This Year's Television Programming Screw Ups

Robert Bianco lists in USA Today the top ten network television blunders for the year. Among the "winners" are Fox's attempt to make porn wholesome with "skin," NBC's transition of "West Wing" to a soap opera, ABC's very dumb "Tarzan" and NBC's running of Law and Order into the ground.

Agency Perception of Consumer's Media Preferences Out of Whack

According to a new study by MediaPost and InsightExpress, Madison Avenue does not have a firm grasp of consumer's media preferences and perceptions. Agency types, clinging to a dying model, believe network TV is the consumer's favorite when, in reality, it's cable TV. Radio ranked as favorite with 13.6 percent of consumers while agency personnel felt 2.6 percent of consumers would feel that way. Consumers also ranked the Internet as an important medium while agency types did not.

Tellingly, 43.8 percent of agency personnel said TV is best at exposing consumers to advertising while just 29.5 percent of consumers think that way. Madison Avenue is in need of a reality adjustment. The old media models are dying while consumers are on to the next thing.