Super Bowl XLIV

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Qwikshot

I could only surmise Atlantans were hungry for 1/2 of the Who.

Actually it looks more like a case of not being as interested enough in the beginning of the game to have the TV on as they were in leaving it on during halftime. And then kind of being ready for it to be over.

That's somewhat out of the ordinary since the conventional wisdom is that the earlier your spot runs the better, as both a safeguard against a blowout killing ratings later and trying to get in ahead of viewer fatigue (research basically shows that the later the ad runs the less unaided recall it has)

But then again, anywhere from 20%-30% of the market didn't even register having their TV's on at any point in the game to go along with those who were watching other stuff.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

A little more anecdotal on this, as I've got the Atlanta overnights from the game but haven't seen the nationals yet.


Ratings for Women 18-34 .. 33.5 total average, 35.8 rating 8p-10p
Rating for Men 18-34 ... 41.1 total average, 42.9 rating 8p-10p
Rating for Men 25-54 ... 49.8 total average, 53.1 rating 8p-10p
Rating for Women 35-54 ... 38.7 total average, 43.0 rating 8p-10p
Ratings for Women 35+ ... 41.3 total average, 43.7 rating 8p-10p

Basically middle-aged women were more likely to be watching the game than young men.

That's interesting, and one specifically I was wondering about.

I was actually going to change the channel at halftime to something else - Puppy Bowl, taped MythBusters, whatever. My wife (39) stopped me - she wanted to watch The Who. Generally, I'd think that a lot of younger men would pay a little less attention to the NFL, and those that do would probably be drinking/scamming/not paying attention to a halftime show.

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

are Plain White Tees really "rock?"

"Rock" is so fragmented these days as a genre.

The've been mentioned on iCarly. I think that automatically disqualifies them.

Rock is more fragmented, but then so is music in general. I was thinking more about this in general this morning. "Classic Rock" had a pretty big window, but will eventually phase out (or replaced/represented by general Pop/Rock). Metal is niche, Punk is niche. They continue on, but they're not huge. Motown came and went, Disco came and went (though it influenced dance), Rap/Hip-Hop is a lot different than it was 20 years ago.

How much does Country evolve? I've heard it mentioned - and I agree - that most people stick with the music from their adolescence. Is Country music more cross-generational?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Rock is more fragmented, but then so is music in general. I was thinking more about this in general this morning. "Classic Rock" had a pretty big window, but will eventually phase out (or replaced/represented by general Pop/Rock). Metal is niche, Punk is niche. They continue on, but they're not huge. Motown came and went, Disco came and went (though it influenced dance), Rap/Hip-Hop is a lot different than it was 20 years ago.

There's a reasonable argument about what comes first, the music/audience fragments & radio formats follow or vice versa.

How much does Country evolve? I've heard it mentioned - and I agree - that most people stick with the music from their adolescence. Is Country music more cross-generational?

Yes and no. It is with respect to having artists/stations that tend to cross demographic cells more broadly than other genres. It isn't with respect to how those niches break down in terms of actively liking disliking artists/songs.
There's a pretty decent brouhaha among country fans, stations, and even artists about what constitutes "country". Look no further than Taylor Swift, the top album artist of 2009, who is loved by the younger demos & pretty roundly disliked by the older demos. There's a lyric by newcomer Eric Church that sums up the divide pretty well "You say you're the real deal/But you play what nobody feels/You sing about Johnny Cash/The Man in Black would've whipped your [expletive]."

What keeps the genre somewhat generally together is that there's still room to play Taylor Swift & Zac Brown next to George Strait & Faith Hill. Strictly "New Country" or "Hot Country" stations haven't broken away as completely as other formats have seen (For example, there's distinct charts for Active Rock vs Modern Rock vs Hard Rock vs Alternative Rock), so while I think there's legitimately more cross-generational appeal in general the reality is that it isn't as substantial as it might appear.

[B & B]

While I cannot say that Im pleased with the direction this thread has gone, but happy with the fact that Ive no idea what iCarly is.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by B & B

While I cannot say that Im pleased with the direction this thread has gone, but happy with the fact that Ive no idea what iCarly is.

The 15th most watched show (with a hard pushed new episode) in the country overall for the week ending January 24. That's more viewers than 24, Biggest Loser, and House just to name a few. The only scripted non-CBS shows with more viewers were Grey's Anatomy and Bones.

In other words, it rightfully qualifies as a pretty big deal even if you don't have a kid in the target demo.

