Variety: GSN Up 41% in 18-49

[CaseyAbell]

Variety did another "niche cablers go bland" story, but at least this one offered some numbers and quotes. I still think they're off-base on GSN "blanding out." The network remains very different from anything else out there. But it's nice to hear GSN is getting a little more advertiser-friendly:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/v..._their_brands_1

The "low base" is no joke. GSN's numbers were down the toilet and eight feet into the pipe last year. Still, a 41% increase in 18-49 is a pleasant conversation starter with advertisers.

Kinda funny to see the swipe at KvS. I dunno, the Houston Chronicle story said the show is set to return next year, but we'll see. Blackjack gets the usual kudos, though the show isn't mentioned by name.

[rigsby]

Just how low was the "low base"?  When I've looked (which isn't often), I've seen average ratings of 0.4 for GSN for the last five years, with no real discernable change.

[CaseyAbell]

GSN ran a 0.3 prime time household rating for the July-September 2003 quarter with very old demos. This near-death experience prompted the acquisition of Millionaire and the radical redesign of prime time, which basically tossed everything except WWTBAM, Match Game and Lingo.

The household numbers rebounded, though the demos stayed pretty elderly. GSN's latest redesign has maintained the better household ratings but attracted younger demos.

[Jimmy Owen]

Judging from the article, GSN may have to overhaul primetime annually to keep the agencies interested.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Aug 25 2004, 10:32 AM\']Judging from the article, GSN may have to overhaul primetime annually to keep the agencies interested.[/quote]
Something they're already having to do with the GSN at 10 block.  Blackjack Monday and dodgeball Tuesday may be set in stone, but they're going to have to do 26 eps a season of each show (well, 13 each of "World Series" and "Celeb") to keep it going, unless they think that after a couple of years they can start rerunning them.  Unless, of course, the audience turns on them and the numbers fall into the hole.

And there's three nights they've got to keep filled--and once again, it's been proven that serialized reality just doesn't bring in viewers in repeats.

[CaseyAbell]

Truth to tell, I wouldn't mind more frequent overhauls of prime time at all. One of the reasons GSN stumbled into the ditch last year was large orders for clunkers like Funny Money, which then got stuck and stuck and stuck in prime time to justify the expense...at least until the numbers put the network into full sweaty panic.

I like what the network is trying now: shorter series of different shows to see what clicks. At least it avoids same-old-same-old syndrome.

[sshuffield70]

What makes anyone think that GSN will ever do 26 eps of a weekly series??  Even Casey's article proved that GSN will never do more than 13 for prime time or 65 for a daily.

And how on God's friggin green earth do advertisers get the notion that I am old and grey and decrepid and poor when I am only poor?  You mean if I'm 34, I am DEaD?  Too bad I can't go into those ad agencies and wherever else and give them the drill sergeant treatment.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Aug 25 2004, 04:02 PM\']And how on God's friggin green earth do advertisers get the notion that I am old and grey and decrepid and poor when I am only poor?  You mean if I'm 34, I am DEaD?  [/quote]
It's not so much those things as the agencies believe that the older you are, the more set in your ways you become regarding new products and brands and that it's futile going after you.  Also, the younger male viewer doesn't watch much TV, which is why everyone's going after him, since if they can capture him, they believe they can charge premium ad rates.

This is not 100% gospel among the industry (CBS has argued against it for years and they make 25-to-54 their target audience), but it's still something that's going to be hard to shake in the business.

[tvwxman]

[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Aug 25 2004, 04:02 PM\']
And how on God's friggin green earth do advertisers get the notion that I am old and grey and decrepid and poor when I am only poor?  You mean if I'm 34, I am DEaD? [/quote]
 Yep. You know how some people are saying "50 is the new 40" when it comes to age?

In television, "35 is the new 70". At 35, likely you're married and even likelier, responsible.....advertisers don't want a damn thing to do with you...

ms