Sorry Networks I think Nielsen is right

Is TV viewership down?  Maybe and likely, but I doubt it is a simple answer. Nielsen's answer is they have a smaller sample size and they don't track streaming viewers and that the industry like other industries wasn't ready for the pandemic shift.

I have not spend any real amount of time watching "TV" since February 2020 and this is big because I LOVED TV, I always have but I turned it off and very rarely turn it back on.  I watch a bit of the super bowl (I was disappointed and I didn't follow the NFL at all last season, nor am I following the NHL and begrudgingly a bit of the MLB because one of my little Padawans is listening to the games on his radio.) but I have not picked up on any of the series that I regularly watched.  I would watch re-runs, new stuff, and reality TV.  But I stopped I just could not stomach it any more.

I stopped watching for several reasons:

  • Political ads of all varieties and affiliation
  • Fear mongering news promos
  • Double standards in news reporting
  • Constant berating of groups of people that didn't agree with the current "in thing" - the promotion of divisiveness
  • It was no longer something that brought me the escapism that I needed 
  • Which also lead to lack of a uniting factor that TV shows and sports can bring

What I did to fill the void of not watching Cable and Network TV (via my cable provider) was I watched movies that we already owned and we were also gifted a streaming subscription for Christmas (nice gift that gives all year and doesn't clutter up the house BTW) and we actually used the video portion of our Amazon Prime membership.

The funny thing is that with Amazon Prime we actually didn't watch much 'new' stuff, we watched a little over 2 seasons of Mrs Maisel and then got distracted and Mr Padawan wasn't as into it so we stopped.  We watched the whole series of Burn Notice, so I finally got to see how it ended because I stopped at some point before it was over.  Now I am ripping through Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  The reason I went with them is because they were the antidote to everyone screaming at me to get their point across, they were entertainment.

I did watch the re-boot of Mad About You and sure there were bits of real life that seeped in but they didn't beat you over the head with it.  I think they did a great job preserving the old show as I remember it but being current.  This is why I watched TV to be entertained, I don't mind a bit of social commentary but I do mind the heavy handedness that I felt all the shows I watched moved towards, and I didn't get that from Mad About You it was fantastic.  I also didn't get the obnoxious commercials either.

In theory I could watch some of the shows that I used to watch or try new ones, either scripted or reality, by watching them on demand for less commercials but I find that Gretchen Rubin states the reason I don't do it so well when she says: "Something that can be done at any time is often done at no time."

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What to do when it seems that the world is on fire?

 First of all DO NOT PANIC!  Nothing good ever comes from panicking. Second, take a deep breath and then say a prayer, then count your blessings.  People that lean into their faith are happier.  Here and here Third, focus on your small circle what is going on there and focus on that.  So the stock market is crashing you really can't do a how heck of a lot about that other than don't panic.  So focus on what you have been doing to care for yourself and your family, use this time to identify an area or two to be frugal.  Being wise with your money is always a good thing, and this is a way to make lemonade. Fourth, largely ignore the news especially that of overseas tragedies.  Humanity sucks, but it is also beautiful.  We were not designed to have all of this information especially horrific information coming at us 24/7/365.  There is absolutely nothing I can do about some far off place to make it better, if I focus on those areas I feel ...
Read more

I am losing my momentum...

in many different areas.  I am still in showed up mode just skating by and maintaining but not breaking out of my rut. In some ways, I want to say it is ok because I spent two weekends in NJ visiting my Aunts and helping clear away some things at their house and the funeral.  I think everyone in this house has been sick not all at once so it seems like it has lasted forever.  So yeah there has been a lot of stress and uncertainty. I spent a good chunk of today focusing on some business-related things that I am really hope come to fruition.  I have also been doing some planning on Pinterest to try to incorporate some fun with my boys.  One of my fears is that as a 'Boy Mom' that I don't engage with them as much as I should or could because quite frankly I love them to bits but their interests don't really align with mine.  As the parent I know that it is my job to focus on them and come up with ways to join their interests, I get a lot of support from ...
Read more

Success...Happiness...Preconceived Notions....Letting Go

I am not really sure where I am going with this but I have been toying with this idea that success doesn't lead to happiness but it can sure enhance it.  So what exactly is success and really shouldn't I define success for me and ignore what "others" define as success? I have been thinking about this a lot and not really going anywhere partly because I am afraid of the answer.  But really I need to think about this for my own happiness, I get to decide what is right for me.  I also need to accept that I do not live in an ideal world so my vision of what I thought was success, probably isn't going to exist in the real world.  I need to adjust my idea of success to match reality and not what I wish, I have done it in other areas... Example of shifting expectations and ideals So I had this idea of how I would be as a parent before I had children, in fact I was an amazing parent and then I had kids.  The the kids came into my world and life changed in so many...
Read more