"programming" news and stories

If you haven't watched PBS, Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel lately, a new study says that you may be surprised to see that a significant portion of the advertising, as well as the sponsorships, in the case of PBS, comes from food companies, including McDonald's, Chuck E Cheese, and others. Those who support limiting the "junk food advertising" seen by children are using this as ammunition, saying that children are too young to make "critical judgments about advertising" and that they are heavily influenced by the products they see. In short, they feel that advertising is a leading cause in making children crave high-fat, high-sugar foods and leads to an increased risk of obesity.

The networks, for their part, insist that they have cut back on food advertising and that many ads are not accepted unless they are in some way promoting education, social development or physical activity.

In the past, studies have shown that the average American child from infancy to 6 watches one hour of TV per day, while 8 to 18-year-olds watch 3 hours daily. This means that they could be seeing as many as 40,000 ads. An alternative solution to heavier restrictions on advertising is that the concerned parents behind the study could simply stop allowing their children to watch that much TV. If the numbers drop even by half, they would have that much less to worry about from advertising, no matter what products were being promoted.

Source

General Mills has very strict advertising guidelines. They "consistently [avoid] advertising on programming that contains graphic violence, excessive sexual content and foul language," to much applause from consumer groups. It is the newest change to that policy, however, has those groups almost cheering aloud. The company has said that it will no longer advertise certain products, those that are considered to be unhealthy or high-calorie, to children. If a product contains more than 175 calories per serving, it will not be advertised to children under 12 via TV ads, movie tie-ins, internet content or using licensed cartoon characters. On top of that, "every product also must be considered 'healthy' or provide an important childhood nutrient, as measured by government guidelines." They will continue to use characters, including the Trix rabbit and the popular Dora the Explorer, to promote their other cereals, as the company has done for decades.

It is a bold step for the company, as it means that they might lose market-share to competitors in this area, but if parents applaud the move as much as the consumer groups, it might encourage some of them to stick with the brand in support.

Source

Today's Washington Post features a pretty interesting piece about food-related television shows in Japan. Apparently food television takes up 35-40 percent of all domestic programming there. Of course, Iron Chef is usually the first thing that springs to most of our minds. But, according to the WaPo piece, the grandeur and zeal that many of us associate with Iron Chef is commonplace on many food-related shows. Apparently gratuitous food shots (food porn, if you will) are just as popular over there as they are here, perhaps more so. On the show Which Dish?, one commentator responded to a shot of sizzling salmon fat with "I have never seen such a beautiful thing before," says the Post. The hosts of that show are pictured here.

Source

Statistically, the most targeted group in marketing is 15-35 year old males.They often have a large chunk of disposable income and they are considered to be more likely to spend it than to save it. It makes sense that advertisers and television networks would want to have a portion of that income reach them. It does not make sense, however, to do with utter disregard for the population that is actually likely to watch your network or your programming.

According to Sara Moulton, when the new president of the Food Network came in she wanted to make the network appeal to that new target demographic with young, entertaining shows – not cooking programs. The obvious disconnect here is the fact that the network is called the Food Network; cooking shows are a logical component of the programming. Sara even said that a producer friend of hers was told "No chefs please, and nobody with training" when they were pitching show ideas.