PUBLIC POLL: How Televisual Is Your Television? REDUX

[deannie]

I am a complete and utter moron and had to redo the poll because I screwed up and made the answers viewable to all!

MORON!

Anyway, let's try this again. Those of you who voted before will have to vote again, or I'll aggregate your previous answers in when I do the mathematical leg work. Your choice!
______________________

Hey all!

I've been thinking about the way networks track the popularity of shows for a while now, and I finally decided to just make a poll to find out people's viewing patterns. This poll is relatively simplistic, I know, but I'm trying to get at exactly how many people actually watch television as tradition television.

This isn't being posted anywhere, the answers are completely confidential, and I'm pretty much just doing it for my own geekiness. I promise!

Feel free to link to this poll where ever you like. Indeed, I'd love to get as many answers as possible.
[Poll #994801]
Thanks, and sorry for the confusion!

Comments

[veritykindle.livejournal.com]

Hm. I filled the poll out again, but I'm still seeing results. Is that all right? Or does "results visible to none" just mean that you can't see the write-in results? I have very little understanding of how LJ polls work. Anyway, in case you are curious -- I can't see the results of the write-in question, but I can see results on all the other questions.

This looks really interesting! I'm very curious to see your results! (Although I suspect this corner of LJ is pretty heavily biased toward people who watch TV shows religiously, and thus not representative of the public at large. *g*)

[deannie.livejournal.com]

No, it's good this time. As a viewer, you should be able to see the numbers of responses for each question, but you shouldn't be able to see who voted what. I screwed up last time, but it's working all right now.

And I know we're not that representative, but we DO represent those who use new media differently. I thought it'd be interesting to see whether, at least in our small community, we could get to an idea of how the world of "television" can make it into the new world of multi-mediation.

*heehee* I are such the geek!

[briarwood.livejournal.com]

Just for completeness sake: on the iTunes question I selected "never" - but that's because the episodes aren't available in Europe. If they were, I'd buy them. It'd be quicker than converting the avis to ipod myself!

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Good point!

See, now I'll have to make a whole new poll for parsing out whether international media viewers would be useful to American (or for that matter any other country-an) media providers.

It just seems like media should be more equal, you know? Why do those of us who get our media from somewhere other than American network television have to settle with not being counted?

[chelseafrew.livejournal.com]

I can still see results, too, for what it's worth.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's normal. If you could actually click on a link before each set of bars and "View Answers" which would give you all the names of those who voted and what they answered, then I'd be in trouble.

Thanks for filling it all in again. *sigh* I hate being stupid.

[audreyscastle.livejournal.com]

Yay for polls. I said "never" on Tivo because I don't own one, but I do use the old-fashioned VCR recording to watch later sometimes if I must miss one of my must-sees.....

[deannie.livejournal.com]

I do use the old-fashioned VCR

*goggles*

Wow. I thought they carted all those off long ago. *snerk* Just kiddin'! I've got one, too, but all I use it for now is converting things to DVD.

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

Voted. You may de-aggregate me at will. ;-)

[deannie.livejournal.com]

You are a good, good fan. An officer and a gentleman!

Or something. Anyway, thank you, and sorry I'm a dunderhead!

[spatz.livejournal.com]

Voted. But I'd like to point out that student viewing habits can be seasonal - I NEVER watch TV at school, only DL. I prefer to do so because of the no-commercials thing even at home, but usually end up watching stuff with the family.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

I hadn't really thought of that aspect of it--probably because I'm so far out from schooling *g*.

Also hadn't thought of a number of other things, so there may well be another poll after this one to clarify things.

God, I'm a geek. I'd understand it if I were, say, a Media Studies professor, but man, I'm just a geeky fangirl! *heehee* Thanks for the note. I'll add it to my notes for the next round or the follow-up.

[sulien.livejournal.com]

Sci-Fi channel in the US has gotten on my very last frelling nerve with the 6 month hiatus between the first and second halves of the season of Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis that they pulled this year. That is when I started downloading the episodes of those series being shown in Canada and Britain. To cap everything off, they announced the cancellation of SG-1 immediately after the airing of the 200th episode. Bunch of freakin' yahoos.

