[mythtv-users] The Heidi Game: Why TV stays on the sports program

Nick Rout nick.rout at gmail.com
Wed Nov 2 21:15:29 UTC 2011


On Thu, Nov 3, 2011 at 10:03 AM, Phil Bridges <gravityhammer at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Nov 2, 2011 at 4:59 PM, Nick Rout <nick.rout at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Thu, Nov 3, 2011 at 8:48 AM, Phil Bridges <gravityhammer at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Wed, Nov 2, 2011 at 3:37 PM, Brian J. Murrell <brian at interlinx.bc.ca> wrote:
>>>> On Wed, 2011-11-02 at 14:53 -0400, Phil Bridges wrote:
>>>>> "CBS enjoyed a 9.1 rating from 7:00-7:30 (New England at Pittsburgh),
>>>>> and 60 Minutes (airing 30 minutes late) averaged a 4.2 rating"
>>>>
>>>> An unfair comparison for a number of reasons.  The first is that it's
>>>> not considering how many people didn't watch 60 Minutes when they found
>>>> out it was not on at 7PM when they expected it to be and just watched
>>>> their second choice show at that time and additionally chose not to
>>>> switch away from that program in mid-showing to catch 60 minutes late?
>>>>
>>>> The second problem is that you need to add the non-overlapping share
>>>> rating from all of 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, The Good Wife and
>>>> whatever runs after that on a night where those shows are not running
>>>> late (for the same reason as above).
>>>>
>>>> The reason you need to add the non-overlapping share ratings of all of
>>>> those programs is that all of those programs represent the viewers who
>>>> are being inconvenienced by the overrun.
>>>>
>>>> CBS simply needs to stop trying to have their cake and eat it too.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I guess you can try to explain to CBS how the football game wasn't
>>> twice as popular as 60 Minutes.
>>>
>>> Don't get me wrong - I hate having to adjust my recordings on Sunday
>>> to run an extra hour, but I also realize that worrying about won't get
>>> me anywhere, and ranting on a DVR mailing list won't get me anywhere.
>>>
>>> BTW, this past week, 60 Minutes had 18,558,000 viewers.  Last season,
>>> 60 Minutes averaged 13.36 million viewers per week.  I dare say 60
>>> minutes may regularly get more viewers when it follows football, which
>>> typically means it's delayed.
>>
>> The interesting thing when looking at this whole debate from an
>> outsiders point of view is that I live in a Rugby, not Gridiron
>> playing nation.
>>
>> Until comparitively recently rugby was strictly amateur. When it went
>> pro, it was largely funded by TV rights bidding, with Murdoch/Sky
>> being the major funder. Individual teams have corporate sponsorship,
>> but most of the money goes from TV companies to the Rugby Union and
>> then trickles down to various teams.
>>
>> That being the case, the TV companies rule the game, when they are
>> played (to maximise global audience), where they are played (stadiums
>> with good TV facilities) and the length of the games.
>>
>> Most games other than competition semi finals and finals have a set
>> time limit. If the game is a draw, the teams share the available
>> points. A game will never go over time to the extent that American
>> Football seems to.
>>
>> If a player is injured, he is quickly assessed. If he can play on he
>> does, if he is badly injured, he goes off and a substitute goes on. If
>> he is in between he may be blood binned (ie goes off with a substitute
>> coming on for 10 minutes until he is patched up). Yes the clock stops
>> for some of these things, but the delays are not long.
>>
>> There are no "time outs" - there are limited substitutions available
>> for tactcal (as opposed to injury) reasons.
>>
>> The game keeps going, because that's the nature of the game and the
>> way TV companies want it.
>>
>> So stop mucking about, play the game and get it finished!
>
>
> But how do you sell beer? :D

Half time you see a lot of people returning to their seats with enough
beer for the next 40 minutes.

personally i push pause and go to the fridge.


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