2021 was not a good year for the TV news people, nor because of the Corona.
It brought with it negative ratings and ratings, endless editions that angered viewers, and also an unflattering blur between the new worlds and entertainment.
It ends with the news that the editions will soon be cut, a message that means great economic losses to the arc and the network.
In November, the average rating of the main edition of News 12 was only 14.5 percent - the lowest in 20 years (and still almost double that of News 13, which stands at 7.6 percent).
October averaged 14.7 percent, as in June.
But while in the summer months it was possible to hang on to the excuse that "viewers go out" - it turns out that even in winter they are not in a hurry to gather around the tribe generation, and the data should be of great concern to the news people.
Prof. Akiva Cohen from the Department of Communication at Tel Aviv University notes two reasons for the low viewing rate.
"The first is a huge variety of alternatives; and the second - that the news today is a bit discouraging and burdensome, and people are tired of reporting on the corona. Hearing sometimes half an hour in the evening about the corona, with statistics, is tedious, and I guess there are people who just said enough, do not want to hear and do not want to watch ".
Yonit Levy, News 12, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Despite Keshet and Reshet's fierce opposition (with an emphasis on Keshet), the second authority, by a majority of six council members against two opponents, ruled that they should shorten the news editions.
In about two and a half weeks, the end of the edition will be brought forward to 21:15, and in the second phase, from April 1, it will end at 21:00.
Meaning: more content for viewers at a cost of millions of shekels, which both channels will have to invest.
The decision was made following a survey commissioned by the authority, the results of which were not flattering.
Among other things, it was found that there is a mismatch between the headline bombast and the content of the article, the use of manipulations (especially in News 12) to keep viewers, but in practice they produce disappointment, and "inflating" that produces a state of emotional stress.
Those who were still happy about the decision, no less than the viewers, are the employees of the news companies. "Maybe we'll have more time to work on stories, instead of going from program to program all day and getting to the evening edition with the tongue out," one reporter recounted. "If viewers at home are happy with the half hour they've cut in the release, think about what it's like for us to work on half an hour of content, and what a relief it will be when it goes down."
Another phenomenon that is not flattering to the news people is the blurring between the news people and the entertainment worlds, which has reached new heights this year. Prof. Itamar Grotto, who was one of the most prominent interviewees in the news editions when he served as Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Health, became the pea of "The Singer in a Mask"; his colleague, Prof. Idit Matot of Ichilov, will soon Starring as an actress in the series "The Ugly Duckling", Dana Weiss replaced Eyal Berkovich with Ofira Asaig, Danny Kushmero's extreme articles became a logical part of the line-up, and the big question that bothers the gossip columns is what happens between the news crook, Adva Dadon, and Yehuda Levi.
"I'm not in favor of mixing the worlds, but it's already a matter of taste," says Prof. Cohen.
What is more problematic is the phenomenon of "infotainment" (a combination of information and entertainment; A.S.), a common phenomenon that is expressed in two forms: one - non-serious issues that are included in the line-up of the news, because in an hour and a half edition things are also included of this type;
And the second - a serious event that is presented in a light and entertaining way, while news is a serious thing. "
Udi Segal and Tamar Ish-Shalom, News 13, Photo: Ronen Ackerman
• • •
2021 did not do well either with the hardcore reality shows - "Big Brother" and "Survival", both of the network.
Try to remember who won the last season of "Big Brother" and it will take you a few minutes.
By the way, last season was one of the worst and most boring in the history of the program, and the winner was former Knesset member Oren Hazan.
Titi Ainao and Jacko Eisenberg, "Big Brother,"
"Survival" also dropped in level compared to the previous season, which was particularly successful, starring Asi Bouzaglo, Israel Oglebo, Jordan Jerby and Idan Habib.
The season currently airing is significantly less good, and recently recorded a negative record of 9.7 percent.
The network will have to think about how to pick up the next seasons of the programs, which are also supposed to control the channel's prime time in 2022.
"Beyond the fact that these are two programs of a network, which in advance suffers from landings in front of Keshet, it can be said that there are other reasons for the decline in viewing," says Prof. Moti Niger of the School of Communication at Bar-Ilan University.
"Obviously it's hard to innovate in such old formats, even if the producers do a lot to turn the international formats into Israeli programs. One of the salient elements in trying to innovate is choosing VIP seasons with stars, but it seems the audience is fed up with the same characters over and over again."
"The truth must be told - 'Big Brother' has been less good since it went online, and the trend is declining," adds a source.