Ahem...pardon the venting, but that is one of the reasons I don't watch very much network tv!

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

You're missing the record option. I still record my shows on video.

[audreyscastle.livejournal.com]

It's so good to know I'm not alone.

[zooey-glass04.livejournal.com]

One of the things I'd like to add as a clarification - I live in the UK, and as such the only way I can get hold of my show as it airs is to download illegally. I still buy the DVDs when they come out, but if I could buy 'Supernatural' from ITunes as it aired in the US, I'd jump at the chance. I'm sure I'm not alone - I wonder how long it will take for the TV companies to work that out. Internet fandom makes me want stuff NOW, not when it hits the UK. Also, I don't even own a tv - all my viewing is done via my computer.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Like an idiot, I forgot that part of things. People in the UK can't watch stuff on the American network sites either, can they?

And yes, internet fandom does make it all more immediate, doesn't it?

And you don't own a TV, huh? Dude, if I ever do anything with my little thought process, I'm going be in touch. *g*

Of course, that would require me to make up a much more comprehensive and academic poll.

[khek.livejournal.com]

You don't have the option "own your own DVD recorder and record shows for later use". Which I do, because I don't Tivo or have a cable DVR.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

I know, I know. Which is funny, really, as that's what I did before I got our cable DVR.

Gotta have a better poll!

[iingaartist.livejournal.com]

I re-voted so you can scrap my votes from the first version. (I don't guarantee that I voted the same way on everything this time, because I tend to be waffly that way.)

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Thank you, dear! And don't worry about the different votes--as long as I don't count both of them, we're good.

And thanks for catching my privacy faux pas!

[zortified.livejournal.com]

I wanted to clarify my never watch live answer, because I would watch SPN live except I work nights and am not home for the last 45 minutes of the episode.

Also, I would buy season passes on iTunes if it had extras except that the iTunes player sucks big wazzoos for playback, and Quicktime isn't much better. If I had a video iPod it might be better, but until I can watch the eps without losing the video playback, I'm not wasting my money. ;-) But otherwise I would adore having the episodes and extras available on my computer.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

That's actually an important clarification, though, because I know a lot of people who won't watch the shows on the network sites not because they don't want to, but because it doesn't work right for them, meaning that the networks need to work on their interfaces!

And apparently, so does iTunes.

[executrix.livejournal.com]

My television reception is so poor (...the antenna was on top of the World Trade Center and they haven't replaced it...)that I can't see the subtitles in "Heroes." Suffice it to say, I miss a lot.

But I now consider DVD the default form of TV consumption, especially because the "show" can be on, say, from 7:11-7:38 pm and then turned off. I just started watching "Homicide: Life on the Streets," a mere 20 years after its initial broadcast. I also find that the index of fannishness is whether I can be bothered to watch the DVD extras.

The partially sighted fan arrives to screw up the results

[duskpeterson.livejournal.com]

Here via virgule. I answered "no" to pretty much everything, because my ability to watch moving images is limited, and television just isn't my top priority. (Harry Potter movies are my top priority.) However, since I became partially sighted, I've borrowed video tapes of Queer As Folk and OZ from other fans, and I've watched clips of various shows on YouTube. If the networks put more shows online (a computer screen is much easier on my eyes than a television screen), I'd be more inclined to watch television shows. I'm particularly interested in seeing older shows that I either never saw the first time round or want to see again. I'd love to be able to see rest of Queer As Folk or the Ninth Doctor Who and his companions. And I would sell my soul if China Beach was shown online.

Oh, and if the world is ever transformed miraculously so that someone starts a television network devoted to songvids, I. Am. There.

Re: The partially sighted fan arrives to screw up the results

[deannie.livejournal.com]

You are in no way screwing things up. Accurately reflecting the community makes it all... accurate. *g*

And I totally agree about the songvids.

[xochiquetzl]

It depends on the show, but yeah, I'd cough up cash to watch Rome or Heroes.

Heck, I got HBO just for Rome. I had a friend willing to share, but I wanted to support them. It's an expensive show.

