GSN February ratings

[CaseyAbell]

With all the grim stories about Time Warner either dropping GSN or shoving it into premium tiers, the February ratings news is blah at best. GSN did an average 0.4 rating and 219K count in prime time households for February, according to CableWorld. Those are thoroughly mediocre numbers by the network's historical standards. Combined with GSN's old demos, I can understand why TW hardly sees the network as a hot property.

There's just no evidence that GSN is growing its audience or attracting more ad-friendly demos. It remains an old-skewing fringe net that most system operators will not be wildly enthusiastic about.

[tyshaun1]

IMO, GSN at this point would be best served to sticking closer to what they are known for, game shows. If they could (or possibly have) tie into the upcoming Game Show Marathon, which I think will do well for CBS depending on when/where they plan to air it,  buy a couple of ads that say, "Hey, you just watched that classic show, why don't you watch it with us tomorrow?" Couldn't hurt 'em.

Tyshaun

[Jimmy Owen]

There are so many young-skewing cable nets out there that GSN becomes just another channel to click by while the twentysomethings search for "what else is on."  The Olympics probably were the only "games" that caught anyone's interest last month.

[itiparanoid13]

From what GSN has been telling me, High Stakes Poker and Anything To Win have been doing excellently in March.  And if the ratings go up with Amazing Race's scaleback, I'm going to chuckle just a bit.  I'm hoping and semi-expecting a .5 for March.

[CaseyAbell]

At this point GSN would welcome any good ratings news. Things aren't completely grim, but if the TW trend of axing the network or taking it off the main tiers starts to spread, it could be...eerie music...the final whammy. (My apologies.)

GSN has gone back almost entirely to game shows. This certainly hasn't helped the demos, but right now the network will take any audience it can get.

[Jimmy Owen]

No complaints here. I like an all-game show sked.  I did notice that CNBC was the lowest rated net in primetime for Feb.  Do you think March will be different with the addition of classic "Deal or No Deal," "The Apprentice," and the casino shows they have in the 8pm slot?  I wonder if GSN realizes that CNBC is getting more and more into their turf with game show programming?

[CaseyAbell]

CNBC will probably be off the list altogther in March, just as it has fallen off the list every month since August, 2005 with the exception of last month. In fact, February was CNBC's highest-rated month since CableWorld started publishing the numbers in December, 2004. The reason was the Olympics curling broadcasts, which delivered a far better lead-in to CNBC's prime time shows than usual.

I don't think GSN, or any other cable outlet, has much to worry about from CNBC's prime time schedule.

[catkins522]

Three words...BRING BACK PRICE!!!!

Charles

[Brandon Brooks]

[quote name=\'catkins522\' date=\'Mar 19 2006, 05:00 PM\']Three words...BRING BACK PRICE!!!!

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IMO, TPiR will help the Game Show Network's ratings.  But I don't know if the expense would justify it.

Brandon Brooks

[dad1153]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Mar 19 2006, 01:03 AM\']I wonder if GSN realizes that CNBC is getting more and more into their turf with game show programming?[/quote]

It's a non-issue since CNBC is just recycling programming that its corporate owner (NBC Universal) would never sell to GSN for a reasonable price (i.e. cheap) to air on its network.  What the low ratings for CNBC, MSNBC and BRAVO (which repeats 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' like crazy on weekends) all underscore is how important it is for cable channels to have wealthy corporate owners that can underwrite/subsidize its financial losses when it enters a down or transitional programming period.  Since GSN is a cable station without a corporate sugardaddy it couldn't survive the three or four years of disastrous ratings that CNBC or MSNBC (whose cable penetration is so strong and multi-million dollar investment so deep it makes their low ratings all the more humilliating) have been posting.  

I did notice that CNBC was the lowest rated net in primetime for Feb.

The lowest-rated of the Top 50 cable nets.  There are many other cable channels (Golf Channel, Logo, American Life TV, MTV2, Fox Sports En Espanol, G4, etc.) that ranked much lower but that's OK since they're the very definition of narrowcasting.

[sshuffield70]

Since GSN is a cable station without a corporate sugardaddy it couldn't survive the three or four years of disastrous ratings that CNBC or MSNBC (whose cable penetration is so strong and multi-million dollar investment so deep it makes their low ratings all the more humilliating) have been posting

....wonders if FNN would have higher ratings than CNBC....

ObGS:  Oh, yeah, FNN/Score had a game show, too, Time Out For Trivia with Todd Donoho and Crosswits announcer, Michelle Roth.

EDIT:  took a certain word out.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Mar 20 2006, 03:50 PM\']
ObGS:  Oh, yeah, FNN/Score had a game show, too, Time Out For Trivia with Todd Donoho and future Crosswits announcer, Michelle Roth.

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Michelle was doing both shows during the same season, as per TV Game $how Magazine at the time. What's News was another short-lived game show on that erstwhile network, no?

[FOXSportsFan]

OTR: Per an ESPN appearance, Todd does a solid Harry Caray impression...not as good as John Caponera, but still solid.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Mar 20 2006, 07:28 PM\']What's News was another short-lived game show on that erstwhile network, no?

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Not no. Yes. The host was Power Lunch co-anchor Bill Griffeth. He had a moustache then.