"Too many episodes, too many broadcasts, too many twists to ensure a promo that will shake the house. Wow, you don't always have to shake the house, not by force."
Indeed, the oppressive phenomenon on television in the past year has been the spreading of episodes - a phenomenon that began in the first days of closure and reached new heights in the past year, at the expense of viewers at home and the erosion of brands.
If in the past a reality show would have lasted 18-12 episodes, today the average of one season stands at 35 episodes, not including an infinity of audition episodes.
"The instruction on the Internet in the last two years is that the cost of a chapter will not exceed NIS 600,000, no matter what the format," says a senior company official.
"In the past, the episodes of 'Survival' or 'The Race for a Million' were used for a million shekels per episode. To meet the budget, episodes are added, and the price is in the content.
"When a program costs less, it pays to broadcast it at a lower rating. As long as survival is 13 percent, a network still wins on every broadcast and does not lose, and that's the guideline there - as many episodes as possible for as little money as possible, no matter what content we produce. Sinned in this thing with Ninja Israel, and the previous season was full of episodes; they paid a lot of ratings. Only their lead and numbers are more important. Some Arabs are willing to lose money to wake up in the morning with lead in numbers. This is something the network will not do today.
"Once upon a time, Survival was two episodes a week - the first episode was a climax of who the tribe would go to the council, and the second episode was a washout. Today you have four episodes a week, with the first three episodes barely urgent to watch in real time "A separate episode, so long and stretchy, that it looks almost like a talk show. People fiddle and come back at the end of the episode just to see who was fired."
Last season it worked.
"There was someone who came up with the ingenious idea for Survival Week. Why ingenious? Because of the lengthy news and the paucity of commercials sold at the time, the episodes of Prime Time became 45 minutes. They took the series and split it into four or five 45-minute episodes a week. Stuck in the house, everyone was a captive crowd.On the other hand, Keshet failed to bring in proper competition, and to this day it is a traumatic period there.Keshet arrived unprepared for the plague battle, and this strengthened the survival.
"Last season was good, the cast was strong, but smelling it smelling, and the editing - far from being tight. Still, it worked. While Rainbow prepared for the second wave of the Corona with all their brands, the network decided it was its winning horse. The arguments then were '. When there is good competition, a 'winning network', and 'survival is the strongest brand', and so they went for another season.
"But Keshet licked the wounds and armed herself well, and the new season of Survival was set in front of real competition. Viewers were no longer imprisoned at home and refused to accept anything. "They understood that what people agreed to absorb in the first season of the show, during the closure period (exposure in every two episodes and an episode with only three songs), they would not receive on normal days."
Michael Lewis, Survival, Photo: Ohad Keb
Prof. Niger adds: "Reality like 'The Singer in the Mask' is carried on the wings of the powerful rainbow, and beyond that, it has a kind of novelty and carnival, which is not present in the old reality shows. The real heroes of the show Of a song and disappear.
"Maybe the solution is to go back a bit to anonymous heroes, who become swans on our screen. That magic of reality always works."
• • •
Those who can be pleased this year, apart from the creators of "Tehran" and a corporation here, who won the International Emmy Award, are the producers of "The Singer in a Mask," the 2021-watched television program, averaging 20.6 percent and a 27.5 percent viewing final last Saturday.
Rainbow, on the other hand, will have to work hard to restore viewers' trust in "Wedding at First Sight."
The fourth season of the matchmaking program recorded a negative record of 18.1 percent this year, compared to 22.1 percent last season, due to two main problems: its spread over 31 episodes, a record number (compared to 27 episodes last season and 11 in the first season);
And the fact that none of the couples survived in reality.
"I'm lucky that in the middle of the season was Nir and Hagar's wedding from the previous season, but some can already be carried on the steam of one wedding," says an industry executive.
"On the other hand, anyone who thinks they're coming to match you and do good to the world, does not understand television."
This season, like its predecessors, has been criticized for the lack of diversity in the participants.
It took quite a while to internalize the review, but next season of the show you will see a gay couple on screen.
Yael and Danny, "A Wedding at First Sight", Photo: Oded Karni
"It has to be said that the comparison between 'The Singer in the Mask' and shows like 'Big Brother,' 'Survival,' and 'Wedding' is not fair at its core. In 'The Singer in the Mask' each episode stands on its own, and does not need any prior information to enjoy it.
"On top of that, 'The Singer in a Mask' has a catharsis at the end of almost every episode - there is exposure. It makes it something that must be consumed live, so you won't be ruined tomorrow at the office fountain. And it worked great."
erans@israelhayom.co.il
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