Worst Ratings In The World: Keith Olbermann's Ratings Take a Nose Dive

Although he had so-so ratings for his debut, they've fallen by more than 25%. And he's getting 1/4th the viewers he got at MSNBC, which wasn't a ratings bonanza either.

At this point, Olbermann is being paid $40 a year for every daily viewer he is attracting. Hard to imagine they are making any money off his show.

Best bang-for-the-buck since the Stimulus.

Here's Keith Olbermann's probem: Installed base. Like with video game platforms.

The bigger your installed base, the more units you'll sell, as there is a benefit to playing on the most popular platform out there -- a lot more opponents for multiplayer games. A lot more exclusives. A lot more titles to pick from, as everyone wants their game on the number one system.

A big part of political organization is the feeling that you're actually doing something when you gather. If those dunces at those Greenpeace concerts realized they weren't doing anything but listening to Sting play his stupid jazz compositions, they would be less likely to attend.

Because no one wants to hear that crap.

The idea that something is part of something bigger is important in this sort of thing.

Bigger bloggers benefit a little from this, from the idea that a relatively large (for a blog) platform may translate into actual tangible action, either by Mau-Mauing errant politicians on your side or being able to make your voice heard or the like.

So the point is a bigger platform will tend to become bigger, because audience size definitely matters.

Now, Keith Olbermann is just an archliberal Ted Baxter. He's a blowhard, and he's not funny. And oh, boy, does he think he is funny.

He's the modern day Murrow. You might have heard that. From Keith Olbermann.

But a major point in attracting viewers to his show (to the extent they were attracted; let me stress his ratings were really nothing brag-worthy) was the idea that what Olbermann said mattered.

And this is why Olbermann constantly made his ratings the story on his show. By claiming that he had beaten an O'Reilly repeat with lesbian dog-walker-business-owners aged 25-49 in Walla Walla Washington one Friday, he was telegraphing to his Pratorians (misspelling intended, smartasses) that they -- he and his dumb viewers -- were "winning" the battle.

That when he posted on Daily Kos it was like the King mixing with the commoners.

And the King, of course, had great sway in the nation.

But if Keith Olbermann isn't important anymore, then how can he be important anymore? If people are tuning in in much smaller numbers (down from a level that was already fairly inconsequential), how can people convince themselves that they're somehow engaging in the political process simply by tuning in to watch his histrionics and blogger-level snark?

When it comes to installed base, the bigger you are, the bigger you get; and, conversely, the smaller you are, the smaller you get.

Keith Olbermann is now getting tuned in by approximately 250,000 or so people a day. These are his "daily uniques."

This means he has the same pull as Hot Air.

And probably a fair amount less than Daily Kos.

Certainly far less than Drudge.

If the King has no followers, why follow the King? What makes him King but for his followers?

Keith Olbermann's Countdown

The world's first and only televised blog.

With no comments, alas.

Headline Help... From Arbalest.

posted by Ace at 04:33 PM

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