On Jericho
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- March
- 24
Note: I’ve had a lot of trouble writing this post, and I don’t really know why. So if it seems a bit herky-jerky at points, please bear with me.
I’ve never been part of a campaign to resurrect a show or keep it on the air.
Until Jericho.
I was excited for its premiere and thought the pilot was excellent. Then things were slow for a few episodes, but by the mid-season break, it was on a roll.
The break happened not long before the December holidays, so it seemed to make sense that it was just off for a couple of weeks. But CBS never said anything about it. Jericho was gone. But was it gone for good? Or was it coming back, and if so, when?
Then, nothing. And nothing. And nothing. All the other shows had returned from winter break. All the midseason replacements (such as 24 and American Idol) had long since started.
One day, apropos of nothing, I happened to notice that Jericho was starting up soon.
To give the network credit where credit’s due, CBS did at least air a recap episode to catch folks up if they hadn’t been watching the first half of the season. And the first new episode gave those of us who’d been following the story some answers to some of the questions out there — what did Jake do for those five years he’d been gone from Jericho? Who — and what, exactly — was Rob Hawkins?
But Jericho was on against American Idol.
In the land of Nielsen ratings, that’s pretty much suicide. (Or homicide, in the case of the network putting up a show against AI.)
Its ratings were still decent, but not enough for CBS, apparently. After the season finale aired, CBS finally announced that Jericho wasn’t going to come back.
No one expected it, because the ratings weren’t bad and given its competition, one might even call them pretty decent. And given that CBS never really told people it was coming back, they were pretty darn decent.
But, see, that’s where the problem starts. The Nielsen ratings.
I’m closing in on 40 and I’ve never in my entire life met anyone who was a member of a Nielsen family. I’ve lived in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois and Arizona. I’ve never met anyone, anywhere, who filled out the diaries.
But networks have been using the Nielsen ratings system for, like, ever. It’s got to be accurate, right?
In college, I took a course called “Research methods for journalists.” Basically, we learned to write an unbiased survey, conduct said survey and collate the results. As much of the course focused on teaching us how to write the questions as unbiased and neutral as possible and explaining how a truly scientific and random sample is arrived at as it was in how to collate the results and properly write about them.
I learned why and how a sample of a mere few hundred people can accurately represent the thoughts and feelings of thousands, maybe even millions. One of the most important aspects in arriving at that sample is randomness. The people answering the questions must be selected truly randomly from among the entire population.
Ah, truly random. No self-selection. That rules out the Nielsen survey as unscientific right then and there.
Sure, the Nielsen families may initially be selected randomly, but those who actually join the Nielsen program self-select. When you consider how onerous and obnoxious the process is, it makes one wonder why anyone would even choose to be a Nielsen family in the first place.
But, wait, there’s more.
CBS streams episodes of its shows online after they initially air, as do most networks now. Episodes of many shows can be downloaded legally in iTunes, on Amazon and through other similar sites. TiVo and other DVRs allow folks such as myself to watch shows minutes, hours, days, weeks or even months after they first air (I didn’t even start watching Dirty Sexy Money until halfway through the season).
Nielsen does calculate some of the DVR viewing into its ratings. It has a Live+same day viewing category, which is anyone who watched a show within 24 hours of its airing and it has a Live+7 day viewing category, which counts up to a week after it first airs.
But those two categories aren’t very attractive to advertisers, because with a DVR, people can speed through the commercials.
Why do you think that Sprint phones were so obviously the cell phones of choice in Jericho’s season 2? Or why when Jake and Dale were chatting in Dale’s store, leaning against the soda coolers, there was a visible case of Mountain Dew on a shelf?
That’s called product placement. So long as it’s not obnoxious and doesn’t leave you with Robert Hawkins saying to John Smith, “I know that my Sprint cell phone is secure, you must have a trace on the bomb, because no one would be able to break the security I have on my Sprint phone!”
