Filed under: iPod Family, iTS, Video, iTunes
How iTunes saved NBC's 'The Office'
Our old friend Dave pointed us to a Newsday article discussing how iTunes essentially took NBC's The Office off the chopping block, where it was headed last year after disappointing Nielsen ratings, and catapulted it to "the Seinfeld of iTunes." If you're not a Seinfeld fan that might be meaningless to you, but trust me when I say It's the BEST, Jerry! The BEST!* Only recently did The Office cede the top spot to Lost as the single most downloaded program weekly, not to mention nabbing an Emmy (well-deserved, IMO) for Best Comedy.
Angela Bromstead, president of NBC Universal, which owns and produces The Office had this to say: "I'm not sure that we'd still have the show on the air." The network had only ordered so many episodes, but when it went on iTunes and really started taking off, that gave us another way to see the true potential other than just Nielsen. It just kind of happened at a great time." Of course Nielsen is getting hip to the power of iTunes + iPod itself these days.
Newer shows like 30 Rock and Jericho are also expected to be a big iTunes sellers when/if they hit the iTS, despite their currently poor Nielsen showings and may save their respective fates as well.
The article goes on to talk about what doesn't sell well on iTunes. "Nielsen hits such as CSI: Miami or NCIS are no-shows in the top 50. The Simpsons? Nada (which is not on iTunes at all... even though Prison Break is a stalwart). What does any of this mean? Who knows - except, perhaps that serials and guy-oriented shows are the biggest beneficiaries of the iTunes effect."
Personally I think iTunes is only part of this revolution. The networks themselves are getting smarter about putting their shows online, on their own websites, which may not be as convenient or trendy as iTunes, but it's certainly a start. With all the timeshifting and placeshifting going on these days anyway, Prime Time Television as we have known it for many years is going away sooner rather than later. iTunes is really only the beginning of the revolution. It's not the be all and end all.
Thanks, Dave!
*It's purely coincidence that I had not one, but two opportunities to reference Seinfeld today. Life is good.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kris said 7:15PM on 10-31-2006
Another interesting article on the effect of Long Tail at work.
Thanks for a good read.
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El Payo said 7:28PM on 10-31-2006
If only Fox had given iTunes a chance at Arrested Development...
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BJ Nemeth said 7:59PM on 10-31-2006
When I click the link for the article, it references the fact that "The Simpsons" is not in the iTunes Top 50, but it does NOT mention that "The Simpsons" is not even for sale at iTunes! The paragraph I see in the article doesn't match up with what you quoted here.
It's very misleading, because it implies that "The Simpsons" *is* available, but not selling well. It's even more confusing because it contradicts the point he is trying to make, since "The Simpsons" can be considered a guy-oriented show.
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chipnsocal said 8:09PM on 10-31-2006
Thanks for the article. The Office is the only show I actually download off iTunes. It never gets old, and travels with me wherever I go.
I agree with the comments regarding Arrested Development too. A great show that died way before its time.
If you remember back a couple years, The Family Guy was cancelled by Fox only to be resurrected by DVD sales.
So much for those darn Nielsen ratings:-)
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Laurie said 8:22PM on 10-31-2006
BJ Nemeth - you're probably one of the few who will actually click through to read the original article :) The original article does imply, in a roundabout way, the the Simpsons is on iTunes. However, I know it isn't and the clarification in my post was to compensate for their unclear statement. I believe they were saying it wasn't on iTunes when they said "Nada" but they meant it more as a comparison to other Fox shows, like Prison Break. Since I knew their wording wasn't clear, I clarified it on this end since I knew most people wouldn't bother to read the original and/or would assume it was MY mistake, not the paper's mistake :)
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doug said 8:32PM on 10-31-2006
I think this may say more about the idiots at NBC than it does about the power of iTunes. No doubt this show would be gone, but for the buzz created by itunes. What it says about the suits at NBC is they do not recognize good programming and do not have the backbone to support shows that have to find their audience.
For you youngsters around here, back in the day, there was another NBC show that was facing the chopping block because no one was watching. That show was Cheers and it was dead last in the ratings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheers). If it had not been for Brandon Tartikoff and the execs at NBC standing behind quality programming that show would have been gone as well.
