Why Ride TV's Mission is About More Than Horsing Around
With world-renowned horse races like the Kentucky Derby held earlier this month and the Belmont Stakes coming up next week, equestrian culture is generating all sorts of excitement and buzz as of late. It's not surprising then to hear that there is a huge audience for this kind of programming from Ride TV, an emerging network that is making a name for itself in the equestrian world. The demand for horse content is strong and continues to grow. As a network, Ride TV has created a place where viewers can watch show jumping, barrel racing, dressage, bull riding, and much more. "We want to become
HBO's Game of Thrones Shatters Viewership Records During Final Season
Winter has officially come to an end. It's never easy to say goodbye to a beloved show, especially one that has united fans all over the world for eight years and brought them together over watch parties, social media, or even just conversation. HBO's Game of Thrones—the network's biggest series in history—aired its finale this past Sunday, and while this last season spurred controversy among critics, the show still pulled in a record of 19.3 million viewers in a single night. The series high raked in almost two million more viewers than the season eight premiere, and surpassed The Sopranos
National Geographic's Science Fair Inspires the Next Generation
Next week, around 1,800 high school students from around the world will gather in Los Angeles to compete at the world-renowned Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). It's quite the achievement for the many teenagers who come from all types of backgrounds to make it to the festival, and for those who will win prizes and scholarships for the innovative projects they present. Student projects turn into patents, and the festival is known to produce future award-winning chemists and Nobel Prize winners. Earlier this year at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, NCTA sat
Live TV Still the Biggest Draw for Younger Viewers, New Study Shows
It's no secret that younger generations today turn to their digital devices to help them in almost every aspect of their lives, and media and entertainment are no different. People can watch TV on their phones while on the subway, or catch up on an episode while waiting at the airport. But what's fascinating is that despite this new flexibility that technology and TV networks have provided in recent years, millennials still very much tune into live TV. According to Nielsen's first quarterly Content Ratings Benchmarks report, 81 percent of people in the 18-34 demographic who consume content
Game of Thrones By The Numbers
Millions of people will tune into HBO this Sunday to watch the final season premiere of Game of Thrones. The massively successful series has inspired a concert tour, countless podcasts, and is even credited with increasing tourism to filming locations like Croatia and Iceland. After eight years, 73 episodes, and approximately 4,250 minutes of game-changing action, the song of ice and fire will finally go quiet. With the end on the horizon, let’s take a look at all the ways we can measure the Thrones impact. 128 The total number of Emmy nominations the show has received since it premiered in
C-SPAN's 40th Anniversary is a Celebration of Democracy
Forty years ago today, Americans witnessed the very first airing of the House of Representatives. C-SPAN officially launched on March 19, 1979, and has been broadcasting countless federal government proceedings ever since. In honor of its anniversary, the network has donned a new look and a campaign with fresh tag lines and messaging that viewers will see over the next several months, but its mission stays the same—and that is to continue to provide viewers with uneditorialized and unfiltered coverage of the U.S. political process. Its new secondary tagline, "Make Up Your Own Mind," pretty
TV's Past, Present and Future from the View of a Veteran TV Critic
Last month, NCTA had the rare opportunity to sit down with a long-time TV and entertainment writer at the TV Critics Association Press Tour to get his take on the media landscape and how TV coverage has changed over the span of 50 years. Ivor Davis is a British entertainment journalist, author and veteran TCA member who, as he put it, has "seen a few things" in his career over the past five decades. Gone are the days when many newspapers assigned their top journalists to topics that ranged from Robert Kennedy's presidential bid, touring with The Beatles, to interviewing some of the biggest
Hallmark Channel CEO Shares the Magic Behind the Network's Strategy
It's Valentine's Day, and of all the TV programming to choose from, there's no question which channel many viewers will turn to on a day like today. When it comes to holiday or romantic comedy sentiment, few networks have the legacy and powerful brand presence like the Hallmark Channel does, and audiences just can't get enough. While at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour last week, NCTA sat down with Bill Abbott, President & CEO of Crown Media Family Networks, to learn about the genius behind one of America's most popular TV networks, and how the Hallmark Channel has managed
Ovation TV: 'A Time of Renaissance for Creative Production'
Today is the last day of the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour—a time when the country's top TV journalists come together in Los Angeles to hear from directors, producers and casts of the new and existing shows that await viewers every spring. During the cable programming portion, NCTA caught up with Ovation TV Executive Vice President of Programming and Production, Scott Woodward, to get a better understanding of how the network selects shows that strike a chord with audiences, and how Ovation differentiates itself when viewers have a limitless number of options. Known for
Why Cable TV is Better Than Ever
Consumers today have the most diverse and unlimited menu of choices on TV than ever before. In the last two decades, cable TV networks have invested more than $430 billion to create rich entertainment experiences that keep viewers coming back time and time again, and it's easy to see why cable shows continue to stand out for their inspiring stories and top-knotch talent. The time and effort that cable programmers put into recruiting the best writers, directors, actors and showrunners and into producing the type of quality storytelling that dominates TV ratings is paying off and viewers are