Jacobs Media consultant Mike Stern turns on the TV once again and brings radio some keen observations about ratings success. As Nielsen Audio becomes a household name in radio, I’m thinking we’re going to read more and more about how ratings are generated in TV and how that applies to radio. Mike may be ahead of the game. Here’s his latest. – FJ
In the last six months, three of the four major broadcast networks have fired the person in charge of their Reality TV efforts. According to a recent Hollywood Reporter article by writer Lacey Rose, only NBC’s head reality honcho has kept his job and that is only by the grace of The Voice continuing to succeed.
The reason for the firings is that (beyond the The Voice), there hasn’t been a new hit Reality TV show at the network level in a long time. In an entry that we posted earlier this month, I chronicled the debacle of NBC’s heavily hyped game show The Million Second Quiz. Add in ABC’s Duets, CBS’ The Job and two Fox dating shows Take Me Out and The Choice, and you’ve got a lengthy list of reality-based losers.
The only shows still thriving for the big networks are aging franchises like Dancing with the Stars, American Idol and Survivor, all of which are down considerably in the ratings from their heyday.
But, in spite of the major network ratings doldrums, Reality TV is doing just fine. A&E’s Duck Dynasty is a sensation, responsible for some of the highest ratings ever achieved by a reality show — network or broadcast — while the spate of shows about the Kardashian family and many others continue to do very well, too.
So as Rose investigates why Reality TV is working for cable and not network, her efforts grabbed my attention.
According to a top Reality TV agent, “The problem with [Reality TV] in broadcast is that you can’t repeat and build an audience whereas E! can run a show 11 times in a row until viewers find it and fall in love with it.”
And another network executive adds, “It’s like you think at first you don’t like that Nicki Minaj song, but you hear it over and over and eventually you get hooked.”
Sounds familiar to radio programmers – or it least it should. And yet, the lesson from these two high-level television executives about the value of repetition is something often lost by PDs.
We know from Arbitron that the average length of a listening occasion is just short of ten minutes. Yet radio as a medium is often loathe to repeat hit songs, station promos or successful bits for fear of being perceived as being “too repetitive.”
Fred tells the story of talking with former radio programming superstar, Tim Sabean, who crossed the fence years ago to oversee Howard Stern’s networks on Sirius. Fairly early in his tenure, Fred asked him what lesson he learned from his time in satellite radio that he would bring back to broadcasting. And Tim didn’t hesitate:
“Repeat your successes.”
So often in radio, it’s one and done. We put together a great bit, interview, a countdown, a special weekend, an artist tribute, or anything else. Then we play it once and it’s never heard again. Sure, it may live on the website, but the real impact of repeating great programming is often lost because of the fear of being painted with the repetition brush.
Radio programmers might take a cue from the success of Reality TV on cable and its struggles on the network.
With distracted listeners who are barely able to keep track of their own lives let alone our best content music or promotional ideas, we shouldn’t fear repetition. Success isn’t about more mediocre content; it’s about getting the most out of the very best your station has to offer, whether it’s the music, hosts or promotions. Just like the cable networks, be sure you play the hits enough for listeners to find them and fall in love.
Play it again.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Maybe the lesson here is also about patience. The networks rarely give new shows the time to catch on and grow that cable does. In today’s world, Seinfeld would probably have been axed before it had a chance to catch on – and Breaking Bad would have been long gone under a network rubric.
Radio’s challenge is a somewhat different. While I agree with Mike’s point – that radio can and should repeat its best elements more often than it does, it also should make programming innovation a bigger priority, rather than moving one old format after another into each failing frequency until one finally grabs hold in 6 months or less.
Reality TV may be facing a midlife crisis on Network TV, but at least they had the guts and foresight to invent a new format. When was the last time radio tried something that had that kind of potential to be ground breaking?
Bob:
Thanks for the read and your comments. While I focused on the more strategic implications of repeating content your points are well made.
More stations willing and able to innovate along with the patience to see it through would certainly be great for radio — and a lot of fun too.