The writers strike snapped me out of my TV-induced coma. Suddenly my nights were free without Heroes or Grey's Anatomy or all those other shows that used to be on but whose names I have forgotten. I'm still a dedicated watchers of reality shows like America's Next Top Model, Big Brother and Amazing Race but without all the scripted series in the way I have been able to expand my social life. A sad, but true reality, my friends. Sad, but true. The redeeming factor is that I'm not the only one who has found ways other than TV to occupy my time.I just read an article appropriately enough in TV Guide about how viewers haven't come back to finish this season of their favorite shows. According to the article Desperate Housewives has seen a 23% drop, Ugly Betty is down 24% and ER and CSI are down 19% and 26% respectively. Experts are citing several reasons why people aren't returning they're regularly-scheduled programs. The biggest reason seems to be that people's weekly watching routines and habits have been broken. They're not rushing home to watch Lost on Thursday nights anymore because for 100+ days they had to find something else to do. They've quit cold turkey against their will and might not tune back in after breaking the habit. Apparently, a similar thing happened to daytime soaps which were preempted for OJ Simpson trial coverage. Viewers' daytime TV routines were changed and many of them never went back to watching.
Another reason is because, unlike the Fall, there wasn't a premiere week or announced return of new programming. A lot of people simply don't know that their favorite shows are back on the air (which is what happened to me with Grey's Anatomy.) There hasn't been a big push to bring viewers back, and some series are only returning for 4 or 5 episodes before going on Summer hiatus.The estimated viewership may also be low because of DVR recording; the data just hasn't come in showing how many households are going back and watching shows after their original air date. Only 15% of Nielsen homes had DVR last year, which has increased to 24% today. DVR is a whole separate issue altogether; change demographic info along with advertising revenue.
TV execs assume that things will return to normal once Fall comes around again and the familiar shows get back to their usual schedule. They're hoping that audiences will fall back into their normal viewing habits and will once again become comfortable with their old characters and story lines... but only time will tell.
So what's your opinion? Has your TV watching regime changed since the writers strike? Are you watching different shows since many others were gone for so long? Do you think you'll fall back into your shows when they premiere in the Fall?
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