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where is the sign Who cares: the year when the ratings plunged to the depths | Israel today

2022-12-30T07:21:37.646Z


The competition with streaming services * Attrition in real-time viewing * In 2022, the ratings dropped on all channels and began to hurt reality and news as well * If they once achieved over 30% ratings, today they will say thank you for even half of that * Eran Suisa spoke with some of the top Israeli television industry leaders To understand what happened, and hear from them why the new phenomenon indicates more than anything else the disintegration of the Israeli tribal generation * Today everyone has their own little fire, and it is lit away from the commercial channels


News 12 would prefer to forget the morning of July 10, 2022.

It was the first time in 20 years that the previous evening's data showed that the national news edition achieved a single-digit rating figure - only 9.9%.

Keshet refused to accept the decree, fought for the tenth percent, appealed to the grading committee - but were rejected.

And if that's not enough, that evening the lowest gap was recorded between News 12 and News 13 since the Reshet-10 merger in January 2019 - only 1.6% separated them, after the "Reshet" edition achieved a relatively nice figure of 8.3%.

Why was this figure so difficult for the archer?

Perhaps because the last and only time until that day - according to the page of "Madrogit" on Twitter, indicated for those interested in the field - when News 12 brought a single-digit figure was on July 16, 2001. What happened then?

This was against the penultimate episode of the telenovela "Laghat B Usher" which was aired at the same time, and in any case there were justified claims about a problem in the measurement of the commercial channels that caused this low number.

This statistic is one of many that caused the Israeli television industry executives to see darkness in their eyes.

The year 2022 - even with the World Cup broadcasts, which brought imaginary figures of 30% and more to prime time games - will be recorded as a year in which television broadcasts lost yet again in the battle to erode their commercial and cultural power.

"survival".

Crashed in the last season and recorded negative ratings records of all time, photo: Or Danon

"It didn't happen in one day"

The person who has been following this phenomenon and researching it closely for many years is Dr. Yuval Karniel, a researcher of media and internet culture, a lecturer at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center. The former rector and vice president of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, and a lawyer specializing in media and internet law.

Karniel, why is this happening and what does it mean?

"In a broader view, it's a long and continuous process of the death of television. It's not a story that happened in one day. We've been talking about it for several years. It's a process that was predicted when the Internet was born and exploded, and it took a while for this to be felt in numbers. Television tried and gave a big fight to the Internet and social networks For a long time - but the truth is that in the new media reality that has been created, television, as we knew it, no longer has a place."

Why?

It has entertainment, there is news, there is reality!

"Yes, but sitting on the couch to watch a commercial is an almost ridiculous idea. We are not ready for this transaction of broadcasting and commercials. We want to watch series, we want to have a clean binge, without commercials. Nor are we interested in depending on programming or segmentation that someone on one of the channels has set us. And we also get our news and current events in other places."

The numbers, as we know, are subject to interpretation, and almost any bad figure can also be presented in a positive way.

And this is exactly what the broadcasters do in their year-end presentations.

But when you look deeper, the truth is revealed, and it is difficult: the average rating of Keshet in prime time in 2022 (January-November) was 12.8%.

For comparison, in 2019 (the last measurement year before the corona outbreak) the figure was 14.5%.

In total, this is a decrease of 12% and 1.7 rating points.

And the prime time of "Reshet" ends the year with an average of 8.3 compared to the 9.1 it achieved in 2019.

In total, a decrease of 9% and almost one rating point, and this happened, in part, because in these years new broadcasting platforms were created in Israel, offering more options, such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney.

"Television all over the world is eroding, but in Israel it is eroding much less, in most cases they depend on content. 2022 should be compared to 2019, and in this period of time, of three years, the decline was relatively slight," explains a senior official of one of the channels.

"This is a decline that, if you bring it to me in the next four years, I am signing it now. There is no country in the world that would not sign it. In the end, the test is the advertisers. If the advertisers continue to advertise, it means that they are satisfied with the value they receive in television advertising."

Why is erosion in Israel slower than in other countries?

"It is much easier for the Israeli audience to connect with Israeli characters and Israeli content, in the Hebrew language. These are cultural factors that protect us and help us erode at a lower rate. However, we also look outside, see where the entire world will be in ten years and understand that that is where we are going."

"2025".

A huge production that cost millions and failed, photo: Tal Givoni

A crisis in reality too

Seal or not, in 2022 six of the biggest formats in the most successful genre, the reality show, which previously brought in a lot of money, broke negative records.

