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My Letter to Mr. Reilly

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My Letter to Mr. Reilly
Oct 17 2008, 2:36 AM EDT | Post edited: Oct 17 2008, 2:36 AM EDT
I've just finished a letter to send to FOX. One copy will be adressed to Kevin Reilly, another to the adress on FOX.com, and another in the form of an e-mail to Fox.com. I'll write another to the presidents of WB and Halcyon. Here is what I've written (split into two posts). Please tell me what you think before I mail them.
Dear Mr. Reilly;


My name is Levi M. Robischon, I am a twenty-two year old male living in Lacey, Washington. I write this letter to you over concerns regarding Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I understand that while you and other members of the FOX network are allegedly impressed with the show, it has shown disappointing ratings. Lately, word has begun swirling that these low numbers could threaten TSCC's future, which compelled me to write this letter.

My first motivation for sending you this letter is to let you know that my family and I (two parents between the ages of fifty and sixty, and a younger brother age eighteen) are fans of Terminator and watch it every Monday. My second motivation is to point out the fact that while the Nielson ratings may be disappointing (which seems to be the case for everyone in these troubling times), the downloads and the DVR numbers are consistently good. Also, please bear in mind that the show is competing with Monday Night Football for the demographic, and if you give it a chance to air it either on another night or simply after the season is over then those numbers should rise significantly.

Which brings me to the Nielson ratings in and of themselves, they are simply an ineffective way of determining viewership. They only account for a fraction of actual viewership, and they don't tell how many people are watching specific programs, only how many are watching as they air.
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1. RE: My Letter to Mr. Reilly
Oct 17 2008, 2:40 AM EDT | Post edited: Oct 17 2008, 2:40 AM EDT

DVR on the other hand includes a much higher portion of the primetime audience as more people own DVR devices than Nielson devices. DVR allows people to watch the programs they want to watch on their own time instead of working with the primetime schedule. Think of it this way, Fox currently dominates DVR with all of the top five shows, Terminator being among them.

Also, the numbers for online viewership must also be taken into account. The viewership numbers for both Hulu and the Fox website have not been released, but I'm willing to bet that TSCC is in the top five most watched shows. Streaming viewership is the way of the future, as it allows flexibility for viewers and it provides better advertising as people are more likely to remember one thirty-second ad every five to ten minutes than if they were watching multiple ads in five to ten increments.

My final argument is in regards to downloads. Again, Terminator has a respectable place in the online downloads in iTunes and Amazon.com. It's also the fourth most torrented show, and while that may be of concern, keep in mind that most of those downloads are from people outside the States who cannot watch it on television or access it on streaming websites. This indicates that there is already a devoted following not just here but abroad and I predict that Terminator will have steady viewership once it airs in countries like England.

In conclusion, I hope you take this letter of appeal to consideration when making a decision on the fate of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. It is a very entertaining, well-written, and often thought-provoking show of a caliber not often seen in this day and age. It is my hope that your network give us the chance to continue to enjoy the imaginative writing of Josh Friedman's work and talented actors that make up the phenomenon that is Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

-Levi M. Robischon
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