Comments on: The Arrested Development case study: Say you’re Mitchell Hurwitz, what would you do? http://cultureby.com/2005/11/the_arrested_de.html This Blog Sits At the Intersection of Anthropology and Economics Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:10:58 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: edd http://cultureby.com/2005/11/the_arrested_de.html/comment-page-1#comment-5116 edd Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:34:16 +0000 http://grantmccracken.com/cco/http:/grantmccracken/page-title#comment-5116 <p>Make it happen!</p> <p><a href="http://www.arresteddevelopment2009.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.arresteddevelopment2009.com</a><br /> </p> Make it happen!

http://www.arresteddevelopment2009.com

]]> By: thebizofknowledge http://cultureby.com/2005/11/the_arrested_de.html/comment-page-1#comment-5115 thebizofknowledge Fri, 18 Aug 2006 21:18:57 +0000 http://grantmccracken.com/cco/http:/grantmccracken/page-title#comment-5115 <p>I stumbled across your blog while I was in the process of doing some online research. I think everyone who is a fan of a cancelled show feels somewhat betrayed; all that emotional investment, and then you never even get to know what happened to the characters you've grown to care about!</p> I stumbled across your blog while I was in the process of doing some online research. I think everyone who is a fan of a cancelled show feels somewhat betrayed; all that emotional investment, and then you never even get to know what happened to the characters you've grown to care about!

]]> By: annie http://cultureby.com/2005/11/the_arrested_de.html/comment-page-1#comment-5114 annie Sat, 27 May 2006 10:23:35 +0000 http://grantmccracken.com/cco/http:/grantmccracken/page-title#comment-5114 <p>it is and it isn't. AD was ahead of it's time. i had trouble keeping up with fox's changing schedule during the show's first two years, but i knew the show was genius and was proven right when i failed to be able to watch it regularly, yet it still won several awards. i was proud. many people are revelling in the enjoyment of the series' on dvd's because it IS tv that you can watch when you CAN. duh. listening to people circle this thing like vultures as if there is something scientific to diagnose. didn't Chappelle's show dvd score make some of the highest in sales for it's year? and where does this greed stem from? at this point, i think any of us would be willing to take the risk of "sacrificing the quality" just to have our show back again am i right? why isn't being in the industry and doing something so brilliant and wonderful enough for anyone in Hollywood?? It's not like they use all of their money to feed the poor. We're talking thousand dollar suits, fifty thousand dollar cars, and ten thousand dollar hookers....not thousands of dollars worth of groceries to bring to a village, not fifty thousand dollars to help BUILD a village. SAVE ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT!!!!!!! BRING BACK THE JOY!</p> it is and it isn't. AD was ahead of it's time. i had trouble keeping up with fox's changing schedule during the show's first two years, but i knew the show was genius and was proven right when i failed to be able to watch it regularly, yet it still won several awards. i was proud. many people are revelling in the enjoyment of the series' on dvd's because it IS tv that you can watch when you CAN. duh. listening to people circle this thing like vultures as if there is something scientific to diagnose. didn't Chappelle's show dvd score make some of the highest in sales for it's year? and where does this greed stem from? at this point, i think any of us would be willing to take the risk of "sacrificing the quality" just to have our show back again am i right? why isn't being in the industry and doing something so brilliant and wonderful enough for anyone in Hollywood?? It's not like they use all of their money to feed the poor. We're talking thousand dollar suits, fifty thousand dollar cars, and ten thousand dollar hookers….not thousands of dollars worth of groceries to bring to a village, not fifty thousand dollars to help BUILD a village. SAVE ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT!!!!!!! BRING BACK THE JOY!

]]> By: debbie millman http://cultureby.com/2005/11/the_arrested_de.html/comment-page-1#comment-5113 debbie millman Mon, 28 Nov 2005 21:23:44 +0000 http://grantmccracken.com/cco/http:/grantmccracken/page-title#comment-5113 <p>Grant--I confess that up until very recently (read: like last month) I had never seen even one episode of AD. Our mutual friend Darren loves this show so much he got me the first season on DVD, as he thought I was truly missing something great. Natch, after viewing the brilliant extended pilot I found myself utterly addicted. Portia DeRossi is even better on this than she was on Ally McBeal.</p> <p>So you can imagine my shock to find that this incredible show has been cancelled. Everybody loves Raymond stays on the air for 10 years and AD gets cancelled after 2 seasons? </p> <p>Yet another reason civilization is doomed.<br /> </p> Grant–I confess that up until very recently (read: like last month) I had never seen even one episode of AD. Our mutual friend Darren loves this show so much he got me the first season on DVD, as he thought I was truly missing something great. Natch, after viewing the brilliant extended pilot I found myself utterly addicted. Portia DeRossi is even better on this than she was on Ally McBeal.

