Doesn't seem like a smart decision to debut his show in a month where no one watches TV.Simmons also mentioned on his podcast that nobody watches TV in July. No idea if that's based on any facts or any historical basis but he at least knew the ratings for this week, which I liked, especially the Bosh pieces, were going to be shit.
I guess. But if you're not ready and you come out with four stinkers in a row (and I'm not saying that his last four shows are stinkers, I saw the first one and was fascinated that someone could film another person staring at teleprompter on the ceiling reading to me) who's going to stick around for the fifth week or seventh week or eleventh week when things "get better"?Or is it? Get the kinks worked out and filter all the various internal and external feedback so tighten up the product while waiting for a larger audience to get back on their couches, at least for traditional-type HBO watchers.
Since he has a long term deal, I don't think he has to come out with a bang like other TV shows.
The Demo wasn't that horrendous even with the big drop this week (.14 to 0.09), HBO has renewed shows with worse.191,000 last night. Nobody is watching.
http://sportstvratings.com/ufc-fight-night-espy-countdown-show-sportscenter-top-cable-sports-tv-ratings-for-wednesday-july-13-2016/5470/
He said it was going to be one a week while the show is in the early stages.He's also significantly cut down on podcasts since the show started. Only 4 in the last month. It's understandable given the amount of time he probably has to dedicate to TV, but I far prefer podcasts to the show for a number of reasons.
I agree. The stuff they cut out has been more compelling than what they've aired.I've only watched the extra material from the Aaron Rodgers interview, but after listening to this podcast of odds and ends from all the other interviews it seems like they should hire a new editor, or at least extend the time limit of the show to 45 minutes.
Barkley's speed round was hilarious. And Ben Affleck's reflection on the early days of his career was lightyears better than his Deflategate rant.
is the podcast material the same as the extras posted on Youtube?Totally agree. I've been unimpressed with the show, but found almost all of the extra material more interesting than what was aired, particularly the Affleck segment.
The DNC and Mr. Robot probably cut into his numbers to some degree.LOL, down to 163,000 viewers last night.
The DNC and Mr. Robot probably cut into his numbers to some degree.
I agree. I rolled my eyes when I saw he talked about deflategate again but then I watched it and it was well done. I wish that was the only time his show touched on it because he's not good arguing about it for real.I actually thought the episode was pretty good last night.
8 million dollars. 163,000 viewers for 30 minutes a week.LOL, down to 163,000 viewers last night.
A good parallel for “Any Given Wednesday” is “Last Week Tonight.” Both shows face a similar challenge. They are on for a half hour, once a week. Every news story has been picked apart by the time it airs. Any timely joke has been made on Twitter. You have to take a different approach.
John Oliver does what the rest of the media doesn’t. He takes a comprehensive, mutlifaceted look at a specific topic. It’s funny and irreverent. But, it’s also considered and very well researched. He makes you laugh and does the defining TV work on whatever topic he’s tackling. He changes the conversation. Those pieces get shared on social media and in real life. He has a “steaming, profane Ben Affleck” video or better every week, without a celebrity.
The scripted segments are where “Any Given Wednesday” has potential. Those need to be much stronger. Topics must be fresh. Insight has to be novel and essential. The rest of the sports world has come to terms with Deflategate. Move on. “Baseball HOF sanctimony” and “James Dolan’s ineptitude” are well trodden. “Tim Duncan was good at basketball” isn’t going to set social media alight.
I'm sure HBO would claim that the ratings don't matter, per se, and that they signed him to bolster their original content lineup, appeal to Millenials, and sell HBO NOW subscriptions direct-to-consumer.8 million dollars. 163,000 viewers for 30 minutes a week.
Worst TV talent deal of all time. If there has ever been a worse ratio of dollars spent to viewers attracted I'd love to know what it is.
Great show, best yet. I'd have been ok with them swapping the amount of time they gave Jenner and the time they gave JJ and Lamorne Morris, but all 3 segments (Colon, too) were well done.Caitlyn Jenner tonight.
Hey, it's nothing that couldn't be fixed by having the golfers carry their own clubs!On Simmons' last podcast with House, it highlighted the worst of Simmons. Take an opinion, "The PGA golf tournament is awful, has no soul, because it's awful to me and therefore awful to everyone," and broadly generalize that it's a complete waste of time. I am not sure where he's coming from on that topic. The PGA is a great tourney. It's a weak hottake.
Otherwise, good podcast. It's stupid when he does this, tho. It's CHB-esque.
Well we did have more or less the same discussion in the PGA thread so it's not like a hot take out of thin air. At least to me, the PGA seems like the "least" important major (for no real rational reason as I think about it more) but YMMV.On Simmons' last podcast with House, it highlighted the worst of Simmons. Take an opinion, "The PGA golf tournament is awful, has no soul, because it's awful to me and therefore awful to everyone," and broadly generalize that it's a complete waste of time. I am not sure where he's coming from on that topic. The PGA is a great tourney. It's a weak hottake.
Otherwise, good podcast. It's stupid when he does this, tho. It's CHB-esque.
My God, he has been making this lame suggestion for at least a decade and somehow no one has managed to talk him out of it.Hey, it's nothing that couldn't be fixed by having the golfers carry their own clubs!
Hot takes get more views. The temptation to use them, even if it's just mixed in to an otherwise good podcast, is pretty big.On Simmons' last podcast with House, it highlighted the worst of Simmons. Take an opinion, "The PGA golf tournament is awful, has no soul, because it's awful to me and therefore awful to everyone," and broadly generalize that it's a complete waste of time. I am not sure where he's coming from on that topic. The PGA is a great tourney. It's a weak hottake.
Otherwise, good podcast. It's stupid when he does this, tho. It's CHB-esque.
And that discussion was ridiculous, too. The PGA in the last few years had Keegan Bradley winning after splashing a ball late in the round. It had the amazing Dustin Johnson grounding club debacle at Whistling. A couple of Rory wins. Obviously, the tourney where YE Yang, in the final round, ground down Tiger before his SUV accident. And Jason Day's first major win last year and JW's win this year.Well we did have more or less the same discussion in the PGA thread so it's not like a hot take out of thin air. At least to me, the PGA seems like the "least" important major (for no real rational reason as I think about it more) but YMMV.
You're not arguing the same thing as me. I didn't say it's been boring, just that it feels less important.And that discussion was ridiculous, too. The PGA in the last few years had Keegan Bradley winning after splashing a ball late in the round. It had the amazing Dustin Johnson grounding club debacle at Whistling. A couple of Rory wins. Obviously, the tourney where YE Yang, in the final round, ground down Tiger before his SUV accident. And Jason Day's first major win last year and JW's win this year.
It's a great tourney and it doesn't need to be fixed and it's nothing like the Australian Open, which has its own issues mainly due to time zones.
Shouldn't having his own show on HBO raise his visibility?He's doing once a week due to the TV show. I'm sure that has something to do with it.
True. And most of his guests were his dad, House and Bananas.It probably hasn't helped him that he went 5-6 weeks without doing many podcasts because he was ramping up for his TV show.
I would suspect he'd probably rather have the better guests on his show than on his podcast for now, while trying to build up the brand for his show.True. And most of his guests were his dad, House and Bananas.
I thought his new gig would give him access to better guests on the podcast. So far, it's been the same or worse.
What would probably be a best of both worlds scenario is sitting down with his guest for an hour on camera, edit it down to the best 15-20 minutes for the show, then put the whole interview up as a podcast the day or week after the episode airs.I would suspect he'd probably rather have the better guests on his show than on his podcast for now, while trying to build up the brand for his show.
It's a shame because I much prefer him in podcasts form.