Reality's real deal
Survey sez: Despite misfires, genre hangs on
In 2001, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" ranked among the top 10 shows in 17 of the 70 territories surveyed by Paris-based research outfit EuroData, up from 14 the previous year. "Big Brother" was in the top 10 in 11 territories, up from five in 2000.
Stats suggest that such shows can suffer rapid burnout, however.
The first series of "Temptation Island" scored higher than channels' average-audience shares in the U.S., Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, the U.K. and Norway, but it flopped in Germany. The second series bombed on Fox in the U.S., with a share way below average.
Keeping things light
Driven by reality shows, entertainment took up 33% of TV schedule time on nets around the world, up from 30% in 2000. Fiction was down from 44% to 42%, but still the most popular program type.
Local shows continue to strengthen their grip on skeds, repping 71% of programming compared with 67% in 2000. U.S. programming dipped from 10% to 9%.
The events of 9/11 boosted news channel auds, but the effect is waning.
The U.K.'s Sky News saw its market share rocket from 0.4% in August 2001 to 1.7% in September. It has now slipped back to 0.6%.
Newscasts on 9/11 only rated as the most-watched programs of the year in Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and German-speaking Switzerland.