Thing is, why offer web streaming, episode downloads or DVRs if you’re not going to count these viewers? People’s lives are busy; we don’t have time for appointment television. In my case, I often start watching shows about 15-30 minutes after they start because I’m putting the little ones to bed or starting another load of laundry, or straightening up from the household hurricane that disguises itself as my two boys. And, honestly, I find it far more enjoyable to watch a show without the commercial breaks. Not even so much because of the commercials themselves, but also because of the continuity. You know how much easier it is to follow a convoluted show like Lost without losing the rhythm of the show every 10-15 minutes?
I can’t say I’m surprised CBS decided not to renew Jericho. But I am disappointed. CBS had the opportunity to be the one to blow up the whole notion of how to measure television viewing.
And that’s going to happen. Look, I’m in newspapers. The same “new media” that’s affecting television is affecting papers. We’re adapting, changing and trying to figure it all out. Sometimes, frankly, it’s scary. It’s a whole new way of doing business. But it’s necessary, because the consumers are changing their habits and if we don’t follow, we’re going to get left behind.
CBS could have become an industry leader in figuring out how to capitalize on the new media.
Now, it’s destined to be a follower. And just as Fox has surpassed CBS as the most-viewed network in counting viewers in conventional ways, the other networks will watch CBS in their rear-view mirrors as they navigate the strange new world of alternate viewing.
See ya, CBS.
***
And just because, here’s a bunch of Jericho linkage for you all:
• These folks just won’t give up the ghost. Maybe we’ll get a Season 3 after all. (Somewhere else, of course.)
• Kystorms wrote a heartfelt and impassioned open letter in response to a condescending article about our Rangers.
• Carol Barbee gave this interview to FEAR.net.
• Jerichon will go on.
• Gray Anderson may not be the best mayor ever, but Michael Gaston sure is the best actor to play a mayor we don’t like so much. Here’s his post on the official forums. And check out this article, which also includes info on the campaigns to get Jericho onto another network.
• Finally, JerichoNet has been doing episode recaps this season as if they’re journal entries written by various characters. Some good stuff here. Check it out!
Motivator courtesy of Jane Sweat/JerichoMonster.
This entry was posted
on Monday, March 24th, 2008 at 1:31 pm by Amy Vernon.
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Amy, that was awesome. Great job. CBS can talk all they like about viewers not being here but we know we were here. Like you, I’ve never known a Nielsen family. I never want to be one. It’s not our fault that CBS doesn’t know how to count us. Until we all join together and show these networks we aren’t going to take it anymore, they will continue to cancel quality shows. And, put on more trash.
Great article. I had never heard of the show until a Twitter friend turned me on to it. I watched the pilot and than bought Season 1. Concurrently I DVR’d Season 2. I most certainly did not watch it within 24 hours.
I find the show very enriching. The acting is good, not great, but good. The writing is good, not great, but good. But the show is thought provoking. It makes one think “What would I do in the same situation?” I am also a military officer and it made wonder about the constitutional situation and just how wrong the “ASA” was. I blog about it at http://danmosqueda.blogspot.com/2008/03/cbss-jericho-constitutional-dilemma.html.
If shows like “Threshold” or “Battlestar Galactica” can survive on Universal HD, I hope somehow Jericho could do the same, with the same level of quality.
Amy,
You made me laugh, first time in days. Hawkins discussing his Sprint phone! Thank you!!!
This is wonderful and so true. CBS didn’t count us when we were there for them….Wonder how much they will miss us when we are gone from CBS. You know the numbers for The Office, Scrubs, Brothers & Sisters, and yes even Desperate Housewives hit 4 million with Nielsen but those networks believe in their shows and their viewers.
How could CBS send Skeet out last week to talk Jericho when they knew what they were going to do??? They don’t respect the cast and crew how would we think they ‘care’ about the viewers?! They did me a favor by announcing on Friday. I saw lots of people with yesterday being a holiday and they are outraged. No CBS for any of them. I cried a lot this weekend, but the anger that was shown by all yesterday, new and old fans of Jericho spoke volumes as to where the future lies. Jericho as it stands now, has a brighter future than CBS. I was never so proud of my family, friends, and those I had the privledge of meeting yesterday at the Golf Club. Yes it was a large crowd which was all in agreement quickly. Not one Nielsen in the bunch!
well, there ya go. Could not have been said better, thank you Amy for being one of the bright moments each week for Jericho fans.