Here we are already talking about rating monsters such as "Master Chef", "The Next Star", "Wedding at First Sight" and "Ninja Israel" by Keshet, and "Survival" and "Chef Games" by Reshet.

At Besket, for example, the new season of "Master Chef" was marketed to viewers at home as the "season of the decade" and in honor of that they also added Ruthie Brodo to the judging team.

So the tastes may have been festive, but the ratings were a little less.

The premiere episode of the program recorded a historical negative record with a figure of only 16.2%.

For comparison, the highest figure for a launch episode of the season on Channel 2 is 37.4% (Season 4, 2014), and the highest figure for an opening episode on Channel 12 is 29.3% (Season 7, 2017), which is 13 points more than the last launch.


These opening figures were only a hint of the dessert, which was bitter: the final episode of the show ended with 17% and earned the title of "the lowest finale in the history of the show".

Just for comparison (and it is important to remember that the competition was significantly easier at that time), the highest final of the format on channel 2 achieved a psychic figure of 46.6% (season 3, year 2012) and the highest figure for the final of the format on channel 12 achieved 26.7% (season 8, 2019) - which are about ten points more than the last final.

Still in the kitchen - Network's "Chef Games" opened with an 11.8% launch and finished with an average of 9.9% for the season.

These negative records also continued to be recorded in the music reality show "The Next Star", which opened the season with a record figure for the format on Channel 12, of 21.5%, and ended the season with an average of only 16.6% - an all-time negative record.

For comparison, the strongest season of the format on channel 22 averaged 33.7% (season 1, 2013), and the strongest season on channel 12 averaged 20.2% (season 3, 2019).

The final program, which in the past no one dreamed of missing and the whole country was concerned with the song that the finalists would perform in the final, was satisfied with a negative record of 20.1% - exactly half of what the final episode achieved in the first season of the format, and how lucky that the winner Eliav was there.

"Hatunami" did end the season with a real wedding, but a negative record of only 18% compared to the 18.7% it achieved in 2019 and 22.8% in 2018 - a drop of about five points in five years.

And bad news in the "Ninja" segment as well, which returned to the screen this year in less good shape and settled for a negative average of only 18.1%, compared to 20.9% in 2019.

And it doesn't just happen in Keshet.

In its first season on Channel 10, "Survival" made history and for the first time overtook the invincible Channel 22.

The excellent season, starring Naama Kesari, Noam Tor and Dan Meno, changed the rules of the game and set a new standard for the reality genre in Israel.

Too many tribal councils have passed since those days, and in its last season the network's "Survival" crashed and suffered negative all-time highs: launched with only 20%, continued with a seasonal average of 13.2% and reached the finals with only 17.2%.

Karniel, why is reality too weak?

"The reality shows were the engine that remained, but it also got tired. The reality shows that we broadcast are based on old formats, which give them artificial life. How many times can you watch the same dishes of 'Master Chef', the same social dynamics in 'Survival' and the singers of 'The Next Star' '? There is material fatigue here, and the question is how long can one sit and watch the same thing? After all, how stupid is the audience? These are the same celebrities, the same characters and the same situations. It's almost a shame to go back and broadcast the same content that was broadcast 15 years ago. It's embarrassing for the channels, but it has nothing to do with At the moment there is a replacement because the entire medium is in decline."


On the other hand, the World Cup managed to seat people in front of the screen.

"When there is a significant sporting event like the World Cup, whose entire essence is in the live broadcast, then the interest in television is renewed. But you have to remember that it only concerns sporting events and large and important events, and even this, in the end, is a niche. Broadcast channels, as we know, have no lifespan. The series are going to the other platforms and the nature of viewing has changed. In my opinion, this is not yet the bottom, but only the beginning of the dive, because the new and really interesting phenomenon is that young people do not watch TV."

"Big Brother".

An industry executive: "We have reached a situation where if you get 15-14% ratings, you feel good", photo: from "The Big Brother"

Longing for the failure of "2025"

"We had several warning signs along the way. 'MasterChef' and 'The Next Star' were like that," explains an executive at one of the channels.

"It didn't work because they repeated an overly familiar formula. And add to that the success of 'Big Brother' on the network, which exposed the failures of 'MasterChef' and 'Kohav Nold.' They don't repeat themselves. And you can't ignore the very fruitful discourse that 'Big Brother' and 'Hunmy' generate in the written media and on the networks. It's a huge force. If we're not good, we'll reach the abyss, but that doesn't mean we won't keep trying."

