Television Preview

Television Preview

Television Preview (also known as "New TV Preview") a division of RSC the Quality Measurement Company, a member of the ArsGroup [http://www.ars-group.com/] , is a market research company that purports to test pilots of new television shows while actually looking for audience's reactions to commercials presented in a 'home-like' atmosphere between breaks in these shows. The preview offer is considered a scam because, even though Television Preview takes no money from viewers, the company is not associated with any actual television producers and the "pilots" they preview are years old. [Dubinsky, Zach. "Spot the TV ad: Lured by invite to judge TV, viewers end up helping to sell soap," NOW, Toronto, Ontario, Sept. 7, 2000, http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2000-09-07/news2.html] Viewers are instead asked to rate the commercials they see. Also, under the guise of selecting prizes they'd like to win in a drawing, viewers choose their 'favorites' from pages of pictures of consumer products.

The Scam

Television Preview randomly sends out invitations and tickets to specific screenings, usually held in hotel conference rooms. The invitation contains text insinuating that the viewer will help decide what will be featured on television's next fall lineup:

You have been selected to participate in a survey whose findings will directly influence what you see on television in the future.

You have been selected to evaluate not-yet-released television material that is being considered for nationwide broadcast.

You have been selected to help represent the television viewing preferences of the entire country. [Pflaum, Nadia, "Viewer Discretion Advised: Beware of envelopes containing four free tickets to test new shows," Kansas City Pitch, Kansas City, MO. July 15, 2004, http://www.pitch.com/2004-07-15/news/viewer-discretion-advised/]

Instead, viewers are shown old television pilots that were never picked up. They are asked to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down style rating, and then fill out pages of questionnaires about their purchasing preferences, brands they like, products they are likely to use, and so forth.

The Programs

The programs can vary from screening to screening, but most often they seem to be two shows: a drama called "Soulmates" featuring Kim Raver, and a comedy called "City" starring Valerie Harper. [Pflaum.] "City" was, in fact, a short-lived show from 1990, although its page at IMDb reveals that it would probably be largely forgotten if not for these screenings. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098768/usercomments "City" (1990) - IMDb user comments ] ] Audience members are either told that Valerie Harper is looking to make a comeback, and wants viewers judge her likability, or that screenwriter Paul Haggis, who wrote the show, wants to retool it for next fall, but needs viewer's opinions on its feasibility first. Other attendees have reported being shown an episode of [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0799994/ "Dads,"] a show from 1997 starring C. Thomas Howell.

External links

* [http://www.televisionpreview.com/index.htm Television Preview's official site] ----
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098768/ "City" at IMDB]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005339/board/thread/73049597 IMDb users discuss "Soulmates" pilot (must register with IMDb)] ----Articles and individual's testimonies:
* [http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2000-09-07/news2.html Zach Dubinsky for NOW Toronto]
* [http://www.pitch.com/2004-07-15/news/viewer-discretion-advised/ Nadia Pflaum for Kansas City Pitch]
* [http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/wsj/2005/06/17/0506170254.php Nicole Rogers in the Wisconsin State Journal]
* [http://www.nationalledger.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=16&num=15381 Beth Gottfried Lisogorsky in The National Ledger]
* [http://members.shaw.ca/beachis/TVPreview.html Blogger Keith Cowan]
* [http://southdakotadark.blogspot.com/2006/06/friends-i-have-been-to-land-of.html Blog "South Dakota Dark"]
* [http://kitlinapai.blogspot.com/2006/03/big-brother.html Blog "kat's signposts"]
* [http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archives/2005/11/television-preview-thinly-veiled-ad-focus-groups.html Blogger Darren Barefoot]
* [http://www.prestonwily.com/archives/television-preview-lame Blogger Preston Wily]

References


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