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What you don't understand about the NUTS campaign for Jericho is that it isn't just about bringing one Quality show back on the air. Yes that is what we want; a Season 2 for Jericho, but it goes much deeper than just that.
Those of us fighting for Jericho are sick and tired of advertisers deciding what we get to watch. We are sick of Reality Shows, and cookie cutter crime shows. We are tired of Networks offering downloads and free streaming video of the shows they offer, and then only counting the viewers who have the ratings boxes and watch the show live. I even read that those of us using our DVRs are not counted, unless we watch the show within 24 hours of when it airs!
How many people do you know that say things like, "Hey what a great commercial I saw last night?" If you do remember a specific commercial, do you always remember the product it is for? I know I watch very few, but I rarely give them enough thought to remember what the ad was for.
Do you even know many people who watch TV live anymore, or do most of them pre-record shows (VCR/DVR) and fast forward through the commercials? It is even a common known fact that people who do watch live TV leave the room when the commercials are on. The fact that the Networks jack the sound way up for them alone tells me they are aware of this.
So I say, it is time for a change. If we don't really watch ads anymore, why do the advertisers even want to spend big bucks for basically wasted airtime? They need to find a new and better way to reach us. It is time to put the viewing choices in the hands of the viewer. I won't pretend to know enough about technology to tell them how, but I have read enough online stories about the many options they could use to know it is possible. CBS claimed the new line up was made with the desire to be edgy... Giving the viewers the choice over the advertisers would have been edgy. Dropping a quality family show to air a new Reality Show about kids in a ghost town is not. The new shows.. Isn't it Cop Rock, and Angel... Oh right, those are the names of the shows CBS ripped off for the new ones... Sorry I can't remember the names of the new shows.
Tracy. That's fine. I understand where you are going with that. However, it IS a fact of life that commercials are what help pay and defray the cost of programming (as well as to make a profit, too) just as we are seeing ads on the internet to help defray the costs. When it comes to commercials a whole lot of people may not pay attention to it but when you get down to numbers and the people who do respond to certain commercials, it does pay off big. The bigger the audience, the bigger the potential of getting them to respond to a commercial ad. You are basically watching Jericho for free despite the cable cost which, if you watch Jericho only, four times a month (each Wednesday) would be almost the equivalent cost of going to a movie theater each week. But then again you watch so many other shows and television programmings the cost of Jericho would be in the cents and not dollars on average.
You can buy "24" in a DVD set and it'd be completely commercial free. Or would you rather pay to watch "Jericho" and have it be commercial free like you would pay HBO for a movie? How much would you be willing to pay to watch "Jericho" that's commercial free?
I watch both '24' and 'Jericho' along with a few other TV programs. In fact, I have all seasons of '24' available on the DVD format.
Though I did find the 6th season of '24' to be somewhere disappointing in comparison to the previous seasons. [SPOILER WARNING] I think they rushed it by setting off a nuclear bomb within the first five episodes which is too early for a big event. I also thought it was somewhere over the top when there were 3 different foreign enemies (Russian, Chinese, Arabian) in just one season. [END OF SPOILER WARNING] I still enjoyed it though, better than most programs on TV these days. If I was to pick my favourite season, it would have to be either the second or the third. The rest were still pretty good. '24' is quite something and it's one of my favourite TV programs on the TV at the moment.
Anyway, there are tens of thousands of people writing letters and sending roasted nuts to CBS over the cancellation of 'Jericho'. The TV program was getting really good. It had one heck of a cliffhanger.
They did it with 'Farscape', 'Touched By An Angel', 'Star Trek' and more. Though 'Farscape' was somewhere successful by closing with a mini-series or TV movie while the other were more successful since they were renewed for another season or more.
As far I am concerned, the viewers were disappointed because they actually liked the show. Nobody said anything about 'Threat Matrix' or when 'Sue F.B. Eye' was cancelled.
Shoshannah's character is pretty much semi-secondary on 'Jericho'. People wouldn't even notice if she was removed from it. The point is, the more support the 'Save Jericho' campaign get, the better. That's by reaching out to the deaf community and involving them in the campaign. It's the quality of the character development and the storylines that I enjoy the most.
I do admit the deaf character was one of the reasons why I watched the pilot. Since then, I've watched all of the episodes. Other than that, it was the post-apocalyptic storyline that interested me more because we haven't seen one of these in years. I remember how several nuclear holocaust movies were made and released back in the 1980s'. For instance, 'The Day After', 'Testament', 'Miracle Mile', 'One Night Stand', 'By Dawn's Early Light' and more.
So, partially... it's possible that some people are only supporting the cause because of the deaf character. For me, it's more than just that. It's a damn good show.
Koko,
You're right about the advertisers. It's a fact of life, just like newspapers can't run without advertisements or it'll go out of business.
I think the biggest problem would be the torrents. Millions (no, not thousands... it's millions) of people download episodes from all sort of TV programs off the internet with the commercials edited out all for free. It's so accessible even to the deaf because they give out free subtitles within 24 hours after the episode is aired. So in a way, it is definitely hurting them when it come to TV ratings.
