The virtual water cooler

Television programming is big business. Every year, networks around the globe spend millions of dollars on the production of tv-shows. For example, the pilot of Pan Am cost ABC an estimated 10 million dollars, and that is just for the first episode. They don’t do this because they are the television equivalent of Paris Hilton and find the spending of money oddly satisfying.  No, they expect to make big bucks through commercial breaks. Companies are willing to pay vast amounts of money to have their advertisement air during a hit tv-show. 

Not every developed pilot becomes an instant success however, and networks have to promote the show in order to reel in the viewers, and the money that comes with them.  Their goal is to generate positive ‘buzz’. This is a phenomenon where people talk about the show to other people, creating word-of-mouth marketing. 

Back in the day this used to happen  at the water cooler in one’s workplace. A wonderful place it was, this water cooler. It gave people the opportunity to take a break and share stories about their lives and interest with their colleagues, before having to return to the dullness of their work. But nowadays there are social media, where people can talk about their interests to their heart’s content. In a way, social media act as a virtual water cooler. Sites like twitter, facebook, reddit and so forth, can create the positive buzz that networks crave.

This blog will focus on the opportunities that social media provide for the world of television. We believe it is an upcoming phenomenon that will be employed more and more often in the future. On this blog you will find information about the different types of social media, in what way they can influence the world of television and how they are used.