The Power Of Anticipation And The Live Television Event

We have all read enough business articles over the years to, at times, default to the idea that the person defending the “old” medium or way of doing things is deluded by his own self-interests; an ostrich with her head in the sand, or a dinosaur pausing to complain about the cold.

But even still, I will make a highly-specific case for one particular “dinosaur.”

So much has been written about the death of linear television and the presumption that we are all living (or are about to be) in a time-shifted, on-demand and “binge-viewed” world.

For anyone who is paying attention to the television ecosystem, last Sunday night provided a reminder that reports of the death of linear TV are greatly exaggerated. Thousands upon thousands of titles were available on demand. DVR recordings sat waiting to be played back. Streaming services and other platforms were poised and ready for use as always, and yet a combined 56 million people watched at least one of three unique events on ad-supported US television – the return of The Walking Dead on AMC, the Olympics on NBC and a Beatles special on CBS.

In addition to capturing eyeballs, all three shows generated significant discussion in social media and, if my office is at all typical, created a heck of a lot of in-person discussion the next day as well. The Walking Dead led the way with 1.2 million Tweets from 526,000 unique authors, resulting in 68 million impressions, according to Nielsen SocialGuide, and several other shows were into six-figure Tweet totals as well. Put simply, these were events – shared events – that brought people together, shaping popular culture and fueling timely discussion.

So is the TV-driven water cooler still holding water? I'd have to be choosing ignorance not to admit that it’s a little smaller today and somewhat leaky in spots, aided by of the plethora of new viewing options and broader competition for our free time in general. But, no matter the options, I believe Sunday night’s results show that people will still make simultaneous appointments in very large numbers to watch programming that has the ability to command interest and truly bring an audience together. And who doesn't love the shared experience, be it the biggest Super Bowl ever only two weeks ago or this trio of success stories last weekend?

In an entirely unscheduled, on-demand world, urgency around seeing new content is often muted, and the communal moment can quickly turn individual. I don't know about you, but when I'm watching out of sync with my peers, I miss it – “it” being the buzz, the conversation, the momentum and the experience of it all. I've never encouraged my children to sit alone to cull through and eat all their candy on Halloween night.I can't imagine that experience would be anywhere near as satisfying as when they sort it with their siblings, sharing stories and tales of the night’s experiences while parsing favorites to consume, over time. A binge in this instance, we know, leads to a fairly uncomfortable morning after. *We'll make an allowance for Carl's chocolate-pudding-binge in the photo above, he's in an unusual circumstance.

So, in eyes-wide-open praise of “the dinosaur,” at AMC we remain huge believers in the power of the linear television event as the center of an ecosystem that now – undeniably – includes a variety of new ways for viewers to access our programming: Next day video on demand through our cable, satellite and telco partners; electronic sell-through on platforms like iTunes and Amazon; online viewership through authenticated TV Everywhere; and utilizing streaming services in a later window that offer prior seasons as a catch-up mechanism, as in our partnership with Netflix. All are relatively new options available to consumers as a result of terrific bandwidth expansion, technological advancements and a shifting model. And, to be clear, I and many of my counterparts are "all in" for this ever-changing, consumer-focused ride.

The Walking Dead was the #1 show on television Sunday night among adults 18-49. Play the "event theory" out over the eight hours that will make up the back-half of this current season and it’s easy to get a sense of why we believe so strongly in the power of anticipation for a premiere episode to engage audiences, as a unified whole, in so many meaningful ways. There’s still clearly something about looking forward to a new episode of one of your favorite shows, sharing the experience in person or in social media, discussing and reflecting on what you’ve all seen in the same timeframe (and, sometimes, for the best stuff, watching it again, perhaps from another angle) and then getting ready for that same cycle to play out at the same time on the same Bat Channel the following week.

I appreciate all of the on-demand advancements as a consumer, partner with them as a businessperson, and am often awed by the newest insight and capability. But, as a fan of great programming, I try and see them all as different ways to both serve consumers and – most significantly – drive millions of fans back to the next, communal event. The TV event, for me and 56 million other people last Sunday, is still primary. And the true event is the destination we at AMC consistently drive to, viewing additional non-linear-TV platforms as catch up opportunities and support for that shared wonderful moment. I’ve yet to find a binge that can replace “the event” in that way. In fact, when we manage the ecosystem well, it has made the event bigger and better for good old linear TV, building anticipation, urgency and engagement in a way that watching a personal marathon simply can’t.

Simply put, the dinosaur that is linear television has the ability to unify like almost nothing else.

Now come back next week and I’ll tell you why that old Smith Corona typewriter is actually better than your iPad. (Not really, some things really are dinosaurs.)

Photo: The Walking Dead, AMC