The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the new Tina Fey-helmed sitcom on Netflix, centers on a twenty-something played by Ellie Kemper who emerges from an underground bunker, after being locked away for years by a cult leader.
She winds up in Manhattan where she discovers everything she had missed (like iPhones) with an Upper East Side socialite (Jane Krakowski) and her seen-it-all black, gay, multi-talented roommate (Titus Burgess).
Kimmy emerges from the darkness of her bunker to finally see the world as it truly is.
Could America’s television networks be headed for their own Kimmy Schmidt moment? Adweek‘s Janet Stilson certainly thinks so.
Nielsen’s move this month to finally launch a service that uses audio to detect what viewers are watching on streaming platforms will finally shed some light on how those shows are performing when they go over-the-top, Stilson writes:
“The networks will only receive information about their own shows and not original programming on OTT services. Still, the new service is seen as an important first step that could go a long way toward solving a problem that’s plagued programmers for years.”
Complaints about the lack or reliable streaming ratings are nothing new for the industry. Last month a group of network research bosses complained to Nielsen’s face about the lack of accurate metrics.
Don’t look for Netflix, Amazon, and others to release any information any time soon about their own original programs. Netflix honcho Ted Sarandos is on the record calling TV ratings “irrelevant,” and telling a room full of TV critics that Netflix “will resist metrics as long as we can.”
Read More: Adweek
Brief: With viewers switching to streaming in droves to consume their favorite programs, networks need reliable metrics ASAP if they want a clear picture of how their offerings perform. If Nielsen’s service works, it’d be a big step towards repairing their battered reputation.
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