The ratings for NBC’s Lipstick Jungle point conclusively to it being cancelled. The trend of the show’s season to date (STD) adults 18-49 average has been relentlessly down, falling each week except one (the week of 10/13 saw an uptick). So, except for a single week, the all important 18-49 demo ratings have fallen each week.* It’s also NBC’s second worst rated scripted show this season in the demo. With that being the case, who might have spun the “save our show” PR piece in Sunday’s New York Times?
Robert and I often differ on who is more responsible for the “save our show” efforts, the networks or the producers. The networks hold off on announcing that a show is cancelled because they don’t want advertisers to bail on a show if they are going to continue to air the remaining episodes. The producers of a show may attempt to generate “save our show” efforts that are directly tied to their own financial success in the shows.
If we examine the Times piece for what’s being said and who is saying it, I think it’s pretty conclusive that it was generated at the behest of the producers trying (in a futile attempt, I believe) to save the show.
There’s a quote about the benefits from Live+7 DVR viewers:
Ms. Shields embarked on an arcane discussion of the show’s performance in the Nielsen ratings, specifically its gains in the category of “live plus 7,” when measured against “live plus same day.” Translation: Among viewers 18 to 49, the group prime-time advertisers most wish to reach, the show’s ratings increase by about 29 percent — or by 652,000 viewers, to 2.3 million, according to the most recent Nielsen figures — when the numbers include people who take as many as seven days to watch an episode on digital video recorders as opposed to those who watch it live or within hours of its broadcast.
No prime-time program gets a bigger boost in viewership from long-range DVR viewers, according to an NBC analysis of the Nielsen data. And that has been something of a lifeline for the series,
Unfortunately, we don’t get the Live+7 data for adults 18-49 to be able to verify that claim (although Lipstick Jungle does have high levels of DVR viewing), but we’re pretty sure based on other analysis that DVR viewing past telecast date has little effect on the advertising revenue for a show and therefore its eventual success.
I think it’s unlikely that the networks would spin this out, they know they get paid based on C+3 commercial ratings that closely track the Live viewing audiences. Signs point to the producers. Also, the fact that the quote came from one of the actors on the show also points to the producers. I think it would be unusual for a network to have actors speak for the show in this way.
The only quote from someone at NBC is also telling:
“There is incredible passion for this show at NBC, and there is incredible passion from fans,” said Teri Weinberg, executive vice president of NBC Entertainment. “But we need to find some evidence in the numbers as we go forward. We have a magnifying glass on the show.”
That’s exactly the kind of thing you’d expect someone from the network to say when contacted about a story being written about a show with 4 episodes remaining to be telecast. It says, and means, exactly nothing while remaining upbeat. Someone from the network would never give the alternative quote of “The show’s dead, we’re just playing out the string of produced episodes”.
Who exactly might have helped spin this particular piece to the Times?
Between the end of last season and the beginning of this one the writing staff was largely overhauled, with Oliver Goldstick, whose previous credits include “Ugly Betty,” installed as an executive producer and show runner. Ilene Rosenzweig and Rick Marin, a married couple who had worked for the Style pages of The New York Times, were hired as executive story editors.
Any guesses?
*Note that the first 5 weeks of the season Lipstick Jungle was telecast on Wednesday’s. Since the week of 10/27 it has been on Friday’s at 10pm.
Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2008 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
Most like the Producers start these SOS efforts. From what Ive heard, the most recent famous one, JERICHO, was planned weeks before the show had its infamous fade to black after the cry of NUTS! Carol Barbee was behind that and colluded with CBS’s Nina Tassler. Fans of that show actually think sending 50,000 pounds of peanuts save Jericho. No, it was coming back for 7 or 8 episodes regardless, as the show was then on the bubble, as they say. Mostly Tassler wanted to see what would happen if Barbee’s Fan Plan went forward. Tassler wanted to see how much of an impact fans would have if they provided FREE advertising for a borderline show. Of course, it failed and the rest is history. Except for the CW which for some unknown reason is breathing new life into Jerichos dwindling cult-like fan base of a few dozen people.
As for the Lipstick Jungle? It doesnt matter its DOA. It was shipped off the the Friday 10pm hospice to finish dying.
I think where Bill and I disagree is that Bill thinks there’s “plenty of blame to go around” for these sorts of things, and I think almost all of the blame lies with those involved making the shows, and not the network.
Hibberd did a writeup a couple of weeks back on the “DVR” issues and particularly the 18-49 number. He seemed to think what started all of that talk was because the first night the show was on a Friday its live+7 numbers did actually boost 18-49 performance by over 50%, but that was off a very anemic number to begin with. On a percentage basis, the growth was significant, but in terms of raw numbers, even with DVR added in, the 18-49 performance still were not good.
Indeed. I think on a case by case basis there may be differing levels of blame. In the case of this article though, I think it’s pretty clear that it was producer driven.
