PBS at TCA: "Downton Abbey," "Sherlock," Apple TV, Xbox and More - Ed Martin

Pasadena CA amp8211 PBS always brings a terrifically engaging selection of personalities and panel subjects to its days at Television Critics Association tours generally focusing on onetime installments of signature news and information series oneshot miniseries and documentaries and special music programs All of these have been included in the typically outstanding PBS days at the Winter 2014 tour But this time there is a difference It seems as though PBS is suddenly as well known for its ongoing scripted series as anything elsePBS39 ratings reflect this Since quotDownton Abbeyquot joined its schedule along with a number of other ongoing series they seem to have created a quothalo effectquot that has boosted the overall performance of the rest of its schedulequotDuring the 201213 season PBS39 primetime ratings grew 7 percent making us now No 8 among all networks in television cable or broadcastquot a very happy PBS President and Chief Executive Officer Paula Kerger told TCA members Wisely she spread the praise across all of PBS39 efforts quotWhile we39re very proud of the success of 39Downton Abbey39 the increase in audience is due to more viewers across our schedule throughout the yearquot she saidOf course any cable or broadcast network president will tell you that an entire network39s fortunes can rise on the strength of one huge signature show and quotDowntonquot has certainly done the job for PBSDigital media also accounts for PBS39 recent ratings growth which seemingly contradicts the notions that PBS viewers are largely quite old andor that older people aren39t Kerger noted quotAmericans watched more than 321 million videos across PBS39s web mobile and connected device platforms in December That39s a 71 percent increase over last yearquot She added that new partnerships with Roku Apple TV and Xbox quotare enabling viewers to connect with PBS content and their local stations in entirely new waysquot Admittedly many critics in the room myself included never thought they would hear quotPBSquot and quotXboxquot mentioned in the same sentence let alone in the context of a partnershipThere39s no denying that quotDowntonquot is largely the driver of PBS39 renewed power It has become a series that any network would be happy to have on its schedule much like CBS39 quotNCISquot or Fox39s quotAmerican Idolquot quotTwo weeks ago over 10 million Americans tuned in for the premiere of 39Downton Abbey39 which was an increase of 22 percent over the third seasonquot Kerger said quotBut what39s really striking is what happened after the television broadcast In the 24 hours after episode one aired it was streamed over 400000 times across desktops and mobile apps and devices which was a 57 percent increase in the number of streams over the first episode of last season For the full week following the premiere the number rose to over a million streams On social media the premiere generated a minor uproar with 97000 tweets in one day and over 15 million potential impressionsquotAlthough it wasn39t on PBS39 schedule last year its other powerhouse franchise quotSherlockquot returned this past Sunday night for its third season once again consisting of three installments In many respects and certainly among teenagers and young adults quotSherlockquot has made PBS even hotter than quotDowntonquot even if ratings on Sunday for quotSherlockquot which follows quotDowntonquot dropped by approximately 50 percent from its leadin This was hugely evident Tuesday outside the Langham Huntington Hotel site of the current tour as rabid fans of the show in general and series lead Benedict Cumberbatch in particular assembled en masse to welcome their hero as he arrived for a quotMasterpiece Theaterquot lunch session The Southern California chapter of the quotCumber Collectivequot was well represented as were a number of random quotCumberbitchesquot as many of Benedict39s fans refer to themselves We had only seen this level of quotcivilianquot excitement twice before during this tour first when Julia Roberts and Jim Parsons arrived for a panel about HBO39s quotThe Normal Heartquot and days later when Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban were here for Fox39s quotAmerican IdolquotThere is growing concern over the fact that so much of the young fan base for quotSherlockquot finds ways legal or otherwise to watch it online after the episodes debut in England which may result in lower ratings for quotSherlockquot on PBS Kerger noted that PBS this season has quotshortened the lag time between production and broadcast in England to bring episodes of 39Sherlock39 to air more quickly We39ll carefully review the results of this schedule to see how this works for stations and more importantly for our viewersquotSimilarly there continue to be questions from reporters as to whether or not PBS would consider moving season premieres of quotDowntonquot out of January and into the fall closer to their premieres in England Kerger said that isn39t likely in part because PBS likes to be able to bring talent from the show to the US to promote the arrival of each new season which would be more difficult to do while they were busily promoting it in England and also because viewers seem to enjoy watching it right after the holiday season Its continued ratings growth every year would seem to support thisOne reporter asked Kerger if she could foresee the day when a show like quotDowntonquot might premiere online for viewers who wanted to watch it there and then later run on PBS39 Sunday night schedulequotWe are engaged right now not only within PBS but with our stations to really look at an overall plan of how we look at distributionquot Kerger replied quotWe have done some experiments where we39ve put content up earlier than broadcast I think we were the first broadcaster to premiere something on Facebook before it ended up on broadcast So we have done it in the past on a very experimental basis and this was actually before the disaggregation of media had explodedquotWe have endless discussions with stations about how to better connect to people in their communities and build relationship with their viewersquot she continued quotGiving people early access to some content online might be an interesting thing to try out and for those that feel that that39s the kind of experience they would like to have that might be a really great place for them to goquotOn the flip side Kerger continued quotThe other part of the whole 39Downton39 phenomenon is amp8230 the number of people that will go way out of their way to be home on Sunday nights at 900 to watch it live I understand that with a sports event I understand that with award shows But for something like 39Downton Abbey39 to feel that they are part of a larger event to me is quite fascinating and that39s why I talk a lot about the Twitter numbers The whole idea of water cooler conversation has shifted but I think we see these glimpsing moments where people are trying to hold onto thatquotPBS at TCA was also celebrating the success of another of its signature quotMasterpiece Theaterquot series quotMr Selfridgequot the second season of which will premiere on Sunday March 30 along with the Season 3 premiere of quotCall the Midwifequot Star Jeremy Piven was here to talk about the show and very briefly the upcoming feature film continuation of HBO39s quotEntouragequot about which he would only say that the script is quotgreatquotContinuing with PBS series Kerger announced that quotThe Bletchley Circlequot would begin a second season on April 13h and quotLast Tango in Halifaxquot would return for a second season on June 29Check us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

PBS at TCA: "Downton Abbey," "Sherlock," Apple TV, Xbox and More - Ed Martin

Author

Publish date

Channel

Ed Martin

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

PBS at TCA: "Downton Abbey," "Sherlock," Apple TV, Xbox and More - Ed Martin

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Ed Martin

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

The payment was successful

Cookies