They do try, but it doesn't always work.

In the past year, two new original formats appeared: "The Next Restaurant" on the network and "The Group" on Bequest.

These are two programs in which tens of millions of shekels were invested, and both failed and will not return for additional seasons.

The "next restaurant" final finished the season with only 9.4%, and the "group" final with only 5.7%.

Just for the sake of comparison, in 2019, Bequest aired the original format, "2025", which was considered a failure and did not return for a second season, achieving an average of 14.3% and a final of 15.2% - data that today would be considered a success.

"These failures cannot be attributed only to the erosion of television, but to the fact that the formats were bad. That is, even if they had gone up a decade ago, most likely they would not have been successful," says a senior content woman.

"On the other hand, when this attrition exists and the numbers are already low, and you have more variety and options out there, the failure numbers are very low. Who would have imagined years ago that the application was finalized with 5% for a program that cost them millions? This is an unimaginable figure."

"You have to remember that even these low figures are not completely real," adds Dr. Karniel. "The television is on at home because it's part of our habit in the Israeli home, but that doesn't mean we watch it.

Sometimes we sit somewhere else, or are busy on our phones."

How much does channel 14 or here 11 affect the numbers of the major channels?

"These are two niches that have their place: 14 is a right-wing channel, and it is requested that we have a local 'Fox News,' but it is still a niche. It is not a channel that can reach high ratings and it is having difficulty sustaining itself financially. Here 11, which is funded by the state, Correct practice in that it turns to digital and does not see itself only as a broadcast channel for direct viewing. It operates successfully and creates content that also has an international market. But this is public broadcasting whose economic model is financing. To a certain extent, this is probably the future of television."


While a senior content person adds: "It can be said that the 'Kan' award was made in two ways: they gave a lot of weight to delayed viewing and digital viewing, and the numbers are on the rise. In series like 'The Commander', 'Carthage' and the children's content, they are counted in the hundreds of thousands. The understanding of "Here" in recent years is that most of the public watches good content when it's convenient, and the realization that the world is going in this direction has helped the corporation a lot. The real-time viewing on a device located in the living room is reserved for mandatory viewing like the World Cup games. The corporation also used the success of the World Cup to promote other strategic properties such as the news And the winter schedule. When the corporation also realized that streaming is the next thing, they launched 'Kan Box', which reached hundreds of thousands of homes within a month."

The multitude of platforms and the low ratings eliminate the "tribal bonfire".

It won't come back?


"No, the ratings will continue to decrease. Television is no longer seen as the tribal fire that has the power to reach many. This happens less and less. More people were exposed to a photograph of Ronaldo and Messi playing chess in a Louis Vuitton campaign on social networks than saw them on television."

She finished with a weak answer.

"The group", photo: Eran Levy

"Numbers we didn't know before"

"Once in a while all the stars line up and something explodes, and then you manage to recreate the feeling of the tribal campfire," a senior editor at a broadcasting organization tells us, "that's what happened in the last season of 'Big Brother,' which was excellent. Everyone was talking about her. She beat Keshet on most evenings, was very successful on social media, managed to create a sense of event and a feeling that even if you are not one of the show's regular viewers, you must come to see what everyone is talking about. And despite everything, still, when you look at the numbers, they are not in the sky. Today we have reached a situation where if you Bringing in 15-14%, you feel good, and if you're approaching 20% ​​- you're in heaven. These are numbers that the industry didn't know before."

Despite the low numbers, the competition and the great challenge, there are also bright spots and room for optimism: Keshet's most stable program is "Wonderful Land", which also in its 20th season achieved 21.8% - a higher figure than the launches of previous seasons of the program.

The most watched program in the last year was "Dancing with the Stars", which apparently managed to generate nostalgia.

It launched with 24.4%, achieved a high average of 21% and a final episode with 24.2%.

The most watched program on the network was "Big Brother" with an average of 17.4%, and many victories on Keshet.

So reality is the last hope?

"Reality and television have been eulogized for a decade," a veteran television person tells us, "but the older audience still comes out of habit to the news channels at eight o'clock in the evening. It is true that there is a problem with the younger audience, but the bottom line is that people are still looking for content. The platform is changing, but The content is still in demand. What's happening right now? Multiple platforms, multiple channels, and fewer rating points for everything. But television is still profitable and still influential."

Did it also make the news?

indeed?

