Quarterlife, the made for MySpace TV show that became the first internet show picked up by a TV network has bombed.
According to Nielsen Ratings for Tuesday night, Quarterlife managed only 3.86 million viewers for its 10pm debut on NBC, compared to the fan resurrected but short second season of Jericho with 6.9 million viewers and Primetime: What Would You Do Now? with 7.6 million viewers.
Although no decision has been made as to whether Quarterlife will return for a second outing next week, these poor figures would suggest that Quarterlife may not have a long life on NBC.
Some may suggest that Quaterlife’s failure to make a successful cross from online to network TV isn’t a positive for future shows following the same path; certainly it doesn’t make things easier. A first failed experiment won’t necessarily mean the crossover idea will fail again in the future. As more and more people turn to the internet for entertainment, the volume of professionally made video content will continue to increase, and sheer numbers would suggest that Quaterlife may become the first of many crossovers to come as television networks scramble to find new content that viewers want to watch.
(via RWW)
Never even heard of the show and I watch a lot of TV
I just watched it. Hopefully it won’t last long, it was terrible
Duncan,
Like the videogame industry, it will take a few failures before content created for the Internet successfully makes its’ way to television and the big screen. It’ll happen, give it time.
I almost forgot, successful books followed a similiar pattern of early disasters followed by successful television and big screen adaptations. There is even an Oscar for “Best Screen Adaptation” – expect one day it will include screenplays and video which originated on the web.
No Surprise
just have to look at the video games to movies area to see that you’re 100% right. Just needs time and some decent picks.
Sorry but was this show available only through MySpaceTV?
I loved it… so much that I watched the entire rest of the series on quarterlife.com
I don’t really understand why people hate it..
the show is best watched on the quarterlife website: http://www.quaterlife.com.
quarterlife has a very narrow, albeit valuable demographic i feel, like 22-28 (maybe even a bit more narrow).. particularly males in this age range are very valuable in terms of advertising…it’s could be an advertisers wet dream but there was some stiff competition last night as well – the democratic debates and also am idol…hopefully nbc gives it another shot…i was living in london for a bit and this was my main form of american TV. I actually enjoy the show immensely, but have been watching it online and am in the demogaphic they target…i like everything about it, the idea, the acting, the use of under the radar talent.
now that i come to think of it i didn’t watch it on TV because the online version is many episodes ahead (interesting to think about actually, perhaps this is a small but valid factor in the statistics).
what are examples of other made for web shows that have failed to make the jump to the traditional tv broadcasting space?
sorry, it’s http://www.quarterlife.com
missed an “r” in my previous.
dave
I think the one cross over show that might have a chance of making it will be Sanctuary.
First off it will be on the Sci-Fi channel so it can probably get by with ratings similar to what quarterlife got.
Secondly I think it will do pretty good because it already has a built in audience from the Stargate franchise that will probably tune in to watch Amanda Tapping.
To me, quarterlife was never a web series. It was actually a TV series broken down and repurposed for the web. When approaching web series creation, writers and content creators have to look at the medium of online film as a platform that incorporates all of the social media tools. Unlike their passive TV watching counterparts, audiences on the web are interactive and want to be immersed in the show. Don’t feed us content, engage us.
it belonged on tv… ro bravo to start.. not nbc.. nbc makes shows that have no substance and they have this ability to make anything new and good bomb
mass america doesn’t want to tune into a tv show about some bloggers.
you’re losing them already – because it’s rather boring, semi-technical stuff.
what we want to see is dancing and singing, and other petty drama
haaaha love it
Quarterlife bombed on the web, and now on broadcast, because the show is not good. Period. It got less than 100,000 views per episode on the net, but made the jump because NBC needed programming during the writer’s strike.
It’s not news that the first overproduced net show about navel gazing twenty somethings in LA didn’t work as a crossover. What WILL be news is when a cleverly produced genuinely creative series crosses over and finds an audience in broadcast.
get your facts straight.. it didnt bomb on the web.. if you dare voice your opinion online, have your facts straight. it is so sad when people shoot their mouths off without knowing what they are commenting on… 100,000 views per episode… a 6 min one at that is darn good.. its a cult following.. and like twin peaks, it takes a certain person, a certain ability to understand content that is not reality base, to understand what the show is trying to accomplish.. something you dont have
Cool
http://www.yooflix.com
2/8 Life on ICN.tv is worth watching. It’s very funny. Great parody of that dumb NBC show.