I don't think you will see a lot of repeat of the buzz surrounding the office/itunes because I think The Office benefited from good timing in that iTunes rolled out at the same time it did. Unfortunately, networks will always be run by idiots looking to cancel good programming so they can roll out the next version of deal or no deal.
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Justin said 9:09PM on 10-31-2006
Save Jericho's respective fate? You mean one of the few shows to get an early full season order based on great ratings? Maybe you meant Studio 60.
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Linh said 9:31PM on 10-31-2006
I'm a little worried about all the rollouts of the network's own streaming. ABC has seen it as a huge success it seems, and even gives it widescreen versions of Lost. Sure, no full screen, but they are giving it availability before iTunes.
I have a season pass to Heroes... I think it's a great new show, hence why I went ahead w/ the season pass (I'm sort of torn by the idea, but that's for another time). I have yet to see it show up in iTunes. It's somewhat fustrating because you know NBC can have it ready, but they want to push their online streaming content.
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Syn_Gates said 11:02PM on 10-31-2006
they really need house on itunes because that would sell like crazy...pretty much the best show on fox and all of television
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BearPDX said 2:28AM on 11-01-2006
I enjoy downloading the office off itunes, however; it doesn't seem like apple ever wants to post the new episodes in a timely manner. last thursdays episode is still not available even to buy after 5 days, defiantly not the next day like steve jobs told us. if apple wants to start media distribution it should start with keeping its own library up to date. I am glad they did up the video resolution for the office, and would love the device that would allow me to store all my videos and movies i've bought on a hard drive, instead of having to keep my ipod docked to my tv.. as for the Nielsen.. i'm sure the ratings for the office were low in the beginning because it was ported from the bbc version, doesn't not contain a laugh track like, and uses dry humor.. most of the mindless tv is made to make you laugh, the office makes you decide.. I think the nielsen system is outdated and not current with technology anymore, the average consumer doesn't not have nielsen box in their home, and those that do im sure are paid money for their services.. so basically networks are using paid rating data to decide weather a show is good enough for tv.. that hardly reflects what an average american watches on tv.. a neilson box is probably 1 in every 50,000 homes, if that at all.. network tv has a long way to go, and itunes data is probably some of the most reliable numbers for online sales. at least it proves than 1 person purchased that title each time, which I think its a better way of proving what the average internet household with broadband thinks about network tv.. more realistic numbers rather than someone being paid to watch tv.
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cicatrix said 4:10AM on 11-01-2006
I don't think it's anything to do with whether or not a show is 'guy oriented'. Lost, the Office and Prison Break are all very story-driven shows - you have to keep watching to see what happens next, you try to follow it, you might want to watch certain episodes again to catch plot elements you missed the first time, etc. Things like CSI are highly eposodic - it really doesn't matter if you missed the last episode unless it was some kind of lame season finale cliffhanger, it doesn't even matter that much if you leave the room and miss half the show, it's just something to watch if you want to put on the tv and there's nothing better on. I think that cartoons and a lot of comedy occupy a slitghtly different ground - people also want to seek that out and rewatch it, but it's not because of a desire to follow a storyline.
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Joseph Crawford said 7:26AM on 11-01-2006
Personally i think The Office is a joke, i have watched it and find it to be a truly boring show. When it first came out i thought the actor (Steve Carell) was a horrible actor. I then saw the 40 year old virgin and realised it wasnt the actor yet the writers content for the show. This is not a show i would either watch or waste my money on by downloading.
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Jason said 10:31AM on 11-01-2006
Steve Carrell was really annoying in the beginning of the series (which might have been part of the reason for the low ratings), but it has since shifted focus to include other characters, like Pam and Jim - which is probably the reason for success lately. I wish they would lay off Dwight. He's getting annoying.
If you don't like the show based off a few episodes, you're missing out on subtle, interesting characters that develop their own personalities over time.
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Prof B said 1:51PM on 11-01-2006
Yeah--Jericjho struggled at its start but is doing well now; I read that Studio 60 is about to have its plug pulled. Both it and 30 Rock seem unjustly underappreciated. Hopefully 30 Rock, at least, will get a second chance on Thursday nights.
Love the Office--but it is one you have to work your way into--and I think it's gotten a lot better with time.
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eddie said 12:00AM on 11-02-2006
BearPDX,
Last week's episode of The Office was a repeat.
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