DEEP (digital media) THOUGHTS

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    how ABC blew the LOST finale

    so i finally got around to watching the LOST series finale last night (on hulu). i know there are many mixed reactions as to how well it did or didn't conclude the series, but this isn't about that issue. This is about how a network (ABC) failed to capitalize on 6 seasons of viewer intrigue/interest, and basically tried to create an event out of a show that only drew its most diehard fans at the end (as evidenced by its 13.5mm avg viewers for the finale viewer count vs. 20-25mm viewers it averaged for Season 1 and 2 episodes). first of all, it moved LOST from it's regular Tuesday timeslot to Sunday night, and then advertised via TV & radio that the show would start at 7pm since it was a 2.5hr episode. I guess if you are one of the 10 people in the US who still reads TV Guide or checks TV listings you would know that the 2hr recap show started at 7pm, otherwise most people were probably surprised to see that the 2.5hrs they had blocked from 7-9:30pm had become a 4.5 block from 7-11:30pm. Well done, ABC. On top of that, you would have to be a bold viewer to not have followed LOST for this season alone, much less the past few seasons, to suddenly decided that it was a good day for a 5hr LOST marathon.

    all in all, it just seemed like they were doing their most hardcore fans a disservice trying to capture the fringe/former viewers into this evening-long trap. LOST viewing parties already occurred on Tuesdays throughout this year, and it was a day people looked forward to (to see how unsatisfied LOST producers could make them feel with the weird Season 6 storyline, and the blatant disregard for 90% of the plotlines from previous seasons).

    at the end of the day, I am sad to see LOST go. it was a great show and was definitely fun(/frustrating) to follow over the years.

    i'm sort of surprised the backwards thinking execs at ABC didn't create a LOST movie, to make their 10-12mm loyal viewers drop $10 (or $15 for IMAX, or $18 for 3D IMAX!) to see how the story played out. maybe that will still happen since they left most of the story unresolved.

    lastly, how funny is this Huffington Post headline and post?? Ratings soar?? Easily powered ABC to win THE NIGHT?? how sad is it that for a tentpole event like a LOST series finale, ABC has to move it to Sunday to get the highest ratings of the night. it's so sad what they turned this show into business-wise.
    • 26 May 2010
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  • About jason

    Hello. My name is Jason, and here you will find some thoughts on the all things digital media, but with a focus on a couple of things i love: movies, music and games. I used to be a VC at FirstMark Capital in NYC, and now lead the International Publishing efforts at online game publisher/developer Riot Games in LA. It goes without saying, but all opinions found on this site are not representative of opinions of either FirstMark Capital or Riot Games. They are my own personal random rants.

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