One of the longest ratings win-streaks in TV history goes kaput

...as GMA snaps the Today Show's 16 Year run as weekly ratings champ.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/gma-ends-todays-winning-streak-with-first-weekly-viewrship-victory-in-16-years/

 

I've often wondered who watches these shows.

I have never watched any of the morning shows unless I was in a waiting room somewhere and it was on, but I'm not a TV in the morning kind of guy.

Obviously, a lot of people do. I'm just wondering who that audience is.

 

Don't watch either show, and don't really give a shit...

But, as a media story, this is big.

 

A hell of a lot of people watch morning news. More and more local stations are making the morning a big battleground, because that's where the growth is. I don't get it -- I'm with those who never, ever watch morning news -- but plenty of people do.

I suspect the ratings news may indicate that Ann Curry is about to decide she needs to spend more time with her family.

 

My wife and I watch the beginning of Today before we go on our merry way.

Today tends to be rather repetitive. They usually start out with politics, unless there's some major breaking news. Nearly puts both of us back to sleep. Then they go on to some claimed "exclusive", which only is that until we flip the channel and see the same thing on the other shows.

Ann Curry is a solid journalist, but she doesn't strike me as a happy-talk anchor. She's good with the serious stuff.

And, we all know what's upcoming in London later this year ... Needless to say, we'll get a ton of Olympic shit that'll only be shown because the network is televising it.

 

Ann Curry reminds me of a lot of people I've know in TV news: very talented, but spent years angling toward a job she simply isn't suited for. She's obviously had her eye on the Today anchor job for years, and it's just not her. She's fine as the "news reader." She'd be fine doing some kind of evening "Dateline" thing. But she's not a morning show host. There are very few people who can do it well, and it requires a personality type that she simply doesn't have. One thing making it worse for her is that Savannah Guthrie is a perfect fit for the job, so NBC has a relatively smooth transition whenever they decide to pull the trigger.

A good friend of mine is a great TV reporter. He's one of those guys who can cover anything -- political corruption, old couple celebrates 75th wedding anniversary in nursing home, whatever -- and do a tremendous job. Every time we have an anchor opening he pushes for it and is crestfallen when he doesn't get it. He's a passable anchor... but he's a GREAT reporter. He's Albert Brooks' character in "Broadcast News," minus the profuse sweating.

 

I used to keep "Today" on while I got ready in the morning. Then I realized that the last 10 minutes of each half hour was almost all commercials. They'd come back from break around :20 or :50, give a quick tease about what's going to be on in the next half hour, go back to commercial, do 30 seconds of local news, more commercials, 30 seconds of weather, more commercials, etc. I switched to watching a local morning news show. Fewer commercials, a better mix of local and national news and I feel more informed and less annoyed. When I do watch a national morning show, though, it's always "Today." The others seem amateurish to me. Not sure why.

 

The last 5 minutes of each half hour is handed over to the local affiliates, and there's typically a national break going into it. It used to be that the local affiliates would fill that whole 5 minutes with local news, but more and more are now cramming in local commercials, so yeah, you can end up with a shitload of commercials in that part of the show.

Fox and independent stations now have a huge advantage in the mornings. Today and GMA still do relatively well, but a good local morning show will pound them in the ratings, and all of the advertising money goes to the affiliate.

 

Interesting how the two times GMA passes Today, it can be attributed at least in part to who's sitting in the woman's anchor chair at Today. They hit the skids with Deborah Norville replacing Jane Pauley, then rebounded after Katie Couric came in.

Also it's been a few weeks, isn't it time for CBS to revamp its morning show?

 

Yep.

Haven't followed the numbers in the last few weeks, but I know in my market the ratings were pretty well cratering in the second hour -- when they haul out Gayle King and switch to fluff.

I have to think they'll address that soon. Given their track record, it probably means they'll change the upholstery on the couch in the second hour.

 

But if they dump Ann Curry, who comes in?

I don't like her in that spot, but I couldn't suggest a replacement. Natalie Morales? Not sure.

Bring back Meredith or hire Oprah (ha!). That's probably it.

 

Robin Meade?