The Devoted Niche vs. The Casual Mass: Is It Really All In the Numbers?

60 min.

What makes an audience valuable? We know the ability for a show to continue comes down to advertisers and subscribers. We understand if a show's not making money, it can't continue. But that doesn't change the fact that 20 million people who casually tune in might not notice if their show goes away, and 2 million who are passionately devoted to a show may never recover from its early demise. Can a loyal, passionate fan base whose voice is ten times louder than a casual viewer make an impact? What would a producer/creative team rather have: a show that is continuously talked about by a small audience OR one that is enjoyed by the masses but doesn't stick with them? Is it possible to be both? Creators, showrunners, and execs of the highest and lowest rated shows on television discuss where they fall in the niche vs mass appeal, how it varies from network to cable to streaming, and essentially what their audiences mean to them.