Television. While it has not even been a presence for a hundred years, its impact on society has been revolutionary, to say the least. Between becoming a prime outlet for information spanning all across the world to providing millions upon millions of people entertainment day-in and day-out, the television has a lasting history of success. So why have the views for the Emmys, the Oscars, and even the Olympics sharply declined in the last few years?
The increase in the portability and popularity of streaming has contributed to this recent decline and may spell problems for future television networks and negatively impact advertisement revenue.
Seemingly no seem to be exempt from this widespread decline. Last years’ Primetime Emmy Awards had the achievement of being the least viewed Emmys of all time. The award show aired on September 20 only to rack in 11.9 million viewers; down from the 15.6 million from the previous year. While it faced competition from Sunday Night Football - whose viewers had averaged at 26.4 million itself - it is the only first showcase in overall decline in television viewership in the past year.
Following suit was the Oscars, which aired on February 28. In contrast to the 37.3 million who tuned in to view the Oscars in 2015, this year's ceremony only managed to pull in 34.3 million; making it the least viewed Oscars in eight years. Even with the hashtag campaign of #OscarsSoWhite, a protest done as a response to the lack of ethnical diversity featured in the award show, it failed to be influential in the low ratings. According to data collected by Nielsen, the viewership in the demographic had only declined by two percent. More likely, it is a decline in the general interest of telecasted events, as the Olympics had also seen a dip in their total views.
Despite being originally estimated by NBCUniversal to outperform the 2012 London Olympics in views, the 2016 Rio Olympics did not live up to the company’s expectations. Following Rio’s opening ceremony, there was a noticeable dive in viewership; plummeting by a whopping 28 percent in contrast to London’s opening ceremony. Even when prime time finally arrived, the average amount of viewers on the original network was 25.4 million. Combining views from all platforms (broadcast, cable, and digital), the total is 27.5 million.
Meanwhile the average amount of views in prime time for the 2012 London Olympics was 31.1 million. As a matter of fact, NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus stated that the ratings were anticipated to be 10 to 15 percent higher. However, there was an extreme uprise in streaming. As the third Olympics that featured live streaming coverage of every event, over 2.71 billion minutes of the 2016 Rio Olympics were streamed. Unlike prior Olympics, the events this year were live streamed simultaneously with prime time. The huge influx of digital ratings caught NBC a little off-guard, as Lazarus informed Variety, “The growth of streaming, the rapidity of its growth, was a little surprising. We knew it would grow. We planned on it growing. Between that and the number of people watching on connected TV devices, we have a lot to learn about consumer behavior.”
Ultimately, this flood of digital viewers will really change the way how broadcasting companies such as NBC present their content henceforth. These companies now may be more inclined to expand on the ways that they present their live events; potentially providing a little more focus on live streaming coverage. However, this transition will not go without a price.
Commercials aired through traditional broadcasts still bring in more revenue than digital advertisements for broadcasting companies. In example, advertisements aired during the digital streaming of the Rio Olympics only accounted for ten percent of NBCU’s total revenue. That, along with the fact that NBCU shelled out $7.75 billion dollars for Olympic hosting rights until 2032, means that there will be a shift in the worth of television and digital advertisement revenue if the NBCU want their Olympic coverage to be more profitable.
Nevertheless, the popularity of digital streaming is not an overnight occurrence. With Netflix having introduced streaming to their services back in 2007, they have become well-known as a great force in this recent change in presentation of shows and movies. Creating Netflix Original shows and movies, Netflix has even branched out their services worldwide this year. With such widespread popularity, Netflix provides quite the competition for television; as its portability gives it an edge. “It’s nice that you don’t have to pay for the TV, but with Netflix, you can really watch it anywhere,” Newtown High School junior Dani Otero said.
Although, if Netflix were to theoretically one day rise to such prominence that it would replace television, it would potentially cause changes in the writing of television shows and their impact on audiences.
“I think while it’d be great if Netflix replaced TV, it’d be more negative. Cliff hangers wouldn’t be effective and no one would really spectate or theorize about what might happen in the next episode. A lot would change,” NHS junior Isabella Coscia said.
Regardless of whether or not the road to the prominence of streaming services proves to be a good thing, what is clear is that there will be a lot of change in the future with how viewers digest their content.
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