| We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Demographics | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 12 2003, 09:06 AM (559 Views) | |
| Wichita | Nov 12 2003, 09:06 AM Post #1 |
|
The Adminstrator wRench
|
I'm throwing this in here although I don't know how much conversation it can generate. Unfortunately the article was in a paper and not on line so I don't have a link. Yesterday, in the local paper there was an article about the concern being expressed by television executives about one particular demographic watching significantly less TV now than even last year. The particular age group? 18-23 males - the very group that Enterprise is supposedly targeting. With the exception of a few shows like 24 they are not watching much TV apparently and are spending more time with DVD's and other non-TV entertainment. Now, if someone else saw the article, please jump in - I just gave it a quick read and may have missed some things. |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| Hoss | Nov 12 2003, 09:11 AM Post #2 |
![]()
Don't make me use my bare hands on you.
|
Sounds like encouraging news coming from this age group. I guess when I was about that age I kind of gave up on network TV. I am sorry if this bodes badly for Enterprise. But like I always say, if Paramount wants people to watch Enterprise, they should put it on a real network where people can actually watch it if they want. I can't so, naturally, I don't watch it. |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| 24thcenstfan | Nov 12 2003, 11:15 AM Post #3 |
|
Something Wicked This Fae Comes
|
Wichita, did the article happen to mention if those demographics now watching were a younger or older audience? Did the demographics change this season, early season or later in the season? My theory is that an older audience can of course handle violence, nudity and profanity (we may actually enjoy one or all in the proper format). However, for the most part I do not need VNP to attract me or keep me engaged in a TV program. I just need good writing for that. Unfortunately, it is the opposite for the younger audience. They often need all three to attract and keep them engaged. Well I say, don’t cheapen the franchise just to attract one section of the demographics. If the younger audience can’t handle watching a show without it being hacked to death by the writers, then they aren’t mature enough to be watching the show in the first place. If B&B would only continue to invest more in the quality of the scripts, word would spread about the show, there would be an increased demand, the networks might actually start putting the show on at a decent hour across the country and the older fans would come back to Trek in droves. Then there would be no need to put in unnecessary VNP. Don’t get me wrong…I am not a prude. I do think there is a way to tastefully introduce VNP, and to an extent Star Trek has done this over the years. I just don’t want Enterprise to go the way of some of the other crapola I occasionally see on the big TV just to attract the 11 year olds of the world...especially to make up for the 18-23 males that are supposedly no longer watching. |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| captain_proton_au | Nov 12 2003, 11:48 AM Post #4 |
![]()
A Robot in Disguise
![]()
|
Being in that demographic myself , it has nothing to do with VNP or any fascinating psychological reasons. It is the success of the Xbox, PS2 etc, prices of ADSl going down and the diminishing relevance of pay tv. Why when my local video store rents brand new DVDS for US$2 a night, would I bother paying for Pay Tv ( here US$ 34 a month minimum) to see movies that come out 12 mnths after the video stores. My spare time spent with any thing that needs electricity is spent in the following order........... 1 PC/Net 2 PS2 3 DVD Rentals 4 TV 5 Electric tootbrush |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| Wichita | Nov 12 2003, 12:23 PM Post #5 |
|
The Adminstrator wRench
|
24, the article was about TV in general and did not mention Enterprise specifically. (I was taking the comment about target audience from previous articles.) Basically it said there had been a big drop-off between last season and this. There was no "hot" new show that got them to come back to TV. Basically what the Captain said is what the article said. The age group sees everything else as more interesting than what TV has to offer. According to the article, an older audience is watching - probably more your age than mine. If Enterprise is going for a group who isn't even turning on their TV, then how are ratings possibly going to get better?
