Jpod Fans Go Postal
According to this Facebook event, CBC employees responsible for the continuance of Jpod will be getting hundreds of lego figures in the mail.
Timing their campaign to coincide with the LEO awards, these eager Jpod’ers are asking all and sundry to mail CBC staff Lego figures with a short note begging the CBC to not cancel Jpod. Yes, it’s true; the tech-loving fans of the show are actually using snail mail to launch a campaign!
The fans of the show have chosen Lego both as a homage to the cover of the book that the series has been based on, and as a tip of the hat to Douglas Coupland’s apparent love of the Lego.
The date of the guerrilla mail-in has been set for Monday, May 19th. Jpod’ers have been instructed to keep the tone light and keep the figure happy, so get ready to be bombarded with little Lego men and women. Ideas for how to use the Lego figures should be submitted to the Interior Design department no later than Friday May 16th.
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Hmm, I should do that too. I actually liked the show, silly as it was.
Save jPOD! http://savejpod.ca
This is a great idea! Feel free to send me all the Lego you want.
jPod IS worth saving! For the life of me I cannot understand why the CBC cancelled this show – they can blame low BBM ratings all they want, but it was the CBC who lead people to watch it online after sending it to the Friday Night Graveyard – who the heck in jPods demo is staying home to watch television on a Friday Night?! Has the CBC ever even had a Fan Campaign to Save one of their shows? Why not give it a chance? It received 15 Leo Nominations, that should count for something.
In addition, TheWB.com has also picked up jPod, TheWB.com “aims to be the premiere destination for original dramatic programming on the Internet. The site is aimed at the Adults 16–34 demographic highly coveted by advertisers.”
….those sneaky Americans…..
I’m raiding my little brother’s lego collection tonight.
I heard this worked with Jericho. I’m going to tell my friends and hope for the best!
If the Kirstine Layfield and the CBC execs don’t already know how passionately we feel about this brilliant show they produced, they are about to find out.
All we are asking is give us Season Two, and we will give you an audience.
CBC execs might be able to ignore an angry audience but can they ignore Lego men and all of their charms?
I think not.
I honestly hope that the CBC realizes that jPod should be brought back for another season. The CBC should be happy in such a short time jPod develped a very Loyal Audience, willing to fight for it to be kept on the air.
I loved Joss Whedon’s Firefly and was upset when it too was cancelled, but in the end I wasn’t paying for FOX to exist, and therefore had no say as to whether or not it was renewed. Canadians pay for the CBC and the shows it produces, so when Fans Campaign and plead for a show to be Saved, does it not count for anything? Is there any means to appeal The CBC’s decision to cancel a show?
I was reading a review for the book jPod:
“They’re supposed to be working on an ultra-hip urban skateboarding game called BoardX, but the geniuses in sales keep derailing it by valuing marketability above all other qualities.”
Now if I may change it up a bit in relation to the show:
“The CBC is supposed to be working on a way to attract younger viewers, but the geniuses in Programming keep derailing it by valuing Ratings above all other qualities.”
I don’t think I’ve ever had a tech job where somebody’s ultra-hip vision wasn’t compromised by the suits, and I’ve worked on telephone directories.
… just to add to what Firefly said, the CBC, in their brilliance, wishes to attract younger viewers, but does not and will not count in their “ratings” the people who watch the show online… go figure. Its the 21st century, guys!
Fans have expressed a willingness to watch ads embedded in the download, but I guess that’s just too much of a stretch.
For those of you who want to join in, since the link above doesn’t work, try here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=29186953008 or search Facbook for “Post for the ‘Pod”
Speaking as someone who watches shows online, transcodes video to FLV and streams it to his Wii from his laptop for fun, and got cable but doesn’t use it because the interface sucks, etc, etc, but who also has a modicum of a clue how TV gets paid for, you are talking out of your arse.
First off, TV gets paid for by advertising (and in the case of the CBC, also by public funding at maybe 45-50% of the running costs of the organization). Advertisers only trust solid, long-established, industry-wide systems to tell them what the ratings are for a particular show, which tells them whether or not to buy slots around said show. Nielsen is effectively the only game in town for broadcast TV, so that’s what they use.
For the Web, there’s no Neilsen. Comscore may say they’re Neilsen, but they’re not. Neilsen may say they’re working on the Web Neilsen, but it doesn’t have a history (how could it?) so it may not end up being the industry currency either. Basically the only ads that “work” on the Web are banner ads (and work is quoted because lets face it, they’re annoying as hell and anyone with a clue is running Adblocker or similar these days) because you can count clickthroughs and conversions and all that depressing stuff.