So you can imagine my shock to find that this incredible show has been cancelled. Everybody loves Raymond stays on the air for 10 years and AD gets cancelled after 2 seasons?

Yet another reason civilization is doomed.

]]> By: Grant http://cultureby.com/2005/11/the_arrested_de.html/comment-page-1#comment-5112 Grant Sun, 27 Nov 2005 23:48:00 +0000 http://grantmccracken.com/cco/http:/grantmccracken/page-title#comment-5112 <p>Ginna, great point, there is no serendipity opportunity if people are now "watching TV" off network, off cable (as Hey points out). There are of course other ways of reaching them, most of these pretty inexpensive in the "long tail" way of things. And your last point is a great one. Network and cable TV is not just free, it demands only that we figure out a way to turn on the TV and work the remote. A subscription model demands a much more active posture and decision making process. Thanks, Grant</p> Ginna, great point, there is no serendipity opportunity if people are now "watching TV" off network, off cable (as Hey points out). There are of course other ways of reaching them, most of these pretty inexpensive in the "long tail" way of things. And your last point is a great one. Network and cable TV is not just free, it demands only that we figure out a way to turn on the TV and work the remote. A subscription model demands a much more active posture and decision making process. Thanks, Grant

]]> By: Grant http://cultureby.com/2005/11/the_arrested_de.html/comment-page-1#comment-5111 Grant Sun, 27 Nov 2005 22:51:29 +0000 http://grantmccracken.com/cco/http:/grantmccracken/page-title#comment-5111 <p>Kirk, thanks, this is a really interesting question, how much would we pay for something that is now (after we have paid our cable bill) free. And I guess it makes sense to assume that deep engagement is more likely to open wallets than passing interest, and if this is the case, shows will go for intensive connections rather than please-everybody, extensive ones. And good question, about the costs of a show. This is one of the vexing problems in the study of popular culture. Pam, my wife, recently found an article on 7th Heaven that said the stars were making $100,000. But, in my experience, this kind of info is rare. Maybe there's a fund of knowledge out there somewhere, (and if so, will somebody please tell me). Best, Grant</p> Kirk, thanks, this is a really interesting question, how much would we pay for something that is now (after we have paid our cable bill) free. And I guess it makes sense to assume that deep engagement is more likely to open wallets than passing interest, and if this is the case, shows will go for intensive connections rather than please-everybody, extensive ones. And good question, about the costs of a show. This is one of the vexing problems in the study of popular culture. Pam, my wife, recently found an article on 7th Heaven that said the stars were making $100,000. But, in my experience, this kind of info is rare. Maybe there's a fund of knowledge out there somewhere, (and if so, will somebody please tell me). Best, Grant

]]> By: kirk http://cultureby.com/2005/11/the_arrested_de.html/comment-page-1#comment-5110 kirk Sun, 27 Nov 2005 22:41:02 +0000 http://grantmccracken.com/cco/http:/grantmccracken/page-title#comment-5110 <p>I would pay a hell of a lot more than 40 bucks for another season of Firefly . . . The question I have is, how much does it cost to make a full season of a show like AD? Or Firefly? I would assume a LOT more for Firefly, but what percentage of the total cost do the cast represent? I want to see this case study!</p> I would pay a hell of a lot more than 40 bucks for another season of Firefly . . . The question I have is, how much does it cost to make a full season of a show like AD? Or Firefly? I would assume a LOT more for Firefly, but what percentage of the total cost do the cast represent? I want to see this case study!