[snowballjane.livejournal.com]

Eep, I hope I filled it out exactly the same. I said never to Tivo and cable/satellite-provided DVR but I do use a non-subscription non-Tivo PVR thingy to record something if I'm going to be out.

However, I still haven't got into the habit of setting it record all the shows I watch and watching them at a time of my choosing. I only timeshift shows if it's going to be impossible to catch them otherwise.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, totally dropped the ball on both the PVR and the VCRs.

But dude... how am I supposed to think of VCRs? *snerk*

Thanks for filling it out again--I'm so sorry about the screw up!

[manna]

I'm another antiquated VCR user :-)

I only download shows if I've missed the TV showing, screwed up the VCR, and missed all the repeats, or if it's something like Dancing with the Stars, which is never going to be shown in the UK. Then I dl from my lovely flist. I don't dl shows which are shown in the US before they're shown in the UK -- I wait for them to arrive on TV over here.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

I wait for them to arrive on TV over here.

Wow... you have much restraint, my friend. Much restraint.

[carta.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiosity, what's the appeal of buying tv off of iTunes? I'm asking honestly, not snarkily, because I've never done it due to 1) no video iPod, woe and 2) a bone-deep distaste for watching shows on my laptop. Can shows bought from iTunes be burned to DVD?

Also, while I do download shows off bittorrent, it's always for shows that I buy the DVDs for when they are available/I have cash. I don't like waiting a very long time for tv-on-DVD, but I do buy them. (But often, I buy used, haha.)

[deannie.livejournal.com]

For me, the lure of iTunes is that it all stays on my computer, not in a million DVDs and boxed sets all over my house. You can't burn them to DVD, but if you get the right hookup, you can plug your computer into your television and watch them that way, which is what I usually do.

And I always end up buying things on DVD when I dl'ed from bittorrent or whatever, too. I just feel like, if I don't buy them, I'm encouraging the company NOT to give me more, you know?

[cricketk.livejournal.com]

Of course, I don't live in america or the UK, so if I wish to participate in onine fandom, I pretty much have to download the shows.

[deannie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, see, this is the problem and the joy of internet fandom. It's like when I got into The Professionals, long LONG before internet communities of any power or scope. I had five episodes on a fifth-generation tape and all the fanfic I could read. And I had to make due with that.

Now? We don't have to do that so much. *g*

[singeaddams.livejournal.com]

I'm so very ashamed to admit that Saturday morning cooking/gardening/home-improvement shows on PBS are the only programs I watch every week. Well, damn it, if LOST hadn't disappointed me...

[deannie.livejournal.com]

*heehee* Singe, you make me laugh! And totally not because I watch HGTV obssessively, either. Nope. Not me!

[kronette.livejournal.com]

Hm...a lot of us listed "no" for the TiVO, but how many people use non-TiVO DVRs? I know you have a store-bought DVR, and I have two. I won't bother with a cable-provided DVR and I like my RePlay (it was out before TiVO, I think).

Get your geek on, girl!

[deannie.livejournal.com]

AAAAAHHHH! Okay, okay, I screwed up with the PVR and VCR stuff! Dude, I'm a fangirl, okay? Cut me a break!

*snerk*

[caras-galadhon.livejournal.com]

(Here from virgule.)

Took the poll, and just wanted to say one or two things. I, too, am one of those crazy oldtimers that's still using a VCR. I plan to move to a DVD-R next. ^_~

And also, I adore you because you have a Cadfael icon! ^_^

[lorelei633.livejournal.com]

I'm an odd duck...I turn my TV on once a week and that's to see SPN. The rest of the time I'm watching DVDs, if anything.

[delurker.livejournal.com]

Is this just for US TV watchers?

[deannie.livejournal.com]

No, it's for everyone. Sadly, I forgot to take into account that non-Americans can't buy stuff on iTunes.

*sigh* But yes, plese take the poll!

[lapillus]

I buy DVDs of shows (TV or movies) that I have at least semi-serious plans of making vids of. If I'm not planning on making a vid I probably won't buy the DVDs (and these days, probably won't rewatch the show).