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SNL bits now more popular off-TV than on

Posted by Don Day on October 13, 2008

Back in the 1990s, SNL was must-see TV, especially for those who might not have had something better to do on a Saturday night. Now? What’s the point? You’re just going to see the best parts viraly anyway. Whether it’s a clip on cable news, a link to Hulu or something you found on YouTube, the show arguably has its greatest impact in 30 plus years – but who actually watches live on their local NBC affiliate any more? Now a measurement firm has data to back up that idea – saying Tina Fey-as-Sarah Palin had twice as much exposure on other avenues then it did on SNL itself.

We’re a long way from D— In A Box being removed from the Internet, aren’t we?

Update: SNL to get their own video website (via Mashable)

  • Rocker

    This is a real watershed. I wonder how effectively these Tina Fey clips are being monetized by NBC?

    I disagree though that the live broadcast and online/on-demand are mutually exclusive options.

  • http://lostremote.com Liz

    I’m one of the people who watches SNL clips on Hulu. In fact, hubby and I watched SNL clips together last night before bed, laptop perched on the ottoman.

    Hulu isn’t doing a good job monetizing these clips. I saw some Ad Council PSA’s but that was it.

    Oh, and Hulu’s streams were having quite a bit of trouble last night. I kept clicking to other sites to make sure that our RoadRunner connection wasn’t down, which it wasn’t.

    Despite this, one of Hulu’s great successes seems to be that by putting longer-form series and movies online, they are getting people to make their site a habitual destination. Unlike other video-based sites that have rollercoaster traffic due to viral support of select clips, Hulu is a regular destination for many of my 26-40 year old friends.

  • http://www.fimoculous.com Rex

    (Someone you know is producing this site. Me!)

  • tdc

    F#CK YEAH!

    quite a score, rex.

  • discreet_chaos

    Liz – I’ve also noticed quite a few PSAs on the Hulu site lately, but a lot of times the “sponsorship” slot says “Hulu users support…”. Perhaps a month to six weeks ago, there was a survey pushed to Hulu users that said for every completed survey, they’d donate a 1000(?) PSA runs to the charity of your choice, as long as you choose from their list.

    I don’t know that all of the recent PSAs are the result of this user survey, but the “Hulu users support…” tag makes me think that’s the case. And, sure, they aren’t getting any revenue from the freebies, but I guess it was one way to get respondents and it probably beats the poorly-concieved camapign they ran for the movie “Choke”. (For the red band clip, click here, which tried to load a popup that the popup blockers blocked and when you shut-off your blocker, the page reloaded with a different ad. I ended-up watching the reb band trailer through an ad on a different site)

  • Tom Planchet

    Yes, but…
    SNL has had some of its highest ratings in years, so someone is watching.

    -People still want to be able to see it right away, the same reason they flock to a hit movie the first weekend…

    -The viral stuff is only building momentum for the next show, especially if they think Fey/Palin are at hand…

    This is one case where synergy really works for both old and new media…

  • Anonymous

    Weekend Update doesn’t get put online, though. But that might change with the new Daily Show-like video site NBC and SNL just announced.

  • Anonymous

    Links about the new SNL site:

    blog.wired.com/business/2008/10/more-cowbell-sn.html

    http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6561068&articleid=CA6604458

  • http://gmsnotebook.blogspot.com Hussman

    Movies on Hulu = Win. Am in the process of watching ‘Quest for Fire’ and it’s great. But yes, Hulu should be trying to make more money off this.

    What will really make the difference is when more people realize they can watch almost all the shows they enjoy on cable online – The Daily Show being the most notable.

  • Liz Foreman

    go rex!

  • Mr. Bill

    Think I’ll get smashed.

  • will

    It wouldn’t surprise me at all if local TV as we currently know it ceases to exist as networks bypass affiliates altogether. A friend at the management level in local TV wonders how many stations will survive the transition. WB and MyTV affiliates, at least, should be making alternate plans…

  • will

    Make that The CW – my bad. Guess I’ve been in this business for too long…

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