8 Lessons for Network Executives about Phil Robertson’s Victory.

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Phil Robertson is back, A&E has apologized, so if you’re a TV Executive, here are 10 lessons you need to memorize.

1. GLAAD doesn’t pay the bills. You want to win one of their awards? Fine, do it with your other shows but don’t mess with Duck Dynasty.

2. Not all Social Media protests are equal.  There’s a Facebook page called “I hate Duck Dynasty,” they have less than 1,000 members. The Bring Back Phil group has more tan 200 thousand.

3. TV is not about “Diversity.” Strike the word “diversity” from your vocabulary, television is about niches, whether it’s The Bachelor with sexy women or 16 and Pregnant with dumb teenagers or Duck Dynasty with Christian duck hunters, audiences are not looking to see different people but a certain kind of people they identify or root for.

4. Honor thy Christian Market. The Christian market is worth millions of dollars, stories of Christian artists that crossover into the mainstream are common, Hollywood is not making more Bible movies because Televangelists will talk about them and get their congregations to see them. It’s STUPID to mess with that market. I’m not saying you have to get rid of our “sinful” programming, Christians themselves watch plenty of those, but it would be stupid to miss lucrative opportunities because you’re afraid of controversy.

5. You’re not the only game in town. If you haven’t noticed, you’re competing with PlayStation games, YouTube videos, Kindle Books, and even online TV ventures like those of Glenn Beck, not to mention other cable channels. Your audience isn’t stupid, they’re not going to watch whatever you give them nor will it be on your terms.

6. The customer is always right. I don’t care if they want to watch Real Nazis of Orange County, Lifestyles of the Poor and Ugly, Totally New Toilets or Farting in Nebraska, if it gets ratings, you don’t cancel the show nor fire the talent.

7. Advertisers can be replaced. When the Parents Television Council boycotted Married with Children, they lost a few advertisers but their ratings went through the roof, then new advertisers came. Money talks, but your audience talks louder.  When Cracker Barrel pulled Phil’s products, their customers raised hell and CB backed down fast.

8. You can’t please everyone. Diversity claims that everyone’s feelings need to be taken into consideration, and that we must be sensitive for the sake of other people. This is not only an impossible task, but a ridiculous demand. The people that hated Duck Dynasty didn’t watch Duck Dynasty, their whining against Phil was irrelevant. You’re better apologizing to them than apologizing to us, or better yet, don’t apologize and simply stand for the free speech in the private sector.

 

 

 

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4 Responses to 8 Lessons for Network Executives about Phil Robertson’s Victory.

  1. Or to anyone, let’s not forget that the TV Business is a Business, the goal is making money, if the people complaining don’t watch your show, they don’t matter. I know that sounds heartless, but that’s Randian Objectivism for you. Cold and logical. :)

  2. The correct outcome, but I’ll bet A&E management still really believe they didn’t do anything wrong and are not capable of understanding where all these Jesus-freaks came from.

    • Poor bastards thought Duck Dynasty was going to be Honey Boo Boo redux, they thought “oh, let’s just find a bunch of stupid rednecks and put them on TV, they’ll be easy to manage.” Yet they forgot two things.

      1. Rednecks aren’t dumb, they’re skilled in things the average city slicker has no idea.

      2. The Duck Dynasty family was rich before being on TV, and whatever fame they got they wanted to spread the gospel, so there was no vanity here.

      Thanks for commenting. :)

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