Prom Queen Draws a Crowd
I must admit I have watched all 31 episodes released so far of Prom Queen, though I live in fear of getting caught with the melodramatic high schoolers on my laptop screen. The 90-second format is thoroughly addicting, and besides, I’m “working.”
Turns out I’m not the only one who keeps tuning in. The series gets about 200,000 views per day, according to figures provided to MediaWeek. Prom Queen totaled 5.2 million views since April 2, with 3.7 million of those on MySpace. The show’s MySpace pages, which are updated with blog posts and videos from the characters, have added 18,000 friends.
Doug Cheney, a creator, writer, and director of Prom Queen, told us the creators’ previous series, Sam Has 7 Friends, had gotten something like 2 million views in total over its own 80 episodes run, so it seems the Michael Eisner hype and distribution power is working. Any of the guilty 200,000 viewers per day want to share here why they like it?
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Some interesting comments are circulating on this story today. Someone broke down the numbers to show that 3 of the 30 episodes equal nearly 1/3 of all views.
1 episode has at least 1/5 of all views. So, the illusion of a successful 200K views/episode needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
The assessment is that the success of those handful of episodes is tied to a combination of hinted sex or T&A factor in the episode’s title. So, the “real” viewership per episode, on a median average, is more like 30K-40K views/episode. That’s not very good. Especially, when Eisner/Veoh are pushing from his self-owned platform too.
Best suggestion in a comment (I can’t take credit for this) was to entitle an episode: “Danica (in knickers) kisses Lauren,” then they could double (triple?) their viewership in a day.
But, the problem with the show (other than the 1-act format) is that they are humorless. Just a bit of humor would double their audience and expand it beyond those waiting for a glimpse of a bra strap or reference to Game Day BJs.
The rich , white, teen (played by 20′s), unrelenting angst-thing is dull as toast. Not very satisfying. Looks pretty bad (unless you watch their BRIGHTCOVE channel). But, it’s early-days and bless them for giving it a shot.
Now, when is the Danica Kissing Lauren episode?
tim l., valid comments — I’m guessing that the depth of your knowledge means you’re guilty of regular viewership despite the lack of humor?
Liz…
I swear, I only watch it for business reasons, trying to figure out what story formats are going to succeed in this space. I close my eyes when the girls are in the dressing room.
The Teacher/Mom/x-Prom Queen character has great promise, they could spin off a series around her that would be a lot more fun…
Tim
You gotta love what Big Fantastic has done even without Mickey E. Although I think they should change their name to Sam Has 7 Directors. It just feels right
Yes, big-ups to Big Fantastic. They are producing very cool content. Just so happy that good things are happening to a good group of people. I have to admit that I’m hooked on the show myself. :)
Like it or not, this is the future of television. As more old people die, and more younger people grow up not in front of television sets, we’ll see a more full slate of stuff like this:
Prom King
Prom Jester
Prom Queen who is really a King But Nobody Knows
And to comment on a previous comment, 30k-40k an episode is fantastic. Considering this is the first of it’s kind show. Granted, it’s not making “Lost” type money, but how much money is this costing them anyway? I’d pay any price to be the first of this kind of episodic content.
Um, PromQueen is NOT the “first of it’s kind of episodic content. It’s just the most pre-hyped series, with biggest “old media” guy attached to it (which is why everyone is fawning over it).
There have been episodic/soap internet series for the past 4-years — you can even go back to 2001 and see this format in early incubation stages (history matters!) — some doing similar numbers (though, not hitting 1MM on a rouge episode). There was even the English/Spanish soap late-last year, Alamo??? and the current YOUNG AMERICAN BODIES (way cooler series).
Deciding that the “future of television” is going to be any single format is naive. Sorry, but, it is. There will be a range of options, that’s the beauty of the world we live in.
Sorry Zane, let me be specifically obvious for you:
First of its kind:
having over 100 million people in an online community poised to see your work. In 2001, with how few homes had broadband, you’d be lucky to get thousands.
Then: it didnt make noise
Now: It’s in your face at unprecedented levels
And it is the future. Cable, as an supplementary alternative to broadcast television, was the future 30 years ago. “minisodes” or whatever the heck you call it are a supplementary alternative to watching episodes on a flat box in your living room. You better believe this is the future of television.
Ohigotchya (a relative of PQ?):
You make my point well. The discussion here seems to revolve around the term “success” based on the story headline that sets up that discussion.
So, a loyal audience of 40,000 repeat viewers who have seen over 2/3 of all episodes is the current Uniques the metrics indicate. Maybe not even that high?
No one cares about a “potential” 100-million, that’s just bogus math. Every television show has a “potential” of same, we don’t look at those “potentials” to measure success.
Let’s face it, the only “noise” PQ is making is within a small community. This is not the World. PQ is not in my face except for some research; No one I know (outside of media circles has even heard of it) the vast majority of the planet have zero awareness of it — but, they do have awareness of thousands of other media properties. This is a very small pebble tossed into turbulent waters.
People will watch content in multiple spaces and on multiple screens. They will still buy DVDs (because content will be held back for release on DVD). There will still be 1-hour shows, but, there will be 72 minute shows, and 1.5 minute shows and 7 minute shows. It will be diverse and eclectic. It will be covered in product placement and advertising. And, like TV, at some point we may find the amusement factor wholly unsatisfying.
I LOVE back and forths on newteevee!
Zane (relative of amazingly talented and jobless Billy?)
100 million do not watch it regularly, we agree on that. 40k might watch it regularly which is great. If this conversation is about success – it’s called brand recognition. It is the same thing that makes people like Oprah and restaurants like McDonalds famous. Not as many people as they are exposed to consume the product, but you better believe every person in television and food knows about them. That’s worth lots and lots of money. Granted, PQ isnt as monetized as everyone hopes, but who knows? when monetization is figured out, crap like this will be considered forefathers.
And chances are, if you are a committed MySpace user, you’ve heard of Prom Queen. And you’ve heard of Michael Eisner. It’s an opportunity for exposure that, hopefully, can be monetized. It’s what people do with this exposure that makes or breaks it. Can the show be MORE of a success than what it is? That can also be a content question. But it’s a trailblazer. In that, success is there.
So back to the two main points that you started with:
Is it first of its kind? We can nitpick as much as we want, but I say it is first of it’s kind based on the opportunity for exposure to millions. Eisner has once again made a brand name out of himself in a whole new realm. That’s worth a lot of money to many people.
Is it the future of television?
You make my point well. You say “”there will be 72 minute shows, 1.5 minute shows, 7 minute shows”
I’m not an English major, I mean, I’m just a “relative of a Prom Queen”, but “will be” denotes the future, and I believe 1.5 minute shows was followed right after that.
So yes, minisodes are the future of television. Or, to prevent myself from being misunderstood by certain people, they represent one form of future viewing for audiences.
let’s email each other. People are going to think we’re argumentative. that would just be silly.