While the evolution of television has open the door a multiplicity of new networks, such as NetFlix, Hulu, and Amazon, to throw their hats into the ring of television programming – providing a wide spectrum of options for television viewers, it has also led to an increasingly competitive market that has produced a highly fragmented viewership. What does all of this mean to producers and networks as they are attempting to find new and alluring programming? It means that it will be important to hit more than you miss when selecting new programming.
One way that producers, creators, and writers can improve the chance that their pilots will prove to be successful series, is to enlist the input of a test audience. In fact, the failure to use the input of a test audience can literally kill the series before it starts. When used correctly, a test audience will allow you to identify the strong points of the show while simultaneously illuminating those parts of the show that is likely to tank with the general viewing audience.
The truth is that anyone who is serious about creating shows for television will likely use a test audience at some point, and they should want to. With that being said, if show creators use test audiences frequently enough they will have those moments when the audience will not like their idea as a show. What is important during this process is for the creators, writers, and producers to understand that the mystery members of this test audience do not know them and they should not take it personally, but see it as an opportunity to learn what does not work so that they can go back to the drawing board to create something better that will resonate with the viewers.
Using a test audience reminds the creators that not everyone is like them or has the same digestive pallet when it comes to television programming. Testing of pilots is a crucial element in the process of selecting shows that have the best chance to resonate with the viewing audience and hopefully connect with them in a way that will lead arcs that last for multiple seasons.
What creators should understand is that when they present their pilots to different networks, it is likely that the network will use a test audience to gauge how the show will be received among varying demographics that fall within their core audience. So, it would be in the best interest of the creators to use at least one test audience to grade the appeal of their pilot. While there will be times in which their shows will not fare well, a test audience will definitely provide them with the type of feedback that will allow them to refine the parts of the show that may lack appeal.
While it is obvious that using a test audience can help make or break a show in the long wrong, it does not mean that because a show does not test well that it cannot be a success, less we forget that Seinfeld tested poorly, primarily due to the perception the audience had about the characters, but we know how that turned out. Nevertheless, the test audience is a good place to start when attempting to improve the chance of success for a new TV series.
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