[JonInMiddleGA]

A bit of background on the Leno/Letterman/Oprah ad, including Jay sneaking into the Ed Sullivan Theatre wearing a hoodie, sunglasses, and a fake mustache.
How David Letterman, Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey pulled off their secret Super Bowl promo for CBS' 'Late Show' | Show Tracker | Los Angeles Times

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The 15th most watched show (with a hard pushed new episode) in the country overall for the week ending January 24. That's more viewers than 24, Biggest Loser, and House just to name a few. The only scripted non-CBS shows with more viewers were Grey's Anatomy and Bones.

In other words, it rightfully qualifies as a pretty big deal even if you don't have a kid in the target demo.

I disagree - with the caveat that of course it qualifies as a big deal if you're in advertising or product marketing, or something where you need to worry about the number of eyeballs on it.

If you don't have a kid in the target demographic it's not like it's a show that is going to be discussed at the water cooler, or the virtual water cooler. That's the thing with all of those shows whose target demographic is kids - no adult is going to sit and watch them unless they have a kid in that demographic they are watching them with.

As far as advertising and marketing they are "big deals" but as far as "general cultural relevance" I'd argue that they have, and will continue to be largely irrelevent. And of course there might be an exception to that somewhere but I'm spreaking in general terms.

If I didn't have a brother who is 15 now, and used to be into all those Nickelodeon shows when he was in elementary school (and up through middle school to make fun of them), I would have no idea what iCarly was. As it is, I think the only thing I know is that it stars the girl who was the sister on Drake & Josh.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

As far as advertising and marketing they are "big deals" but as far as "general cultural relevance" I'd argue that they have, and will continue to be largely irrelevent.

That's just it though, when you're penetrating more of the households than virtually every other show, you pretty much define at least "pop culture relevance".

And the water cooler thing, while I agreed at first blush, upon further review doesn't strike me as accurate either. But it's not a literal water cooler, it's at a more individual level. For example, you're right that I don't recall it coming up in conversation regularly with work contacts. But with those that I know better, who have kids in the target demos, references such as XYZ is everywhere, kind of like Drake & Josh reruns aren't that unusual. It's not by choice perhaps but there's definitely significant penetration, and still nearly half the households in the U.S. have children under 18 in them. And that doesn't count the impact on households without children in the demo but who have grandchildren, nieces/nephews, etc in the age group (my 60+ y/o mother has immediate recognition of SpongeBob references due to her grandchildren) And now Drake & Josh, for example, is 5 years old meaning that it actually connects to younger heads of households who don't have kids in them yet.

And of course there might be an exception to that somewhere but I'm spreaking in general terms.

Maybe a parallel to what I'm talking about could be found in Barney the Dinosaur being recognizable to people who didn't have children at the time. Or Hanna Montana (who has never hit Carly ratings). Or even more currently the whole Twilight phenomena. iCarly hasn't hit that level yet I don't think but I'd say it's definitely closer than you think.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Too early to tell whether these will hold up once everything comes in but the preliminary household numbers say last night's game was the most watched ever in total viewers & the highest rated since SB 21 (Simms Giants over the Broncos).
Early Ratings: Super Bowl On Pace To Break Records - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings | TVbytheNumbers.com

A CBS press release has quarter hour breakdowns and highest individual market ratings (New Orleans, DC, Nashville, Indy, and Columbus, OH are the top 5)

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by rowech

They pulled a Bo Whitley.

Awesome.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

A bit of background on the Leno/Letterman/Oprah ad, including Jay sneaking into the Ed Sullivan Theatre wearing a hoodie, sunglasses, and a fake mustache.
How David Letterman, Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey pulled off their secret Super Bowl promo for CBS' 'Late Show' | Show Tracker | Los Angeles Times

I think it was a NY Time article I read that had some more detail, and my major takeaway was that Letterman comes across as a huge fake who only spoke the truth to get ratings. If the article was right, hugging Leno upon seeing him is disgusting.

[KWhit]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Another little tidbit from the Atlanta overnights, ratings for halftime were anywhere from 2 to 5 points higher (depending on the demo) than they were for the first hour of the game.

Awesome. That's right when the wife's commercial aired. She got recognized by a stranger for the first time yesterday (before the SB) which was cool.

[Passacaglia]

We 'watched' The Who during halftime instead of switching -- basically because people were just talking, I was serving chili, and didn't feel like having to figure out when halftime would be over and know when to switch back. Someone mentioned that we could have switched to the Puppy Bowl, but by that time, halftime was almost over anyway.

iCarly is just hanging on

Oh, and I thought it was cool to see the Saints win.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

{scratches head} So somehow single songs are hallmark for success for sales now? Takes a hell of a lot of .99 singles to equal $10 to $15 "album" sales.

Sorry, but that's what the market is now. Sales are driven by "singles" in today's market, not overall sales. Read/watch more modern music programs and tell me what they follow.

