We touched a little on this subject the other day when Executive Producer Conrad Green talked about the dip in TV ratings and changing up Dancing With The Stars. Now the NY Post is reporting that producers are “talking” about only doing one show a year which would take place in the Spring. Though, the key word here is “TALKING”. This is not a done deal yet and I hope it’s not because, no matter what nay sayers and the media keep reporting with sensationalized headlining, etc., remember (as we have stressed to you over and over), Dancing With The Stars is still a Top 10 rated tv show. Also, all tv shows are down in numbers as Heidi has reported for several seasons now. Also note, that according to TV By The Numbers, the Dancing With The Stars All Stars was “Monday’s Most-Watched TV Program for 7 straight weeks in a row”. See,…it’s not all gloomy and doomy as many might think. Though that doesn’t mean there aren’t some changes needed….but, in my opinion, cutting the show to only one season a year isn’t the answer….not yet, anyway. Why not get to the root of the issues instead like crazy storyboarding, axing theme weeks, improving judging, etc.? It might help to get bigger names to sing and perform on the results shows too? Look for Heidi’s thoughts below as well….
ABC may be passing on the paso doble for a while.
“Dancing With the Stars” is talking about airing just once each year, in the spring, a production source tells The Post.
“They have to figure something out,” the insider says. “Maybe change the judges. The show needs a total makeover.”
After 15 editions since 2005, the once-top-rated talent show took a beating in the ratings during its “All-Star” season, which ended last month.
The finale drew 16.7 million viewers — a huge audience by most TV standards, but down almost three million from a year ago.
Total viewership for the past season was off by 20 percent.
Bringing back past champs Shawn Johnson, Emmitt Smith, Drew Lachey and the like seemed like “a great idea,” Disney CFO Jay Rasulo admitted this week at a financial conference in New York.
“Turns out people didn’t want to see people who could dance. They wanted people who couldn’t dance,” Rasulo said.
”We haven’t made a decision about fall yet,” an ABC spokeswoman said last night, “but we have no indication that it won’t be on the schedule.
You can read more at the NY Post.
Heidi: Answer me this…how is it that The Amazing Race and Survivor BOTH have two seasons a year (and are possibly more expensive to produce) and have the same or lower ratings than DWTS?? Both shows do about the same in the key demo as DWTS and they are about ten spots BELOW DWTS in total viewers?? For that matter, there are scripted dramas which are MUCH more expensive to produce that aren’t doing as well in total viewers OR the Key demo (namely Hawaii 5-0) – they’re doing 24 episodes a season; four more than DWTS does in a year. Frankly, I think it’s possible that some media (including other websites) read things around the internet and start to internalize it as fact. Then get hysterical. If DWTS goes to one season a year, it will be because the producers choose to as a means of creating more excitement for the show when it IS on. But I don’t see that happening just yet. I could be wrong. But, by all means – make some changes. Like, in terms of editing and judging. And “stars”.
xxx
