Sunday, December 21, 2008

Put the M Back in MTV

Oh horrors! MTV's ratings dropped 23% over the fourth quarter. To combat this, they are planning 16 new reality shows:


In trying to keep its hold on young and fickle audiences, MTV over the decades has undergone some fundamental programming shifts, but never before on this scale.
The cabler's recent ratings declines include a 23% fourth-quarter drop in its core demo of 12- to 34-year-olds. So MTV is embarking on a major programming overhaul, with 16 new unscripted series over the next 4½ months.
The series come from high-profile producers including Sean Combs, Matt Stone & Trey Parker, Donald Trump and Nick Lachey. And they represent a major thematic shift for the channel -- more toward the meta-scripted reality of MTV's "The Hills," one of the cabler's few success stories these days.
While MTV pioneered reality series with 1992's "The Real World," that genre has become ubiquitous, so the network is offering a slate that avoids the backbiting and bitchery of most nonfiction fare.

If I may be so bold, try SHOWING SOME MUSIC VIDEOS. Or at least experiment and try alternating an hour of videos with an hour of your Real World/Road Rules/Jackass stuff.

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