Video advertising of the type you see on television may never properly translate to the Web, so it may never be possible to make comparable money off it. (Right now you’ll see a lot more “sponsored by Blah” type ads worked into site designs, because that at least is something big and impressive-looking that sales types can actually convince buyers to buy.) So if you’re talking about embedding ads in the streaming videos on the site, forget it, it doesn’t count in Neilsen, so it doesn’t count at all. (Not to mention the fact that unlike OTA broadcasts, each view costs, so success hurts.)
If you’re talking about releasing torrents of videos with embedded ads, then that’s even worse in terms of trackability, not to mention the fact that you can be guaranteed to be competing against adfree torrents within about an hour of releasing your one. CNGPM was a good first real step into using Bittorrent, but the people involved didn’t expect to make any money off it, unless you count increased broadcast ad revenue next time the show’s put on, based on the numbers bump from the increased publicity.
Not that this matters, because the online audience for stuff like JPod is a very small fraction of the broadcast audience. It is growing but it’s not comparable, so even if all of the above could just be added to your broadcast Neilsen number it wouldn’t help much.
Now, you may be thinking “but all the people I know who watched it watched it online! And so did half the people in my Facebook group!”. In fact, everyone I know who watched it either watched the streaming version or grabbed a torrent. But here’s the thing, my friends are nerds. This is what stats people call selection bias. This is not the behaviour of the general population, the people who the CBC is mandated to E,E&I, and whose eyeballs the advertisers want to get at. It just isn’t.
I actually agree that JPod deserves a second season, but you need to argue for it on its merits as a TV show, which, not on the premise that the online audience would make the difference, because that argument is false, and where it isn’t false, it’s irrelevant.
Thanks for that info Kev.
We keep trying to argue numbers, because that seems to be the only language that those making the decisions will converse in.
Maybe its time for us to ask them to converse in our language: praise of brilliance and talent.
My belief has always been that the show is of such high quality that the audience will grow, given half a chance. But I may be living in a complete delusion: that of being convinced that “good” television will attract an audience.
Still, my passion for the show is so strong that I can’t give up until I’ve done everything I can think of to try and save the show.
You make some good points, just thought I’d weigh in from the other side.
Regarding the ratio of online vs traditional viewers: While I agree that most people clock in as traditional viewers, I think the truth tells a different story among people aged 14-25. And jPod’s audience skews young.
According to statistics on mininova, jPod has anywhere between 1 to 2 times(!) the number of downloads as The Border, a show with twice the measured audience as jPod. And they both blow Sophie out of the water. So selection bias works both ways. jPod is “selecting” people who like technology, and “selecting” young people, who by nature like to watch online.
Furthermore, jPod has 50,000(!) downloads on mininova alone, which I confirmed (by the prez of mininova no less) is exclusively mininova traffic only. In fact, according to mininova: “Note that this does not represent the number of times the content is downloaded. In fact, it’s probably not even close, since many sites scrape (rip) our website.” Everyone has their own favourite torrent site, and it’s not necessarily mininova, so that will push the numbers much higher.
Add to that the hits from CBC’s own web service and it’s fair to say jPod roughly approaches Sophie-like numbers, which could mean the difference (purely size-wise) between a canceled and renewed show.
So I reject your claim that jPod’s online audience size is not large, on the basis of what information is available to me (which I admit is quite rudimentary, but still!).
As to whether online viewers are relevant, I think you make a lot of excellent points. Advertisers have no guarantees about who is watching online, and this makes advertising tough. Kirstine Layfield even said as much to me in her response to one of my letters.
But knowing there are a lot of online viewers, does cast doubt onto previous projections of audience penetration. It must be delightful to hear that so many people ARE interested in your programming, and could be enticed onto the tube with a better timeslot. Especially anyone who discovered the show too late in the first season.
An online audience is also relevant because it makes the decision to renew easier to justify (to the public). i.e. “We work for the people, and a lot of viewers were watching online; it’s our mandate to reach out to viewers”. Instantly casts the CBC in a positive light!
Finally, an online audience is important because these are people who are being directly alienated with the cancellation. They may view your network in a negative light and will be less receptive to your programming in the future. So if there are a lot of us, that might cause CBC to think twice.
