Tag: Media Consumption

NFL Games Remain Popular on American Televisions

On By johnwilson21In Nielsen, Sports, TelevisionLeave a comment
AP

Thanksgiving Day is well-known for two things in America, and they are eating and football. The NFL hosts three games each year on Thanksgiving, with the Dallas Cowboys being one of the teams who plays each year on the holiday. This year they hosted the Las Vegas Raiders, which turned out to be the most-watched regular season game since 1990. It was estimated that there were 38.5 million viewers tuned in for the big game, which is mightily impressive. Some factors that likely went into this large number are that the Cowboys are historically the league’s most watched team, as well as the Raiders also being a popular team, historically. Also, the game was highly competitive, as it was a narrow matchup and also went into overtime.

            This story interests me because as a football fan, this was definitely an interesting matchup that I was excited for, but I was not aware of the amount of people that also thought it was an interesting matchup. There have been bigger games with interesting matchups in the past 31 years, but they were not able to draw in the same number of viewers. The face that it was Thanksgiving could have played a role because even people who are not interested in football may watch the games on Thanksgiving as part of the holiday tradition. While many people often ridicule the league for many of the things they do and even threaten to stop watching games, the league remains powerful and dominant across televisions in America.

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How We Got Here: The Media’s Role in the Coronavirus

On By lilybarnabyIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
Source: NBC News

“The next week is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment. It’s going to be our 9/11 moment. It’s going to be the hardest moment for many Americans in their entire lives.” We have likely all heard this quote by now, said by Surgeon General Jerome Adams in the airing of “Meet the Press”. Adams along with many other government officials have asked the American people to brace for our toughest week yet as we all attempt to flatten the infamous curve.

The media plays an interesting role within this all as all advances and good news are met with more warnings and increased cases. The article cites that the press’s role within this all is vital, “to hold the powerful to account, while being sure to produce the most reliable information based on facts and science”.

One of the major issues cited through the media was the denial and lack of forthcomingness about the Coronavirus in the United States. It took the Trump administration 70 days to acknowledge that the Coronavirus was more than a distant threat. The Daily Show’s clip showing major on and off air commentators downplaying and dismissing the virus and the need for people to take action to stop its spread. As an example, Tomi Lahren of FOX joked that “she would be more concerned stepping on a heroin needle than getting the coronavirus”. The blind trust that many people place on the opinions in media creates a major issue.

These missteps have opened up an examination of the media and the role it has to play in relating fully and truly. There is also an opportunity for different news platforms to step up to be a consistent source of unbiased, honest, and evidence based information during a time of so much uncertainty.

Article Link: https://www.poynter.org/newsletters/2020/as-the-u-s-prepares-for-its-hardest-moment-a-look-at-how-we-got-here-and-the-medias-role-in-the-coronavirus-pandemic/

’Stranger Things’ have helped Netflix stay on top

On By Chris ColeIn Netflix, StreamingLeave a comment

As the competition for streaming platforms continues to grow, Netflix is having to defend its popularity amount audiences. According to the New York Times, Netflix loss 126,000 domestic subscribers earlier this year. However, Netflix was able to get those subscribers back according to the article. Author Edmund Lee explained, ”The third-quarter results benefited from Netflix’s best-known series, ’Stranger Things, ’ which introduced its hugely anticipated third season over the Fourth of July weekend. The series drew 64 million households in the first four weeks it was available, the company said.”

This was a big comeback for the company and not only helped them draw in more viewers but helped line Netflix’s pockets. Netflix’s stock jumped more than 8% in after-hours trading last week. In addition, the company also reported a large jump in profit from $665 million to $5.2 billion in revenue. This rise in profit follows the addition of 6.8 million new customers this quarter, with 520,000 of them in the United States. Netflix has big plans and big movies to help them beat the soon-to-come streaming platform competitors, Disney and Apple. Both of which plan to release their streaming platforms in November. As of now, Netflix is the nation’s largest digital television network, with over 158 million customers around the world, including 60 million in the United States.