“Leno” Ratings Dip on Second Night, But Remain Hefty

William Johnson
TELC 445.001
September 17, 2009

“Leno” Ratings Dip on Second Night, But Remain Hefty

NBCs experimental 10pm strip series, The Jay Leno Show, is seeing ratings that are quite high despite the fact that the second ever show saw a decrease in its viewership. Author Bill Carter contributed a possible reason for this decrease, which took place from the first half-hour through the second half-hour as being a great issue because Jay’s show is a lead-in to most late local news coverage across the different NBC affiliates.
Many people still do not grasp the enormity of what NBC is attempting with having Jay Leno present comedy every night in primetime. This type of move has rarely happened in which a primetime television strip show (a show that’s on television five times in one week, presumably Monday through Friday) has such a prominent place in the schedule of a network as I just mentioned. Aside from having to properly structure the schedule in favor of maximizing ratings, thereby maximizing advertizing revenue during the week of sweeps, you have to contend with making new programming and content more often than you do for a primetime drama, with no more than twenty-four episodes.

This is what makes the show such a challenge and why people are looking to it with such wonder. Given that it costs less to pay for a host and a band than for actors, stages, sets and the like, the show is at the advantage of not costing much at all, no matter how far ratings might slide, still providing a benefit to NBC. The question one has to wonder, though, that if this experiment succeeds, will this signal an ultimate change in primetime television given that its ratings have suffered numerous hits due to numerous factors allowing people to watch that programming either on-demand, online or through digital video recorders? Will other networks follow the same suit after a while?

William Johnson's Current Events Entry for September 4, 2009

All Together Now: Play the Game, Mom

On September 9^th, 2009, one of the most anticipated releases in video game history will happen. The name of the release should tell any doubters or skeptics about the wide-ranging impact of this release in The Beatles: Rock Band. While the writer of this article, Seth Schiesel, speaks about his theory that releases of similar games like the different issues of Guitar Hero and previous Rock Band editions have brought classic rock to the teen demographic more than anything else, the game is not necessarily just for them in many different ways.

This release, he claims, is a watershed moment for the gaming industry as it is among the first releases that seeks to connect a divide of anywhere from one to two generations. Parents and grandparents who already play WiiSports or participate in WiiFit activities with their younger kids while often unconsciously bridging other gaps in the entertainment process will now be able to combine the experience of playing in concert with the music that the baby boomer generation grew up with in their years.

The release is planned on the same day that a massive box set of the music of The Beatles. I find that as no coincidence whatsoever, but as a way of working to help reemphasize the fact that because great songs and great musician’s works live inside of us, they never die. If this integration of bringing the youth medium of video games with the older medium of listening to classic rock of their day is a negative to some because it takes a video game, that’s understandable, but wouldn’t one then want to get the attention of the upcoming generation through this medium if that were the case? If they wanted to get a point across with the new crop of kids, is there any better place for them to go than to tap into what they consider as their medium?