With live linear viewing of television shows declining, many advertising buyers worry about the decline in viewership of their commercials. One saving grace for advertisers is the advent of pilot season. With new shows comes new traction for new audiences. Last year, This is Us took the nation by storm and greatly increased viewership to NBC. Now with a new year upon us, speculation is up in the air towards what shows will dominate the air waves.
At the moment, buyers picks for best new shows are Young Sheldon and The Good Doctor. Young Sheldon brought in 17.2 million live viewers, which is the largest amount of viewership for a comedy premiere since 2011. Young Sheldon brought in such a large audience due to its pulling of already loyal fan base from The Big Bang Theory. Spin offs do not usually fare well in the long run, but this one seems to be bringing in the numbers. Only time will tell if it will be able to keep up the momentum. Personally, I think watching Sheldon navigate the perils of high school is an extremely interesting story line. Who knows how many teachers and students he can offend.
Another show who had high ratings on its premiere date was The Good Doctor. Created by the writers of House, The Good Doctor follows an autistic doctor through his first year as a resident. The first episode was extremely heart felt and touching. Right now it seems to be closest show to This is Us in being able to have audiences feel for the characters. The ABC show premiered with a viewership of 11.2 million and held steady through its week 2 showing, which is extremely uncommon for new series.
NBC remains at the top for cable viewership due to Emmy winning show This is Us and its revival of Will & Grace. Bringing back old shows seems to be a common trend in television. Other networks like Fox and Netflix have seen success in revivals of shows like Prison Break, Full House, and Gilmore Girls. NBC is enjoying the same benefits with Will & Grace, which brought in 10.2 million viewers. Seems as if right now, NBC is the best place for advertisers to place their content.
With all of these new shows, one thing that stations need to keep in mind is figuring out how to generate buzz. If they want viewership to continue to increase, they need to attract more viewers, which can best be accomplished through the use of social media. Playing television promos across the network is no longer the best way to generate viewership; instead, series need to focus on building their presence on social media through media buys in advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I know I came across The Good Doctor through seeing a preview of it on my Facebook feed. Digital marketing can be a major tool in helping pilot shows receive renewal for next year.
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