|
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| Dandandat | Nov 12 2003, 12:24 PM Post #6 |
|
Time to put something here
|
I think it also has to do with the crap they have on TV now. Nothing is new its just Dawson creak 10 times over. Men 18-23 don’t find this kind of thing interesting, and since they can get their sex fix at frat parties and the internet they don’t need to click into enterprise and OC to get the occasional sex that TV has to offer. Other then things lick sports I just don’t see 18-23 year old guys being interested in what’s out there today. Sure everything is sexed up to get them to watch, but since they can get better sex else where they don’t bother to plug in. |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| Dandandat | Nov 12 2003, 12:33 PM Post #7 |
|
Time to put something here
|
I know, I know, pick me ooh ohh pick me All enterprise has to do (are you listing Berman?) is to add EVEN MORE SEX AND VIOLENCE into the show. As always the first rule of modern television broadcasting - If at first you don’t succeed with sex and violence ADD MORE SEX AND VIOLENCE and that should do the trick. If that doesn’t work JUST KEEP ADDING MORE SEX AND VIOLENCE and keep adding and adding AND ADDING until it works (under no circumstance are you to try something else, why waist the time and energy?). You can never go wrong with sex and violence people. |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| captain_proton_au | Nov 12 2003, 12:34 PM Post #8 |
![]()
A Robot in Disguise
![]()
|
Lick sports Hmmm never heard of them. What are they? can I play? |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| captain_proton_au | Nov 12 2003, 12:40 PM Post #9 |
![]()
A Robot in Disguise
![]()
|
LOl - ru kidding. At this board we start off a discussion on a Gay Bishop , it lasts for 6 pages and gets directed into all kinds of subjects from animal intellegence to life on other planets. Watch, this thread will probably include posts on eating habits of the male iguana to abortion to life after death to tv guide articles. |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| jjtrek | Nov 12 2003, 01:00 PM Post #10 |
|
Lieutenant Commander
|
ah....demographics. The cause of the great television wasteland! Demographics are used (particularly during the 3 sweeps months) to not only gage who's watching what show but how the advertising markets for those shows are faring. It's only been VERY recently that the television industry has had to deal with other entertainment media like video games and the internet. If only the industry wouldn't look so hard at the 18-49 age group (overall, not just males) and look at the older viewer. The 18-49 group is targeted because the advertising agencies think this group has 1) the most disposable income and, 2) extreme brand loyalty in many different commodities (like soft drinks, for instance). However, even though the Baby Boomer Generation (people now in their early 40's to late 50's) has less disposable income and not much in the way of brand loyalties, we happen to make up the majority of the American public and the tv viewing audience. For those who don't know, the Baby Boomer Generation is defined as any American born between and including the years 1946 - 1964. This was the population explosion that occured right after WWII and lasted for 18 yrs (definition of a Generation). It was the largest population explosion in American history. Many laws have had to be re-written or created new for this generation and many more will have to be altered to accomodate as this generation ages. If tv ratings could just be divorced from advertising dollars, or, more likely, if advertisers would cater to the older viewing audience, tv shows would, IMO, get much better. The Baby Boomers could, in effect, save the day for this entertainment medium. Julia |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| jjtrek | Nov 12 2003, 01:03 PM Post #11 |
|
Lieutenant Commander
|
Captain, as much as I tried to keep my rather long posting on track, I just LOVE when we go off on tangents of all kinds! It makes a thread so much more interesting. :lol: Julia |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| 24thcenstfan | Nov 12 2003, 01:05 PM Post #12 |
|
Something Wicked This Fae Comes
|
LOL! Yep, I sort of slid on into commenting on Enterprise instead of sticking to the general TV audience. :lol:
Well this right here is the million-dollar question. They aren't unless the idiots at Paramount wise up and realize that they should be targeting an older audience. As others have already stated, kids and 18-23 year olds have more out there to draw their attention away from an Enterprise type show. If Paramount wants to really start bringing in the viewers they will focus on the 25-34 age group (IMHO). IMO, it is people my age (28) and Dante's who have the greatest chance of carrying this franchise on for another 50 years. I say that because the younger crowd could care less about Star Trek, my age group is old enough to have actually been influenced (emotionally affected) by TNG when it first premiered. As a result, we are more likely to enjoy DS9, VOY and now ENT. The older crowd 35 and up were around for TOS, but many original fans have become disillusioned with the franchise, feel that TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT are just knock-offs for the real thing and in many cases have moved on. Sure there are a lot of loyal long-term Trek fans (since TOS aired) still around...just look at this site. Unfortionally, (my impression...could be wrong) that group is slowly becoming the minority. Definitely not a large enough group to keep the franchise going for another 20, 30, 40, 50 years. So, I think if Paramount refocuses its target audience...they will succeed in making this franchise Live Long and Prosper.
