would bother.
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leanonme
Silver Shield Investigator
Posts: 166
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Post by leanonme on Jan 6, 2009 0:46:09 GMT -5
ETA: In light of the article Leanonme posted, maybe they pay attention a little more than we might have thought? Hi OBC and everyone, Today, on NPR, I heard a man who worked for NBC who also was a writer on TV without Pity. SO, that got me doing some research, and look at this... Boldface mine. Link to article at end. From RollingStone.com Aside from the dharma Initiative and the freaky black smoke, one of the biggest mysteries on Lost has been Hugo "Hurley" Reyes' weight. Over the years, viewers have often wondered why island life hasn't trimmed down the heavyset character. In February 2005, the Web site Common Sense Isn't even jokingly speculated that Hurley "has four suitcases full of candy bars which he is hoarding for himself." Back in Hollywood, Lost's creators finally copped to bloggers' collective B***hing in April 2006, when they aired an explanation: Hurley had indeed been hiding a secret supply of snacks (and ranch dressing) that he'd stored in the trees. That won't be the last time television bows to the blogosphere. As the fall season begins, networks are increasingly relying on the online community to help determine the content and fate of shows. "TV used to be a one-way pipe -- all you got was a Nielsen number," says Lost's co-creator Carlton Cuse. "Now the audience is being completely heard on every aspect of the show. That has changed the nature of television and the kind of shows that get programmed."Last May, when CBS abruptly canceled Jericho, blogger Shaun Daily rallied behind the post-apocalyptic series at BlogTalkRadio.com. At Daily's urging, Jericho fans mailed 40,000 pounds of nuts -- a nod to a character who said "Nuts!" during a key scene in the finale -- to CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler. "We got intimate insight into our audience that we wouldn't have had otherwise," admits Tassler, who decided to bring Jericho back for more episodes. CBS isn't the only network paying attention to fans online. This summer, the CW proposed aging characters by four years on its teen drama One Tree Hill. In July, more mature photos of the show's boyish hero, Lucas Scott, were leaked onto MySpace, complete with manly razor stubble. After sites such as the Big Bad Blog praised Scott's older look, the fall season went ahead as planned. "Blogs are immediate, real-time audience testing," says Michael Roberts, executive vice president at the CW. Roberts also notes that on the CW's Supernatural, a character named Gordon was promoted from a short-lived spot last season to a more prominent role this fall because of online cooing over Sterling Brown, the actor who portrays him. Which sites do networks troll? Top bookmarks include the Futon Critic, TV Squad and the favorite, Television Without Pity. Launched in 1998 as a forum for recapping and discussing episodes of Dawson's Creek, Television Without Pity has become the Net's premier place to B***h-slap any show. The smart writing and snarky quips ("Hasta la Vista, Spy Barbie!" the site says about Alias' cancellation) has made Television Without Pity a must-click for fans -- and producers. Industry research shows that fifty-one percent of its visitors are TV professionals, and its recappers have been hired as writers for shows such as America's Next Top Model and Tough Enough.
Producers from programs including Battlestar Galactica and The Office also confirm that they surf the page. When Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas was working on his series' first season, he used Television Without Pity forums to check viewer expectations about the show's central mystery: Who killed Lilly Kane? "I wanted to make sure our ending would be a surprise," says Thomas. When he felt fans weren't hot on the trail of Aaron Echolls, the dastardly character played by Harry Hamlin, he continued to prep that character as the murderer. In March, Television Without Pity got a plot twist of its own: The site, whose moniker is "Spare the Snark, Spoil the Network," was purchased by Bravo, which is owned by NBC Universal. According to Jason Klarman, Bravo's executive vice president of marketing and digital, shelling out the undisclosed sum for Television Without Pity has sharpened the network's pop-culture street cred. "We would have built it if it didn't exist," he says. This month, Bravo will debut its Project Runway spinoff, Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, in part because the site's community loves Gunn so much. Still, some network execs warn against taking the blogosphere so seriously. "If you're like a statistician, you don't care about the opinions of people who participate in blogs," says Greg Daniels, executive producer of The Office. Daniels notes that some online fans obsess more about Jim and Pam's frustrated romance than the fate of the show's star. "They don't talk about Steve Carell as much as the average fan," he says. "If we listened to them, he would have a much smaller role on the show." But despite the dangers of following bloggers, most television scribes still can't help opening the hatch. "Blogs tell you all the reasons your show sucks," says Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof. "It's a one-way ticket to hell," confirms Cuse, "but we as writers feel a responsibility to answer questions." From Rolling Stone #1035 link www.rollingstone.com/news/story/16697474/tv_enters_the_blog_world
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leanonme
Silver Shield Investigator
Posts: 166
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Post by leanonme on Jan 6, 2009 0:48:40 GMT -5
God, you're good, leanonme. hee hee... You have no idea! You have no idea! lol ;D Thanks!
