There’s no doubt that live TV ratings are in precipitous decline, but at tomorrow’s PromaxBDA: The Conference session, “Finding Your FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): Igniting Passion for the Live Viewer,” 10:15 a.m., in Salon A, a handful of strategic and creative executives will discuss how some programming is still building loyal fan bases and tapping traditional media to permeate big story points into the cultural zeitgeist.

As we gear up for the FOMO session, Brief spoke with Robert Tuchman, president of New York-based Goviva, about the challenges facing TV and the areas where live viewership remains strong. Goviva works with executives, athletes and celebrity events in sports, entertainment, cooking, the arts and TV to activate celebrity and lifestyle adventures and programming worldwide.

Brief: Broadcast and cable networks have a problem regarding the number of viewers who have traded scheduled programming for appointment television. From your perspective, how big of a problem is it?

Tuchman: I think it’s a huge problem for television. Or maybe even a bigger opportunity for them. It’s changing the way advertisers are going to have to reach consumers watching television. It has to be about integration.

Brief: Can network executives and programmers come up with viable solutions to stop and/or reduce this defection away from scheduled programming – for example, by mimicking lives sports events as best they can by making it imperative to see the conclusion in real time rather than at a later appointed time of their choosing?

Tuchman: I think a good idea might be to focus on how to reach the consumer rather than change the programming.

Brief: Shows such as “DWTS”, “American Idol” and “The Voice” seemed less immune to this. But “American Idol” numbers, though still strong, were down 8 million for the recent finale versus 2012. Can they still maintain their real-time viewership power?

Tuchman: Absolutely. Like sports, people want to see in real time who wins and how people then react to winning and losing.

Brief: Is there an athlete or are there several athletes who people are most inspired to watch during a live sports event, such as Tiger Woods, Rafael Nadal, LeBron James, Sidney Crosby or Danica Patrick?

Tuchman: I think most (casual fans) watch sports to watch certain personalities. Tiger is the prime example for golf, especially when you look at the ratings for golf events in which he appears versus those in which he doesn’t.

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