Neilsen ratings are not a true indication of what people under 35 are up to.

Case in point, the only good TV show on the air just got canceled. Party Down is a cynical comedy, following LA’s social underclass of “aspiring…” talent. So you have a burned out commercial actor,  a wannabe screenwriter, the sometimes model with a band and a comedian who keeps getting promising auditions. Of course the humor comes from watching all them fail, in small professional / personal / relationship opportunities that could break them free from the recurring nightmare, of temporary employment for party catering outfit that serves those more successful.

The joke of a show comprised of aspirational types, that ignore their current identity despite returning in pink bow-tie, episode after episode – is similar to what the Starz network must have been thinking in producing a series.

“What? Starz has a series? That cable network that no one watches?”

That’s the point. We don’t watch Starz. And they know that. So, we grab torrents of every episode of Party Down and engage with other people about discussing this show that Starz puts out. So now the cable channel with no identity gains some chatter. Not very different from branded content.

Yet… Despite inflating the Starz brand, this whole experiment is somehow judged as a flop… based on Neilsen ratings. Which in no way reflects the fact that everyone under 35 just watches torrents of TV shows…

So Starz… Mission Accomplished. Which is something you might not recognize until stats for peer-sharing start getting some attention. Being a hit now, is comprised of different data than was available in 1993. Time for metrics to play catch-up.

Tags: Metrics, Neilsen, Party Down, Ratings, Torrent, Tracking
Posted in: File Under: Clueless