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Post by lilymaybeme on Jan 6, 2009 2:56:11 GMT -5
Thanks for the link, lily. I read this article too, at the Major Case site. The article specifically mention the TWoP site (Television Without Pity) which is huge and draws thousands of posters an hour. Perhaps a site of that magnitude might have a few paid posters floating around in forums like "American Idol" and "Dancing With The Stars," not a site like this for a show like LOCI that is struggling to survive & make it from season to season. I don't see why anyone would bother. I get Variety on line every day, one way of keeping in touch with the American scene, over here in Europe.. and noticed it was on Major Case after I posted on this site.. Anyway, I doubt it's just the big sites they're interested in watching.. some smaller sites which are more specific in the object of their "fandom" could well be more motivated to "cheat". As to why bother? Well to keep the show on the air as long as possible, that's why! It could be a question of pride for someone like Wolf. It worked on other shows before..and if you read Leanonme's article, it also stresses the importance of all of these sites, but doesn't mention paid bloggers.. just another point of view...
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Post by DonnaJo on Jan 6, 2009 7:15:44 GMT -5
Fascinating article, lean. A great find. Lily, I do believe that over the four years of this site's existence, several of the LOCI writers, cast, crew....even Rene Balcer himself (who posted not too long ago on the mothership thread) have occasionally visited this site. Since both Rene & writer Stephanie Sengupta provided us with interviews, I'm sure they wondered what the response had been. Who knows, perhaps Dick Wolf (or more likely one of his aides) does log on to check what the buzz is. For LOCI, this is a definitive source of what intelligent fans are thinking. As OBC mentioned, we've seen "Easter Eggs" in the scripts, like Goren calling Eames by her first name, that are obvious added to please the fan base. I just don't see this site having paid posters that are hired to sway members into thinking a certain way. That's what I meant by why bother.
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Post by lilymaybeme on Jan 6, 2009 8:06:13 GMT -5
I think my point was clear. Like I said.; different perspectives...
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Post by annabelleleigh on Jan 6, 2009 12:29:21 GMT -5
Leanonme is exactly right. As I've mentioned many times here and elsewhere, networks, studios, marketers, producers, etc use fansites as free focus groups, in lieu of funding hugely expensive scientific research. From my nonvirtual life and work I know this for a fact.
LOM, I've been enjoying your contributions. Your instincts and analytical skills are formidable. Thanks for posting the informative piece on Television Without Pity.
AL
P.S. Paid blogging is also a reality but it's rarely if ever a factor in forums like this one. Paid blogging is the near-transparent promotion of a specific retail product or service. In my experience, that type of message is usually removed swiftly by moderators because it creates distrust in the fan community and renders the site useless to decision makers.
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Post by Patcat on Jan 6, 2009 14:15:22 GMT -5
AL, do you think they (whoever "They" may be (g)) pay any attention to this site? I don't mean to sound glib, but I always guessed the writers and producers and actors were too busy writing and producing and acting to pay attention to things like blogs or message boards.
I'm way too naive for my age (sigh).
Patcat
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Post by annabelleleigh on Jan 6, 2009 15:57:54 GMT -5
Yes, PC. I can't say that it's studied closely but this site is definitely browsed.
I hope knowing that won't change your posts in any way.
AL
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Post by outerbankschick on Jan 6, 2009 18:29:30 GMT -5
Well I, for one, like the idea that we're "browsed". In many cases, the consumer's opinion is sought to improve or market a product, so why not at least consider the opinions of TV viewers as well? To me, it's almost like a gesture of respect in some cases, especially to devoted fans like us who post and seek to intelligently critique what we're seeing on the show. It's entertainment, sure, but it's also a way for us to pull things apart and figure them out. It's like "creative" brain food. To know that in some cases TPTB are actually paying attention to what we're saying (Buh-bye stalker cam!), is kinda nice.
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Post by caitlen on Jan 6, 2009 21:41:50 GMT -5
Yes, PC. I can't say that it's studied closely but this site is definitely browsed. I hope knowing that won't change your posts in any way. AL Q to Admin: Could i ask if the Admin/owner of a site is contacted? Also Al, how did you come by the information that this forum is "definitely browsed"
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Post by DonnaJo on Jan 7, 2009 8:17:52 GMT -5
I don't mean to answer for Annabelle, but for what it's worth, Rene Balcer himself posted not too long ago on the mothership thread. So I imagine that once in awhile, Rene (the brains & the heart of LOCI from its inception to Season 5 & beyond) pops in and checks out the site. As far as the writers are concerned, I definitely think they look at what the fans say. As OBC also mentioned, in "Amends" there were two examples - Bobby finally calls Eames "Alex" and the whole tie clip exchange. For anyone who is new to LOCI fandome, discussions of Bobby's tie clip are legendary. There are threads here & on most every other fan site devoted to the topic. Too bad he doesn't wear one anymore.... And the shippers have been pleading for years that they wanted Bobby, just once, to call Alex by her first name. They got their wish.
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Post by caitlen on Jan 7, 2009 8:47:16 GMT -5
I don't mean to answer for Annabelle, but for what it's worth, Rene Balcer himself posted not too long ago on the mothership thread. So I imagine that once in awhile, Rene (the brains & the heart of LOCI from its inception to Season 5 & beyond) pops in and checks out the site. Yes but he posted, he didn`t "browse" i was just curios thats all to know "who" and the information by Al`s statement
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Post by jeffan on Jan 7, 2009 8:50:54 GMT -5
Donnajo wrote:
"For anyone who is new to LOCI fandome, discussions of Bobby's tie clip are legendary. There are threads here & on most every other fan site devoted to the topic."
LOL, The Blums are not that obsessive about Jeff's hat!
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