|
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| Wichita | Nov 12 2003, 01:12 PM Post #13 |
|
The Adminstrator wRench
|
There have been a lot of good points made about age, but I also think gender plays a big part in this. I understood Star Trek's male oriented writing in the 60's because there were few women in the field then. Why, almost 40 years later, do we still see so few women involved in production and writing of Enterprise? Yes, Roxann Dawson has done some directing, and Phyllis Strong some writing, but the vast majority are still men. Do the people involved think the target demographic don't want to see strong women (or maybe "dressed women" ) or do they just not have a clue so they avoid trying to write well for the women?
|
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| Swidden | Nov 12 2003, 01:39 PM Post #14 |
|
Adm. Gadfly-at-large; Provisional wRench-fly at large
|
I guess my problem with this particular demographic report is where that leaves the 18-23's looking for entertainment. For years television has been synonymously known as "the idiot box". Now I have played some of the video games over the years and have found them to be seriously wanting on a number of levels. DVD's (and old VHS too), well my collection of those is also rather sparse and select, again the question is going to be what is selling in that demographic range (I can probably guess). Internet surfing, for that 18-23 range some of it may be educational, but I think we all know what sites tend to attract the greatest number of hits and I would lay odds that this particular demographic group is a big factor in that. As this applies to Enterprise is and other similar shows, well that's obvious. If you take away what is expected to be the largest, core demographic audience for it and simlar shows then studios are going to change their porgramiing strategies for the audience they do have. They will try to figure out what it takes to lure an important demographic group but if they are not able to bring them back, then they'll get money from 18-23's another way.
I wouldn't go quite so far as to say that we think of TNG, DS9, VOYAGER and ENTERPRISE as "knock-offs". I admit, I look at TOS and think: "The original and still the best!" However, one does reach a point of experiencing deja vu. For instance, DS9 was once referred to in an article being in the vein of your big brother's Star Trek. Yet it was very different from any other Trek by developing an on going story-line with the Dominion (clearly the anti-Federation if there ever was one). And it delivered on its promise to show us the darker side of Star Trek. By the time Voyager came along you had to find a whole new niche to fill. Twice we had seen the Enterprise "boldly go where no man/one has gone before". We saw a war develop. VOY had a good premise, but I always thought that we should have seen more tension between the Starfleet personnel and the Maquis aboard than we did. There should have been more occasion where people came to Janeway, or even Chakotay, and say they wanted to get off at the next decent populated class-M planet. Reliance on the Borg became too simple (Seven coming to terms with her humanity was not a bad bit, though). I agree with the idea that Paramount should wake and realize they need to target the older audience. As one of those (geriatric) past 35 types, I think it would help a lot if the producers would go sit down with a core group of writers and watch TOS, especially a lot of those early first season shows and begin to work toward estabishing continuity. This does not mean throw out the Xindi plot, but I would dump the the whole cross-time war idea with a quickness. |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
| 24thcenstfan | Nov 12 2003, 02:43 PM Post #15 |
|
Something Wicked This Fae Comes
|
Ah, come on now. No one is calling anyone over 35 geriatric. I have it on good authority that every person at this site is as young and spry as a newborn little chick. (Get your mind out of the gutter).
Besides, I am not making fun of any age group that I am fast approaching myself.
B) That and men don't start to develop their true sexiness until their 30s anyway...so you are in good.
My point is that those who watched TOS and still consider themselves active Star Trek fans (watch TOS, TNG, DS9, and ENT) are increasingly in a minority. And if Paramount wants to ensure the long health of the franchise they will refocus their attention onto a different section of the demographic (around my age group…for reasons that I stated in my previous post). This means Paramount can’t make the 18-23 year olds (that most likely are not going to watch anyway) the sole target audience.
Right on Swid!!!!! Although according to Berman or was it Braga's last interview, B&B have taken great pains to maintain continuity. :rolleyes: |
| Offline | Profile | | Quote | ^ |
|
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Enterprise · Next Topic » |





If Enterprise is going for a group who isn't even turning on their TV, then how are ratings possibly going to get better?
:lol:
) or do they just not have a clue so they avoid trying to write well for the women?

3:30 AM Jul 11