And we're talking about for the year, not for the past week or two which seems to be iTunes memory length.

It's also the average memory length of the average customer.

edit to add: And here's another news flash for you skippy, it's "old fogies" like me who control the Super Bowl, its halftime show, and the media buys that drive the whole thing. Not punk ass kids who aren't even as old as concert t-shirts in my closet. Call me when you're relevant.

You'll also be dead sooner. You really want to brag about being an old fogie?

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Too early to tell whether these will hold up once everything comes in but the preliminary household numbers say last night's game was the most watched ever in total viewers & the highest rated since SB 21 (Simms Giants over the Broncos).
Early Ratings: Super Bowl On Pace To Break Records - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings | TVbytheNumbers.com

A CBS press release has quarter hour breakdowns and highest individual market ratings (New Orleans, DC, Nashville, Indy, and Columbus, OH are the top 5)

Snowmaggedon helped ratings in DC I'm sure. People that would have gone to a friend's house, bar, etc end up watching at home.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Snowmaggedon helped ratings in DC I'm sure. People that would have gone to a friend's house, bar, etc end up watching at home.

Odd stat there, over 90% of SB viewing is at home, contrary to the higher number we might be led to believe about SB parties, bar crowds, etc.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Odd stat there, over 90% of SB viewing is at home, contrary to the higher number we might be led to believe about SB parties, bar crowds, etc.

How can they possibly determine that? Because I don't buy it.

Let's say I've watched 15 Super Bowls. I bet I've watched 5 of them at home with only people that live in that house.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by wade moore

How can they possibly determine that? Because I don't buy it.

Let's say I've watched 15 Super Bowls. I bet I've watched 5 of them at home with only people that live in that house.

And I've watched 27 Super Bowls and exactly 26 of them were at home with only people that live in that house. The one exception was last year, so the first 25 for me were at home.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

And I've watched 27 Super Bowls and exactly 26 of them were at home with only people that live in that house. The one exception was last year, so the first 25 for me were at home.

But that's because you have no friends Pumpy. Geez.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by wade moore

How can they possibly determine that? Because I don't buy it.

Let's say I've watched 15 Super Bowls. I bet I've watched 5 of them at home with only people that live in that house.

Do you have children?

[Dr. Sak]

Looking for an answer here...I won an office pool last night for $1000 and i get an email from the organizer saying that it is customary to tip 10% to the person that runs it. Does anyone do this?

EDIT: This was not told till me till they told me they were bringing the money up.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Looking for an answer here...I won an office pool last night for $1000 and i get an email from the organizer saying that it is customary to tip 10% to the person that runs it. Does anyone do this?

I never did it, but the most I ever won on those things was about $125.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Looking for an answer here...I won an office pool last night for $1000 and i get an email from the organizer saying that it is customary to tip 10% to the person that runs it. Does anyone do this?

I've heard people tip the organizer, but make sure he didn't get free pool entries or take out for "costs to run it" I also think it is cheesy of him to send that email to you.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Looking for an answer here...I won an office pool last night for $1000 and i get an email from the organizer saying that it is customary to tip 10% to the person that runs it. Does anyone do this?

EDIT: This was not told till me till they told me they were bringing the money up.

Never heard that. Usually they take their tip out of their rigging of the game where they steal the 3/7 squares and the like

SI

[JPhillips]

If he expects 10% he should have made that clear at the beginning. I'd be okay giving him the money, but I'd also make it clear that he should provide this info before people commit to the pool.

[Chubby]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Looking for an answer here...I won an office pool last night for $1000 and i get an email from the organizer saying that it is customary to tip 10% to the person that runs it. Does anyone do this?

EDIT: This was not told till me till they told me they were bringing the money up.

pfft, none of the boards I've ever played had a tip. If you watched at a bar you'd buy drinks but that was it.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah. He should have made that clear about the "tip" beforehand. Like Lathum said - make sure he didn't get free entries or take out for costs to run it. Could also check with the guy who won it last year to see if he tipped...

[Dr. Sak]

I didn't tip but the 1st half winner did. Which makes me look like a cheapskate.

What pissed me off more was when she dropped the money she goes "did you get my email?" and i responded yes and smiled....and after a few seconds of awkward silence she walked away.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

I've never heard of tipping the organizer. Especially not $100.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs2

I've never heard of tipping the organizer. Especially not $100.

yeah, if I did I would give like, $20 at most.

[RainMaker]

I've never heard of the tip the organizer thing although a search on Google seems to show that some people do. I think it's kind of a slimy thing to do unless the pool was huge and took a ton of time to organize.

[Dr. Sak]

It was a block pool. All they did was go around and ask people to be in it and pick numbers.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Lathum

yeah, if I did I would give like, $20 at most.