I’m holding off on declaring Candace Bushnell the winner of this year’s “Carol Barbee Award” (the award for the producer who most exemplifies qualities of whipping fans into a frenzy over a cancelled show that has no actual hope of ever returning). If any major media not based in New York is writing about this in March though…
I’ll forgive the New York media its love affair w/Bushnell & Sex and the City.
HEY GUYS, I’M JUST WONDERING WHY YOU GUYS HATE THIS SHOW SO MUCH? I MEAN, WE GIVE YOU PROPS FOR PREDICTING 2 MONTHS AGO THAT LJ WILL GET CANCELLED AND THEY DID, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT NBC CANT CHANGE THEIR MINDS RIGHT? YOU GUYS ARE DOING GREAT ABOUT THE INDEX, BUT IT WOULD BE NICE IF YOU SHOW A LITTLE BIT OF COMPASSION TO SHOWS THAT ARE CANCELLED (AND THAT YOU GUYS PREDICTED). YOU GUYS WON ALREADY BECAUSE YOU WERE RIGHT, BUT IF PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO MAKE ANY EFFORT TO SAVE A SHOW, SO BE IT. YOU WERE BITTER TOO NOT ONLY WITH LJ, BUT TO PUSHING DAISIES AND ALL THAT. I HOPE YOU GUYS WON’T BE MEAN LIKE THAT COZ ONE DAY YOU MIGHT FALL BREAK YOUR HEADS STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND. KARMA IS A BITCH.
Hello everyone, I have been a reader of your website for a little while, but this is the first time I am writing. I just wanted to say I enjoy reading all of the news, blogs, comments, etc. It is great to get a perspective of what people think of the shows we watch on the television, and I do always enjoy getting to see the ratings and what others think of them. I have a friend who really loves Lipstick Jungle, she asks me to DVR the show, and then comes over to watch on the weekends. I would consider her a big fan of the show, but as the season has moved forward, she says her love of the show has gone way down. This was even before the move to Friday night.
Janelle, I don’t hate the show (and I don’t think Robert does either). It does bug me when producers (in this case) or networks (in other cases) aren’t honest with fans and particularly the employees of a show about the reality of the situation. This NY Times story was almost certainly prompted by the producers PR efforts and just serves to fan the flames of false hopes.
The reality is that NBC will not change its mind, the show is done, and holding out false hope, particularly to employees, is not compassionate, it’s cruel.
You know the thing with JERICHO was that they CANCELED THE SHOW. In the case of TV there is no such thing as “any pr is good pr.” I’ve heard the insane rumor that Tassler planned the “cancel then renew due to fans,” thing. I call bunk on that rumor. It just doesn’t make sense. A lot of people who never watch the shows in question believe shows that are canceled in their first season were bad. CBS knows this from their panels. So the idea of canceling a show and then bringing it back because of fan support as a gimmick is hard to believe. JERICHO had a huge hill to climb.
LSJ is done. It has no chance of coming back. The Producers have an SOS going (save our show) and the network has an SOS too. The problem is NBCs SOS stands for SHOOT ON SIGHT.
ALRIGHT, FAIR ENOUGH. (US) FANS SHOULD JUST HOPE AND PRAY THAT ANOTHER NETWORK WILL PICK IT UP. I THINK THIS KIND OF SHOW WILL ONLY BE SUCCESSFUL IN HBO (?). WE LOVE THIS SHOW BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY SHOW OUT THERE RIGHT NOW THAT WOMEN CAN RELATE. IT’S A GOOD BREAK FROM ALL THE HOSPITAL/CRIME/COP DRAMA OUT THERE. WE KNOW THAT IT’S A GIRLY SHOW, BUT IT MAKES US HAPPY.
Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Gossip Girl, Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Brothers & Sisters are all female-driven shows that are miles better than LJ on pretty much every level. I’d like to see more women-centric shows but I want them to be good, not schlock. DH is a brilliant series where women clearly are the stars. LJ is mediocre pap in comparison. Maybe it’s better to have a crappy “women’s” show than not to have one at all but that point is debatable.
I can’t say that I relate much to any character on any show out there, including LJ, but I watch to be entertained, not to “relate” to characters.
It doesn’t look to me like LJ is making that many women “happy.” Even counting DVR, its numbers stink. I do watch but this show is like a train wreck. B+ for amusement quotient; D in terms of actual quality.
P.S. If one’s idea of karma is that people who predict cancellation of a TV show might incur actual physical injury in return, I hope the person who said that is either severely mentally challenged or a small child too young to realize how rude and inappropriate her comment was.