Was at a conference with quarterlife creator Marshall Herskovitz today and he had some candid comments on the ratings bomb.
Check it out: http://newteeve...s-tv-debut-doa/
NBC fucking sucks. They haven’t had a good show since, hmm I don’t remember if they ever have.
Has anyone here seen weneedgirlfriends.tv?
I completely agree that a navel-gazing show about bloggers won’t take off…..but the we need girlfriends guys just got picked up by CBS….and I think their show is broad enough to make it.
bloogy is strange for some people to understand.. its really the 21-27 crowd… way to small to suit the needs of tv
What surprises me is that they managed to get 4 million people to watch 7 real-life Nathan Barleys – probably just the number of people who leave the TV on continuously.
Quarterlife bombed because it is really poorly written and produced, not because it is an internet to TV cross-over.
That said, Congdon’s show was also a bomb on TV … but again, poorly written, poorly produced – you can get away with that on the web, because there is a difference in cost for the user between clicking on link and clicking on a channel. Also, more than half the hits of any given video online are really “partial views” – I watched the first part of a few Quarterlife episodes and couldn’t bear to watch the rest, and yet I’m recorded as one of the millions of “viewers” nonetheless.
thats not not why it bombed. It was clearly a directional thing… the way it was advertised, the idea people got that it defined their generation and the disappointment that followed when they realized it didnt and never intended to….. it showcased various filming ways of filming that have been dead for a long time, such as the use of light and the use of non verbals… tv is about pleasing those who advertise on it… it isnt about solid content and good shows…
isn’t having a show available on nbc.com a week before the tv airing when their primary audience is internet watchers a bad idea for ratings? I didn’t realize the show was a previous internet crossover but saw it on nbc.com last week. Wouldn’t the fan base watch it there as well?
Duncan, did you know that the Academy is now allowing online content like webisodes and online films to be eligible for nomination in this years Primetime Emmy’s. I think last year they were allowed for the DT Emmy’s, so it’s pretty cool they’re actually considering online amateur/indie footage for nomination this year. If you’re interested or want to read more, check out http://www.emmys.com. I’m workin with the Academy to help spread the message about the new nominations, so if you get to check it out let me know! It would be great to see some of our more favorite web series to win like Clark and Michael, The Guild, etc =)
Um…it was one youth clique after another. I mean, they think they can just add internet limbo and they have a groundbreaking show…um…no…
that wasnt the intent.. perhaps you couldnt see that?
You guys should really get your facts straight before you just dismiss something right away. Chris, each episode did not have “less than 100,000 views”–in fact, their very first episode alone had over 800,000 views. If episode you can even call them, since they’re technically six “webisodes” that make up one episode. So it didn’t “bomb online” either. Also, I think you’ve forgotten the subtle distinction between fact and opinion…just cause it’s not your bag, doesn’t make it “not good. Period.” In fact, in my opinion, I think it’s very good. Period. So there you have that. And finally, I totally agree with the general assessment of the blog thing…I could do without, but they really only use it for the first episode ((as in the first 6 webisodes))…they continue to use it throughout the series, of course, but it only appears to be gimmicky in the first episode. It makes you think that’s what the series will be about, this stupid Quarterlife v-log. But that’s not how it ends up. So hopefully that lets people know they should check it out on in the future, cause it’s not half as cheesy as the Pilot episode makes it out to be! Anyway…that’s my opinion!
Quarterlife is the best thing since my so called life – about a hundred times better than most shows out there, perhaps with the exception of Californication. Admittedly it doesn’t achieve the brilliance of Garden State – but it treats the 20 something generation of today – better than any other show out there by far.
I loved the show. It reminded me of my so called life. It reminded me of a time where we didnt live others lives via reality tv. It was a classic and still is online. You can visit quarterlife.com if you’d like. Give it more of a chance. Just because it had substance and a different way of filming, doesnt mean it stunk.