The Nielsen Media Research system is outdated and need to be upgraded. WIth the internet, on demand service and everything... it's becoming more difficult to keep track of how many people are watching the program. Though the flaw is, the commercial-free episodes available for free download through torrents aren't doing the TV network any favours because they aren't making any money off it. Not only to mention that it's illegal but that's not stopping them. It's out of control right now and the TV networks are finding it difficult to come up with ideas on how to resolve the problems.
I think they feel hopeless in a way.
In a sense, it would help with the DVD sales but that's not enough.
"Do you even know many people who watch TV live anymore, or do most of them pre-record shows (VCR/DVR) and fast forward through the commercials? It is even a common known fact that people who do watch live TV leave the room when the commercials are on."
Guilty as charged, I don't watch live TV these days. I record TV programs on a digital recorder and watch them once I get a chance and yes, I skip through the commercials.
I imagine most people will skip the commercials if they can. So, I can see where that's a problem.
Plenty of people watch live TV shows. Which is why TIVO is still growing. And because of this the mobile phone is becoming the best alternative source to advertise brand names but though it'd be through permission based marketing efforts rather than a spammy type of thing.
"Plenty of people watch live TV shows."
Well, that's true though it's definitely not as much as it used to be. I mean the numbers of viewers per program. It's much less than it used to be. I remember reading that M*A*S*H's finale got at least a hundred million. You'll be lucky to get 30 million these days or even 20. In 1998, Seinfeld bowed out with an average of 30 million with 75 million for the finale. Now, most popular shows average from 10 to 20 million, that's if you're lucky. Some shows like Grey's Anatomy and American Idol are averaging at least the 20s and sometimes 30s which is rare these days.
Back then, we had fewer channels meaning more viewers per program. But now with the internet, people can buy TV episodes from iTunes immediately after they are aired. The problem with digital recorders, they aren't counted and the commercials are skipped most of the times.
The TV industry is still in the middle of a major revolution of TV viewing. Only time will tell on what changes will be finalized.
Right, we have more shows to choose from. It's no longer just those network powerhouses such as ABC, CBS, and NBC stations that were the source of large viewerships. The MASH finale occured in 1983 which was a time well before ESPN and HBO became mainstreamed, as well as numorous other cable networks. The number of shows and television programmings during 1980s pales in comparison to today's only because satellite and cable have gone mainstream. And not just here in the states but worldwide, too. Heck, Superbowl 35 (2001) garnered some 131 million viewers, the fifth most-watched program in U.S. television history. The fact is, there are so many shows (not games) to choose from than we did over the last 20 years. But that doesn't mean less views with our burgeoning and growing technology when we have satellites. Shows can be watched on cell phones, the internet and, of course, on your own tv. The use of cell phones will be key in helping increase viewerships.
I'll admit I originally watched Jericho because of my friends daughter and because im in the business of observing how deaf actors portray themselves....
But..after a couple of episodes, I became interested in the storyline and didnt even noticed that the deaf character was missing. That says a lot abt the show itself. The other actors were pretty good and they really kept me glued to the tube.
I love "24" and have chosen to watch it in its entirety by renting a DVD on days I'm planning to veg out and shut out the world. The same goes for a lot of other TV shows that are transferred to DVD at the end of the season. With this busy life, its easier to control WHAT we watch WHEN we want to watch it...
Ah! interesting discussion, guys,
With all due respect as I appreciate your continued coverage of the NUTS campaign. But, if you read Banjo's post he says that he is not saying the real meaning of "NUTS" so not to spoil it for those who haven't watched the finale.
As for nutsonline.com, they are selling the nuts at wholesale rate and are gaining exposure but not making much profit.
Chad, explaining what "Nuts" mean on where the word originally came from does not make it to be a spoiler. YouTube of that scene makes it abundantly clear that Ulrich's character wasn't about to give up without a fight.
This is what Banjo claimed:
"The best part is that they're taking advantage of the war term, NUTS. The term stands for 'Not Understanding Terms of Surrender'"
It would be incorrect to assume that the historical and famous use of that word "Nuts" first used by General McAuliffe in WWII is an acronymn. Rather he said "Nuts!" and not NUTS.
Secondly, anytime you take advantage of basically getting free national exposure for your company, you stand to make more money than normally. How much money and how long it will last are another story.
Few years ago, I've read another side of the story about Gen. MacAuliffe's "Nuts" statement to the Germans, something to do with an Allied reporter's misinterpretation of the McAuliffe's response and reported the story to the press in the US. The editors saw the words and thought it was not appropriate to print Gen. MacAuliffe's sharp famous response to the Germans' demand of the Allies' surrender, the editors changed it to "Nuts!" as deemed appropriately for newspapers.
What did the reporter heard and wrote down the actual MacAuliffe response to the Germans' demand of surrender?
"Fuck you!"
So not sure if it is true or not. Heh. 
Commenting by HaloScan
