Missing: 2.5 Million TV Viewers

Conan O’Brien, host of the acclaimed Late Night with Conan O'Brien with shows like The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live on his resume, is a man who knows a thing or two about television. A year or so ago, in an interview with Charlie Rose, he said that he felt we were now living in TV’s Golden Age. The writing was better than it had ever been, the production values were excellent and the acting superb (special mention: Hugh Laurie as Dr. House). And yet, recent estimates suggest that TV viewership in America is down by more than 2.5 million this year compared to last. What happened?

Is it a lifestyle change? Is it the effect of TiVo? Is the brilliant writing too brilliant (the old “The viewer is an idiot and this here edjikated stuff ain’t gonna work” argument)? Are concerned parents restricting their kids’ access to TV (I shake my fist at thee, Janet Jackson!)? Is American Idol the last big hurrah before the Apocalypse? Are people so befuddled by the springing forward of Spring Forward that they’re all standing outside their homes in the unexpectedly early extra hour of daylight like bears outside their caves in spring?

These are all questions that have been asked and obsessed over, especially as this news comes slap bang in the middle of sweeps’ month – kicking networks right where it hurts the most—their bank account.

But as a person who spends a lot of time on the Internet, I’m surprised at the tiny number of people who’re looking at the effect of the Internet on these numbers. After all, an increasing number of people now choose to view the shows they want online instead of living their lives in thrall to the networks' time schedule.

The Internet has been striking terror into the hearts of execs everywhere. While people in other industries have had to deal with things like leaked emails, tell-all blogs, and hacking, the entertainment business – from books to movies to music to TV – has had an entirely different problem on its hands.

And that big problem is piracy.

Increasing bandwidth and faster connections make it devastatingly simple to download music, photos, documents, and movies from the Internet. Technically, this is stealing; you’re accessing the creative work of other people without actually paying for it, unless you live in Canada where copyright isn't breached till you make money off it. But the whole thing feels a lot more gray.

For instance, if I download a movie then I’m obviously not paying to watch it. But I do not profit from it either – I’m under no illusion that I own the movie or that I’m entitled to use any of it for commercial purposes, and while the average person could probably learn the basics of ripping/uploading media files in half an hour or less, most people will remain end-users.

Article Author: Amrita Rajan

Amrita Rajan keeps an eye on the world from NYC.

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