+1 and I'm generally a generous tipper.


On another note, I'm not surprised, but not a single parent/child has showed for their kid's appointment today. Could be my slowest day at the office all year.

[DaddyTorgo]

seriously. otherwise i'd just volunteer to run the thing and take the tip and not even participate...lol

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

seriously. otherwise i'd just volunteer to run the thing and take the tip and not even participate...lol

That was my thought exactly. $2000 was the total payout. I'd gladly take $200 for the "hassle" of putting it together.

[BrianD]

How complex was the pool? Was it anything more than a simple assignment of names to different squares? I would never dream of accepting a tip unless I had to put some major work into the pool.

[Rizon]

Two words for the organizer that wants a 10% tip

"Learn to fuckin type"

Cause if you're expecting me to help out with the rent, you're in for a big fuckin surprise.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

And I've watched 27 Super Bowls and exactly 26 of them were at home with only people that live in that house. The one exception was last year, so the first 25 for me were at home.

Originally Posted by Samdari

Do you have children?

No, but I've watched it with people that do on many occasions.

If I'm watching with say 3 other families, that's 4 families that are not watching "at home". 90% just seems crazy-high from my anecdotal experience. A large majority of the people I know do not watch the SB at home, with no one that lives outside of their house. I'd buy that 90% watch "at a house", but "at home" it just seems off to me.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by BrianD

How complex was the pool? Was it anything more than a simple assignment of names to different squares? I would never dream of accepting a tip unless I had to put some major work into the pool.

10x10 square pool. Put your name in a block...they pick the numbers for each qtr separately later.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

seriously. otherwise i'd just volunteer to run the thing and take the tip and not even participate...lol

This was my thought.

[larrymcg421]

I've run them before and never expected the tip. I could see why someone would do it, but certainly not that much. You didn't sign me to a long term deal with the Jets. You just wrote down names in a box.

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

10x10 square pool. Put your name in a block...they pick the numbers for each qtr separately later.

Takes all of 45 seconds to draw and an extra 3 minutes prep time, maybe another 25 seconds to fill in squares. That doesn't even warrant a stock tip or "look both ways before you cross the street" tip.

I run those pools all the time and would refuse a tip. My DOG CAN EVEN RUN THESE POOLS and she's been dead for 2 years.

[Dr. Sak]

So in the end if I don't tip, I look like a dick since the 1st half winner did give them 10% of his winnings.

Looks like I wont be asked to do it again next year

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

10x10 square pool. Put your name in a block...they pick the numbers for each qtr separately later.

So basically they collect $200 for about 2 minutes of work? No way would I tip for that. No way I would accept a tip for that either.

The whole point of pools like that is that they pay out everything they bring in. It is a +0 EV game (if I've got the terminology right). If you take out a tip or a maintenance fee, you are now left everybody losing money. Great for a casino, terrible for a home game.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by BrianD

So basically they collect $200 for about 2 minutes of work? No way would I tip for that. No way I would accept a tip for that either.

The whole point of pools like that is that they pay out everything they bring in. It is a +0 EV game (if I've got the terminology right). If you take out a tip or a maintenance fee, you are now left everybody losing money. Great for a casino, terrible for a home game.

Also a good way to make a fun game subject to legal actions.

Not that it's likely to come to that, but that's a nice safety net for these things imo.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Looking for an answer here...I won an office pool last night for $1000 and i get an email from the organizer saying that it is customary to tip 10% to the person that runs it. Does anyone do this?

EDIT: This was not told till me till they told me they were bringing the money up.

I've never heard of shit like that. If the person thinks they deserve money for doing a pool, they should have took some of the money. Sounds like a slimeball, especially that they even mentioned shit like that.

[sterlingice]

Geez- I ran like 50 person NCAA tourney pools without asking for a tip. Now I found that I've missed out on an administrative fee that I could have been collecting my whole life. Nooo!

SI

[Chubby]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

So in the end if I don't tip, I look like a dick since the 1st half winner did give them 10% of his winnings.

Looks like I wont be asked to do it again next year

Say you'll run it next year

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

So in the end if I don't tip, I look like a dick since the 1st half winner did give them 10% of his winnings.

Looks like I wont be asked to do it again next year

Nope, you look like a nontool. The 1st half winner looks like a major tool, suckup, and I hope they get hit by a bus.

They're friends right? Or lovers? Or he/she wants the other badly or something?

I would applaud you for not tipping. I may even pay you the same amount of the tip if you don't tip, just as a reward.

[Coffee Warlord]

The only "tip" required is the offer of buying that person a beer/drink with said winnings. Thousand bucks, yeah I'll buy organizer a round.

And moron just lost that honor by acting like an asshat.