The viewing figures for the news broadcasts tell a different story.

For example, Keshet's news release ends the year (January-November) with an average of only 13.1% (higher than prime time), compared to 14.4% it achieved in 2019, 15.7% in 2020 (which was the year of Corona) and 14.5% in - 2021.

The network's news edition ends the year with a very low figure of only 6.5%, compared to 7.9% in 2019, 8.8% in 2020 (corona year) and 7.2% in 2021.

This is a very difficult year for network news, so much so that sometimes it seems that it is competing with News Here and not with News 12. Indeed, the only ones that have maintained stability are News Here 11, which ends the year with an average of 3.7% and an increase of one tenth of a percent from 2019.

Could it be that the TV has also lost the news?

"Yes, because in the end people don't get the news from television, but from the Internet, on WhatsApp, or through the websites they are connected to. Television is no longer a source of news, and this thing is also naturally declining. Sometimes I am surprised that there is still an audience that sits at eight o'clock in the evening and watches in editions. They are almost ridiculous, do not innovate anything and bombard us with marketing content and entertainment articles. It is stupid to watch TV today - and people feel it, so the data speaks for itself," says Dr. Karniel.

A senior television woman adds: "The weakening that is evident all over the world also reaches the news. And not only to the main edition, but also to the preliminary programs."

And yet, channels 12 and 13 became news channels throughout the day.

"Because the news to a certain extent saves television, but it also loses power and meaning. In Israeli society, when there is a dramatic event such as terrorist attacks or elections, people still stick to television. News broadcasts are endless also because they are the cheapest broadcasts. It is still the engine that enables the existence of these channels, which became news and reality channels".

What were the figures for the World Cup, and what is expected in 2023?

"Even the World Cup final brought a rating of 35.5%. The semi-final between Morocco and France brought 32.9%, and the semi-final between Argentina and Croatia - 32.8%. These are wonderful but rare numbers, and it seems that commercial television in Israel will continue to bombard us with new programs, which will also accompany us in the first quarter of 2023 , and face the burnout again."

Indeed, demand has already increased with the new season of "The Masked Singer" (launch of 18.2%, compared to 26.4% who watched the premiere episode in the first season in 2020), and "Ninja" will return in the new season with duels as well as faces, or by chance This is muscles, new and younger, without Shamla, Gil Marantz and the other veteran contestants.

Using these two, they will try to bury "Survival", which opened with a launch of 15.2% and whose last season was the worst in terms of ratings and lost to Keshet in the first three programs broadcast so far, with a negative record of only 10.8%.

The network, for their part, worked on a new season without Jackie's screams, much more family, funny and even romantic, with a photogenic love story that takes place in front of the cameras.

Later this year, a request will also broadcast a new season of "Dancing with the Stars", which will push aside the new season of "The Next Star", whose last season failed and will probably only air next year.

Recorded a negative rating record.

"The next star";, photo: Koko

Tough competition in extreme

A head-to-head is expected in the extreme reality segment: "The Race for a Million", which will be broadcast for the first time on Beshecht, and "Peking Express" on the network, another extreme reality show in couples, which should be more challenging but less well known in Israel.

"This is the first time that the arc has a hardcore reality show since 'Big Brother' was taken away from them. They hope that what happened to them with 'Dancing with the Stars' will happen to them with 'The Race'," explains a television editor.

"They hope that they will be able to dust it off, refresh it with some new twists, and along the way also try to cause the failure of 'Peking Express' on the network and make it look like their imitation."

What will happen to television next year?

Dr. Karniel: "The channels are cutting productions, and the ratings will decrease accordingly.

There will be increasing commercialization, and the marketing content will increase, as is already happening today in some places.

The public feels that most of the content presented to them is manipulative and commercial."

A senior editor at one of the channels concludes: "In my estimation, the ratings will continue to decrease and the competition will become more difficult, and soon we will feel the death of the channels. In other words, people will devote their viewing hours to the programs they are interested in watching on a point-by-point basis, and not by channel. Bekashet is already thinking about the day after and working on Free TV - a streaming platform that will compete with Netflix, Disney and Apple, and they are producing 'Love Island', which will be a reality show for singles and single women between the ages of 20 and 30. They are expected to compete with 'Big Brother' on two platforms: both through Channel 12 and on Free- T.V. What's for sure - television will have a very difficult time reproducing in 2023 the moments of excitement and exaltation that Messi created for us in the World Cup."

erans@israelhayom.co.il

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