Wise Words From Stroumbo

Maybe George Stroumboulopolous should be the new Director of Programming at The CBC.
Quoting George:

"Online is rapidly becoming king, not traditional TV platforms."

"Part of the reason we did this show is for the kind of people who didn't really watch TV like this before.....

(My 2 cents: pretty much that whole
younger demographic that the CBC claims
they're so eager to attract.)

He continues:

....so they're not going to come to television - they're going to watch it however they want."

"Ten years from now, the cable channel isn't going to be nearly as important as the domain name. CBC.ca, that's the television channel of the future. We don't worry about where people are watching us, as long as they're watching us."

Listen to Stroumbo, CBC!!!

The Internet angle is just one of the many reasons why the jPod Fan Campaign exists. Its importance is discussed alot because people ended up watching jPod online as it was switched to air in the "Friday Night Death Slot".

For the record, with the exception of Episode 11 which wasn’t aired at all by the CBC on TV and only available online, I watched every episode Traditionally. First on Tuesdays, and then on Fridays. If I happened to not be home when it was on I set my DVR to record it, and I could watch it whenever I wanted.

Times are changing though, and how people choose to get their entertainment is shifting. Today’s young people are a tech-savvy bunch, and probably spend more time on their computers than they do in front of the tube. The CBC is undervaluing their importance. How many people, say from 17-24 years of age, could actually attest that the CBC is a channel they watch very frequently? Not many I bet. My own teenager only watches it for Hockey Night In Canada, and then for jPod. This generation will feel no connection to the CBC, how can they expect them to become loyal, lifelong viewers when they feel ignored?

The CBC was popular when I was growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, but then, we didn’t have tonnes of other options back then fighting for our attention. And I wouldn’t consider the “nerd” factor either, computers aren’t just for geeks anymore. In fact, I’m not even in the Target Audience for the show, but I sure as hell made sure that I know my way around the computer, I can’t have my kids being able to use it better than myself.

I think the CBC is missing the boat here, they should be ecstatic that one of their shows is reaching such a highly coveted demographic, on TV, and online. Internet viewers are a BONUS! And if they were smart, they would air jPod on a more suitable night, increasing their traditional viewings. jPod at least deserved a chance, cancelling it so hastily leads me to believe that the CBC could really care less about quality of their programs and fixate themselves on outdated BBM ratings.

Chis Haddock, producer of Intelligence, pointed out the lunacy of the CBC gauging a shows popularity, especially among young viewers on the weekly BBM ratings since so many young television fans don't own their own homes and so cannot be counted, and many of them watch TV on the Internet.

"The ratings themselves have been questioned very profoundly all over the world about their accuracy and their relevance because you have to be a homeowner," Haddock points out.

"So university students don't get counted, a person who is a renter doesn't get counted, a lot of people under 30 don't get counted, so it's absurd on many, many levels. I mean do you have to buy a home to get counted in the ratings?"

Well said, Mr. Haddock.

As far as production costs for CBC shows, well I am paying for that, we all are. (The last numbers I could dig up on that were for 2002 - Canadians paid $794,058,000 for the CBC. That's for English and French radio, AM and FM, plus English and French TV and CBC North.) I could get really snotty here and bring up CBC executives staying in $800.00/ Night Hotel Rooms with Personal Butlers, but I digress.

Warner Bros. has obviously realized that jPod is worth having, as it will be available on TheWB.com for free, paid by embedded advertising. And NBC’s Hulu has already sold out their ad space. This is not a fad people, it’s the new reality. The CBC should embrace it or risk being left in the dust. And yes, the CBC may argue that they did promote the show sufficiently, but the problem there is that jPods' Target Audience wasn’t watching the CBC in the first place to see them.

In the end though, the biggest reason people want jPod to stay is because it is a brilliant, smart, funny show with a cast that falls in perfectly with one another, and it makes us feel proud that something so good was Made in Canada.

Saying all that, here’s a Video I made: 20 Reasons to Save jPod - (For Entertainment purposes only, all content credit acknowledged)


jPod - SAVE IT!!!