I have one main problem with so-called womens’ shows, and it applies across the board, and it is not refutable. If men were to be portrayed as committing adultery for sport or revenge, or going to gentlemens’clubs with money their wife earned as part of pre-divorce head games etc, the show would be excoriated by USA Today, EW, the NY Times, etc. I have never forgotten how shows like Ally McBeal were subjected to threats of boycotts because Ally either was too pretty or too skinny or too prone to sexual infatuation to be a good ” role model.” That is fascism lite. Even dumb ads like the Swedish Bikini Team – i think it was a beer ad – had to be yanked because it was disrespectful … to whom exactly? Most women I know thought it was cute … but then again. most women I know are both smart and good-looking. For the ratings to take care of brain rot like Lipstick Jungle and Cashmere Mafia just solves the problem of having to go to all the trouble of payback – threatening boycotts, contacting religious and family groups to alert them, etc. I’m an agnostic and don’t care much about so-called family values, but if I had to I would use the people who do fly those banners as payback for censorship past. Janelle is right – karma can be hell. But it also works both ways. Feminist Naomi Wolfe called it fighting with fire. Thanks for the information, Naomi.
“Any guesses?”
One of them is mentioned right there in the article. Ilene Rosenzweig. The other is a nobody by the name of Ross Mathy. Apparently, being in a fold and hold while you’re the lowest-rated show on the network is a cause for great optimism.
Teri Weinberg was a big fan of the show, as I understand it, but her job’s in jeopardy as it is, so what can she do? It was an expensive hour shot in NYC, the viewers clearly hated it, the critics loathed it, and the quality was nonexistent. NBC has been extraordinarily kind. And if you don’t believe me, just ask Oliver Goldstick about the last show he had on NBC Fridays and how long THAT lasted.
As for Brooke Shields, I think she’s deserving of the most laughable quote of the year award for her comment that “If [Lipstick Jungle] were meant to be off the air, we wouldn’t have made it as far as we have.” Because making it 16 episodes on the air is really far, you know. Well, okay, to Oliver Goldstick it is.
Riff, I was being sarcastic, of course, on Rosenzweig and Marin, they worked at the NY Times!
Interesting. THE ONLY SHOWS WOMEN CAN RELATE TO ARE CRAP. We knew it all along. That’s why the goduss created soap operas. For morons. Only one out of ten women can compete with men on a level nonerotic playing field. That’s why we built bridges, roads, empires, invented science, mathematics … so you can flip a light switch and call yourself Ms Einstein. Truth.
^ lol troll
Bill, oops! Forgive me, I feel like the “Lipstick Jungle” target audience.
Well, anyway, Mathy never worked for the Times, and he had a lot to do with rallying the troops. It frustrates me that people bought into that. Here’s to hoping they’ll figure it out once the show disappears after January 9, never to be seen again. Except maybe in reruns on the Oxygen Network.
nbc does not have the capacity to understand that kids go to school from 8 thru 3 and this been the schedual for many years why cant nbc understand that lipstick jingle and any other program like joey (which for me it was a great show like lipstick jungle) the only problem for me was that nbc i guess was looking for more rating or taking others networks day and time they forgot about the samething i was writing in the first place. THEY NEED TO KEEP ONE SCHEDUAL FOR THE SHOW NOT CHANGING THEM LIKE THAT THE RATINGS WONT GO DOWN!!!!!!
i just hope that in the future they learn form there mistake.
i guess for other people and i lipstick jungle was a great show
Agree with Federico. Changing the schedual seemed killed its rating. I love this show. there aren’t too many shows focusing on professional women struggling in the big cities like NYC.
i’m not sure if i love the show or the 3 women, if indeed it is cancelled would love to see them again and soon. Plus andrew is a cutie!
This is not a half-bad show actually – being a musician and having been on the road, I can relate to one of the characters. The show pacifies my wife who loved sex and the city and loves this show too. I hope NBC finds a way to promote this show and give it a real chance. Nielsen ratings are almost obsolete these days, and NBC just spared itself a bunch of scriptwriting cash by moving Leno to 10 pm next year. Funny thing too, Lipstick Jungle would probably do great on USA network. That’d only prove my point. The show isn’t bad the network isn’t treating it right.
ARE THEY CANCELLING KNIGHT RIDER AND PRIVILEGED??????????????? PLEAS I NEED TO KNOW I LOVE THEESE SHOWS.
Please don’t cancel Listick Jungle – I like Leno but will Not watch him at 10pm!!!
I am devastated that LJ has been cancelled! I have been a BIG fan since day one! It is by far better than Houswives, Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, not to mention all of the ridiculous reality TV shows out there. I hope they give it another chance or another network picks it up soon! We are all rooting for you, LJ!
I actually really enjoy the show. I do not watch it religiously, but it’s enjoyable, makes a few fashion statements and has a few interesting story lines. Like any show just getting on its feet, it’s bound to be a little shaky, with story lines and characters, but I think it will surprise people if it’s allowed to stay on the air.