]]> By: Ginna Dowler http://cultureby.com/2005/11/the_arrested_de.html/comment-page-1#comment-5109 Ginna Dowler Sun, 27 Nov 2005 19:29:57 +0000 http://grantmccracken.com/cco/http:/grantmccracken/page-title#comment-5109 <p>Grant,</p> <p>I'm glad our comments provoked new thoughts!</p> <p>Many viewers already "pre-subscribe" to shows. Pay-per-view subscriptions come to mind. The Vancouver Canucks, for example, promised fans in the last season (i.e. a lifetime ago) that they would ensure that every Canucks game had TV coverage through PPV if a certain season subscription level was met. (Can't find a link, sorry.) So this year, every single game will be televised. The Canucks cover their costs in advance, and everybody wins. </p> <p>However, outside such specialty programming, I don't believe that the consumer world is ready for demand TV, or pledging. Give it another 5 or 6 years. </p> <p>Right now the problem would be finding the audience. With the broadcast model, at least some percentage of viewers found AD by watching Fox at other times. Maybe they saw an ad during a sports program, or Prison Break, or some other show. This advertising so far can't be duplicated for general TV programming.</p> <p>The other problem with demand TV is that it requires the viewer to take action. While many already-loyal fans would seek out AD in other forms, it would take a lot of advertising to push the show to other viewers. Right now, it's pretty easy to watch a new show when it is essentially "free" - that is, you're already paying for cable, and all you have to do is change the channel on your remote. </p> Grant,

I'm glad our comments provoked new thoughts!

Many viewers already "pre-subscribe" to shows. Pay-per-view subscriptions come to mind. The Vancouver Canucks, for example, promised fans in the last season (i.e. a lifetime ago) that they would ensure that every Canucks game had TV coverage through PPV if a certain season subscription level was met. (Can't find a link, sorry.) So this year, every single game will be televised. The Canucks cover their costs in advance, and everybody wins.

However, outside such specialty programming, I don't believe that the consumer world is ready for demand TV, or pledging. Give it another 5 or 6 years.

Right now the problem would be finding the audience. With the broadcast model, at least some percentage of viewers found AD by watching Fox at other times. Maybe they saw an ad during a sports program, or Prison Break, or some other show. This advertising so far can't be duplicated for general TV programming.

The other problem with demand TV is that it requires the viewer to take action. While many already-loyal fans would seek out AD in other forms, it would take a lot of advertising to push the show to other viewers. Right now, it's pretty easy to watch a new show when it is essentially "free" – that is, you're already paying for cable, and all you have to do is change the channel on your remote.

]]> By: Grant http://cultureby.com/2005/11/the_arrested_de.html/comment-page-1#comment-5108 Grant Sun, 27 Nov 2005 17:20:28 +0000 http://grantmccracken.com/cco/http:/grantmccracken/page-title#comment-5108 <p>Thanks to everyone who has left comments. They made me see that there is a 4th option I had not explored. I have rewritten the post accordingly (see "Scenario 4") with acknowledgements. Best, Grant</p> Thanks to everyone who has left comments. They made me see that there is a 4th option I had not explored. I have rewritten the post accordingly (see "Scenario 4") with acknowledgements. Best, Grant

]]> By: Peter http://cultureby.com/2005/11/the_arrested_de.html/comment-page-1#comment-5107 Peter Sun, 27 Nov 2005 12:11:45 +0000 http://grantmccracken.com/cco/http:/grantmccracken/page-title#comment-5107 <p>Ginna -- the business model you describe has been around for decades in the market research industry, where it's known as a "multi-client study". A market research firm identifies a need for market information (usually quantitative market survey data, but not necessarily), and then touts the idea to all the companies who may have an interest in seeing it. If the data was attitudes of cellphone users, then the companies interested would be cellphone network operators, manufacturers, other network operators, retailers, even government regulators. When enough companies commit to buy the study, the market research firm then goes ahead with it. </p> <p>Why would a company pre-commit to buy such a study? Well, usually there is a discount for up-front commitment. Also, if a survey is involved, the early buyers may get to influence its content or structure, being able to place their own questions in it, for example. The same ideas could apply to pre-paid TV content. </p> <p><br /> </p> Ginna — the business model you describe has been around for decades in the market research industry, where it's known as a "multi-client study". A market research firm identifies a need for market information (usually quantitative market survey data, but not necessarily), and then touts the idea to all the companies who may have an interest in seeing it. If the data was attitudes of cellphone users, then the companies interested would be cellphone network operators, manufacturers, other network operators, retailers, even government regulators. When enough companies commit to buy the study, the market research firm then goes ahead with it.

Why would a company pre-commit to buy such a study? Well, usually there is a discount for up-front commitment. Also, if a survey is involved, the early buyers may get to influence its content or structure, being able to place their own questions in it, for example. The same ideas could apply to pre-paid TV content.

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