So yeah, there are a lot of good reasons to save jPod, but I think the online audience is still a valid reason.
Here’s the thing, the Internet angle is just one of the many reasons why the Fan Campaign exists. It’s importance is discussed alot because people ended up watching jPod online as Friday Night was the most horrible timeslot for a show geared to younger people.
With the exception of Episode 11, which wasn’t aired at all by the CBC on TV and only available online, I watched every episode traditionally, first on Tuesdays, and then on Fridays. If I happened to not be home when it was on I set my DVR to record it, and I could watch it whenever I wanted.
Times are changing, and how people choose to get their entertainment is shifting. Today’s young people are a tech-savvy bunch, and probably spend more time on their computers than they do in front of the tube. The CBC is undervaluing their importance. How many people, say from 17-24 years of age, could actually attest that the CBC is a channel they watch very frequently? Not many I bet. My own teenager only watches it for HNIC, and then for jPod. This generation will feel no connection to the CBC, how can they expect them to become loyal, lifelong viewers when they feel ignored?
The CBC was popular when I was growing up in the 70′s and 80′s, but then, we didn’t have tonnes of other options back then fighting for our attention. And I wouldn’t consder the “nerd” factor either, computers aren’t just for geeks anymore. In fact, I’m not even in the Target Audience for the show, but I sure as hell made sure that I know my way around the computer, I can’t have my kids being able to use it better than myself.
I think the CBC is missing the boat here, they should be ecstatic that one of their shows is reaching such a highly coveted demographic, on TV, and online. Internet viewers are a BONUS! And if they were smart, they would air jPod on a more suitable night, increasing their traditional viewings. Jpod at least deserved a chance, cancelling it so hastily leads me to believe that the CBC could really care less about quality of their programs and fixate themselves on outdated BBM ratings. (How many young people who live on their own actually have one of those boxes anyways? Oh that’s right, only homeowners get those.) And as far as production costs, well I am paying for that, and I could get really snotty here and bring up CBC executives staying in $800.00/ Night Hotel Rooms with Personal Butlers, but I digress.
Warner Bros. has obviously realized that jPod is worth having, as it will be available on TheWB.com for free, paid by embedded advertising. And NBC’s Hulu has already sold out their ad space. This is not a fad people, it’s the new reality. The CBC should embrace it or risk being left in the dust.
And yes, the CBC may argue that they did promote the show sufficiantly, but the problem there is that their Target Audience wasn’t watching the CBC in the first place to see those ads on television.
In the end though, the biggest reason people want jPod to stay is because it is a brilliant, smart, funny show with a cast that falls in perfectly with one another, and it makes us feel proud that something so good was Made in Canada.
Saying all that, here’s 20 Reasons to Save jPod – in Pictures.
http://savejpod.ca/uncategorized/20-reasons-to-savejpod/#comment-331
I work right down the street from the CBC i think i’ll leave a big box of lego’s on the front door stop or maybe on their news set.
Furthermore, jPod has 50,000(!) downloads on mininova alone, which I confirmed (by the prez of mininova no less) is exclusively mininova traffic only. In fact, according to mininova: “Note that this does not represent the number of times the content is downloaded. In fact, it’s probably not even close, since many sites scrape (rip) our website.” Everyone has their own favourite torrent site, and it’s not necessarily mininova, so that will push the numbers much higher.
….
You’re kind of missing the point there, Chad. But even leaving that aside, and assuming that some benefit, monetary or otherwise, magically flowed to the CBC from said downloads, answer for me two questions. How many unique people downloaded JPod, and how many actually watched the download?
@Firefly:In the end though, the biggest reason people want jPod to stay is because it is a brilliant, smart, funny show with a cast that falls in perfectly with one another, and it makes us feel proud that something so good was Made in Canada.
That’s your best angle. Run with it.
I think we’re both in agreement that jPod is not sustainable based on an online audience.
My point is that there are other reasons in play, as a result of the online audience, that may help get the show one more season (just a single season). If season 2 airs, and the traditional audience hasn’t grown, then by all means cancel the show. Heck, I wouldn’t even be bitter, no matter how many are watching online…
Anyways, thanks for the discussion, and I’ll be sure to focus on many other reasons to save the show too, because the show is so AWESOME!
i think i’ll leave a big box of lego’s on the front door stop
Please don’t. Best case scenario, you just littered. Worst case scenario, our day gets ruined by a bomb scare. Either way, not helping.