A TV viewer's Bill of Rights

Maureen Ryan writing for The Chicago Tribune is suggesting a "TV Viewer Bill of Rights", adressed to the Networks. Out of the 10 suggestions, here are my favorites and If I may, the last one is my own recommendation.

-- Stop caring so much about overnight Nielsen ratings. When making decisions to cancel or save a show, networks should factor in iTunes sales, online streaming, on-demand viewing and the fervor of a show’s audience.

-- Live with lower ratings expectations. You have a million ways to sell shows now – through foreign rights, DVD sales, syndication, iTunes and so forth, and now you can sell ads online too. Get over the obsession with this week’s numbers and look at the big picture.

-- Give marginal shows more of a chance – let them air for at least six episodes before you yank them.

-- Don’t give your shows two- or three-month breaks (at least “Lost” has learned this lesson). We have lives, and we don’t always remember when a show is returning or what happened before the break.

-- Keep surprising us and creating interesting characters and worlds, and we’ll do our best to show up.

And my own two cents: Think globally, not just locally. Release them online (for all of us not living in the US) the day after they have been broadcast in the US. Make us pay a subscription to an entire season, or pay per view, we will do so gladly. But NO commercials please.

emily | 2:11 PM | News |
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/tv/archives/2007/06/016250.htm