iTunes Credited with Boosting Primetime Ratings

grandgator writes "TV Week reports on NBC's claims that iTunes downloads are boosting ratings for their primetime shows. Citing one example 'NBC's "The Office" delivered a 5.1-its highest ratings ever-last Thursday among adults 18 to 49, a bump the network credits in large part to the show's popularity as an iPod download. Such a connection between podcast success and broadcast ratings success is particularly significant because the NBC data is among the first available evidence of what network executives have been gambling on when striking their new media deals-that the new video platforms are additive because they provide more entry points into a show for consumers.'"

Comments

Good for The Office, good (?) for NBC

[fighthairloss]

I'm glad to see the success of The Office online. Overall, I suppose NBC (or whoever made the decision within NBC to iTunes-enable their primetime) should be congratulated for their forsight.

A few things I wonder about though:

1. now that NBC's taken this (presumably risky, in their minds) step in new-fangled distribution, and now that they've seen some early signs of success, will they now believe they invented this new medium and start demanding higher pricing, forced purchase of "blocks" of episodes, or -gasp- more DRM restrictions from Jobs & co?

2. Does anyone know the story behind NBC's decision to go iTunes in the first place? I'm just guessing here, but I'm thinking there was a rebel executive somewhere who had to do jump through hoops to convince management that this was a good choice. Of course, that just might be jaded old me predisposed to think the worst of labels and studios based on their traditional less-than-progressive stances on anything that challenges their conventional wisdom.

3. I wonder at what point is it financially worth it for a studio to produce a "TV" show and sell it exclusively off-air. For example, Arrested Development is one of the most brilliant shows to come on in years, but it's doing rather poorly in viewer ratings. Conceivably, if it sold on iTunes, and DVD & iTunes sales were strong enough, would a studio ever have enough balls to make a TV show that wasn't distributed on TV?

Re:It's obvious!

[peragrin]

Or you can get a clue and join the real world.

I wanted to see how it was so I downloaded the free battlestar galatica season opener special. I played it on my TV just fine and it looked just like the regular shows. Other than the fact it was commercial free and I could pause it at will.

So i downloaded the season 2 and every night for 4 nights I watched 2-3 episodes to get the season i missed. Now I can watch the new episodes without having missed anything.

On my TV downstairs on the couch. I do wish HD was an option but that's okay for $2 I can watch it when i want to without interruption.

What I want to know though is is apple selling more quicktime pro licenses. It's the only way to get good fullscreen viewing of protected content. I wish mplayer would work but it doesn't.

Re:Makes sence

[gutnor]

There are people out there that don't want to pay 50$/month for Cable TV. Or even have the TV.

I know, I don't have a TV. Most of my friends don't have a TV. I don't care paying for digital joy 24/7, I have internet and a monthly subscription to a postal dvd service, and that's enough for me. If tomorow I get bored, I would rather take WoW than TV !

However from time to time ( like for Battlestar Galactica ) I would like to be able to download 1 specific show ( .. I mean legally download .. ) without waiting 3/6 months for it to be available on DVD rental.

But anyway, I'm out of luck, there is no itune download here in the uk ...