I hope you continue to follow what CBS does with all this, the needs to remain in the spotlight – I hope the press dogs them night and day, so that they cant do this to another group of fans.
Thanks everyone. I think we are on the verge of a sea change in how viewers are counted and no matter what happens, we can know that it was Jericho that caused the change to finally occur. That may be Jericho’s legacy, and if so, well, that ain’t too shabby.
And Dan, yes, I did read your article a while back; in fact, I linked to it from my live thoughts on Episode 4, “Termination for Cause.” Interesting reading, all, check it out! (Dan’s post, I mean!)
Great article and perfectly stated. I keep hoping Jericho will set history again by making a successful transfer to another home. Hey, why not, right? It’s an unusual show. Everyone I turned on to it really liked it even if they weren’t as gonzo as me maybe
They would watch it though. Its really true, why offer it if it doesn’t count. What makes me maddest is you would think it was drawing a million viewer instead of an average of 6.2 mil. That’s without the DVRing or other media. It’s truly time for a change.
Ditto everything.
And thanks, as usual.
That was perfect – it laid it all out! And I love the phrase “appointment television”. No kidding, who has time for that these days? I can barely stand to make a doctor’s appointment!
Amy, it is so true. CBS is talking out both sides of its mouth; one division says you must be in front of your TV sets – but, oh, wait, how would we know that? Another division says – look at us, We Care so we made the show available for you at our site for free; or download it at iTunes and watch when you want because we want the newer, connected viewer – but, oh, BTW we are not going to count you if you don’t sit in front of the TV at the appointed hour – but oh, wait, we can’t count you if you do because you don’t have a Neilsens box. Is your head spinning?
And here’s a question for advertisers – if there is no TV worth watching, how will I see your ads? Oh, right, Neilsens told you that I’m too old to buy your products. Really?
Wow. Awesome article. 100% agree with you!!
Thank you so much for your wonderful, well-researched article. You clearly care about the show and understand how biased and ridiculous the Nielson system is. It’s good to know you’re on our side, and that you’re educating the public on this issue, rather than making snarky remarks about Jericho’s fans (like some journalists). Thank you!
Any awesome article as usual. Im rellly going to miss this show. I am praying another network will pick it up.
Great job Amy!
I remember a course in College that said businesses should be thinking five years ahead. That’s why I had hope that CBS would think ahead. Too bad they didn’t!
Gwen
You rock. This article rocks. I’ve seen a lot of Jericho fan bashing, like we’re the ones responsible for loosing in the ratings. But I’m a recent convert to Jericho and I’ve converted my boyfriend and my parents and have begun working on my co-workers. The word is getting around, Jericho is finding new fans all the times—just so happens none of these new fans seem to have nielsen boxes.
I appreciate what you said and commend you for saying it. Here’s hoping for a new home for Jericho and a season three soon to come.
My family was a Nielsen Diary family 25 years ago, and I was the holder of the diarys (I was 14 at the time). I must tell you, I wrote down whatever I wanted, and it had very little to do with what we, as a family, were watching… that said, I wish CBS had sucked it up and went out on a limb for Jericho. We would have been so proud!!
Excellent article, as usual, and I bow to your awesome-ness in keeping the Jericho love alive. Hopefully, we will see more of our favorite Jerichoians in the future, but most of all, I hope we can help ensure that this doesn’t happen to the next ‘Jericho’, whenever it may show up on our TVs/DVRs/Computers.
great article Amy, thank you – very good point about random samples & Nielsen ratings.
Hanging in there for a new home for Jericho & a season 3
awsome job amy….Jericho has reached out to the whole world..im a fan from Romania…im praying for Jericho to find a new home…everyone that has ever had any contact with it deserves it…
CBS owns the rights to Jericho, so it’s pretty doubtful that it will find a new home elsewhere. From what I’m hearing, you’ll probably see the the story be continued in some other medium such as books, graphic novels, etc.
I’m not a huge Jericho fan (I watched only a handful of episodes) but it always bugs me when a drama that actually took time and creativity to produce gets dwarfed by mindless reality television shows in the ratings. Nice write up on how Nielsen ratings work Amy—I was completely in the dark about it.