Despite being one of the most buzzed-about shows of the season, Gossip Girl has never gotten great ratings. The conventional wisdom has been that the show's young, tech-savvy audience is simply watching the shows online rather than on TV. Now, the CW apparently wants to see just how true that is. The network has decided not to stream the final five episodes of the season. (Older episodes will still be available, and the show can still be purchased at iTunes.) As a CW representative told the New York Times, the idea is to see whether this "moves the needle" of the ratings at all.
So: good move or bad move? Do you think the show is wise to try and force people to watch on TV? Or did the CW just take away the primary way you watch Gossip Girl?
Photo courtesy of The CW
Marc by Marc Jacobs
Armani Jeans
High
i always watch it on tv, or DVR it. i think its a smart move to try out... we'll see how it goes though!
1I love Gossip Girl, but I will be really salty if they make Chuck gay! He and Blair make such a steamy couple. Unfortunately, I bet it is going to be Chuck. Curses!
2That sounds like a smart idea. As long as its not permanent.
3My poor friend who moved to the UK will be devastated. That was how she could get her GG fix.
4Or it could be that the show is vacuous and stupid and not many people are watching it.....
5Not sure if that's smart....but I understand they would prefer people watch it on television!
6They need to get their ratings up, so it's understandable.
7Advertisers make more money if they show it on tv. I don't watch tv online though. I can't wait for this show to come back and now on the same night as One Tree Hill!!! Double Whammy Monday!!
8i never watched gossip girl on the cw website, but i've always watched it online...this isn't going to stop anyone.
9i don't think they'll make chuck gay; i think it will be eric. they're onto the whole blair/chuck chemistry thing. they picked that up super quick.
10i should have say that my last comment was directed to bethany! oops
i also think it makes sense for them to only show the episodes on television. but i doubt i'll watch them.
11it's so crazy that TV ratings is all anyone cares about anymore
12I guess that means that I will have to watch when I can, I think that it is a bad idea for the CW, if people want to watch online, they will watch on illegal pirated sides. What a dumb decision.
13I'm an online watcher. We don't have a TV or cable, actually don't watch too many things... but Gossip Girl is my guilty pleasure!
14i have a dvr so i'll be recording it since the time its on isn't good for me. i would really like the option of watching it online though, it would be more convenient
15I'm with em113. Ahem. I don't have television, so I have to watch my shows online.
Why can't they count online viewers with the ratings? I noticed that MTV had somehow kept track of how many people watched 'The Hills' online the next day after the show came back.
16Seeing as how this'll be on the same time as How I Met Your Mother and/or Heroes (in the fall), I don't think I can catch it when it airs on TV. Maybe I will if they continue to do repeats on Sunday nights like before, but otherwise I've got higher television-watching priorities.
17I have DVR so I don't care. I know this will bother my friends though because they are not always able to catch the episodes so they watch them online
18We have four people fighting for one TV, so I survived by online screening. Since this is one of the only shows I watch on TV, I might buy the season from iTunes. I think it's a risky move for CW; MindayH had it right: people who watch it online will find it online.
19is it bad that this makes me way anxious? I will watch GG on tv if i'm home, but I'm not going to rearrange my calendar for it! I like having the option of watching what I missed online, this really bums me out, as I think I will totally end up missing episodes. Ugh. Maybe they'll put them online once the season is over??? Does GG air as reruns? I am too invested in this show.
20I don't think Chuck is going to be gay. I think it is going to be Serena's brother. I don't usually watch this when it is on t.v. I DVR it and watch it when my daughter isn't around or in bed because it can get a little racy. DVR hurts ratings too, I think, but I actually don't watch any shows when they are on. We DVR everything and watch at our convenience.
21I also think this is a risky move. Lots of people (like myself) only watch GG online b/c they are busy while it airs. Having the episodes available online keeps those viewers interested and engaged in the drama, but if the CW takes that away then those viewers who can't watch it during its scheduled time (or DVR it) may forget about the show & move on.
22being a college student I don't have a tv nor access to a tv every week!
23I don't even have cable....tv is like strictly for movies for me. I watch cable at the gym (completely mindless shows on bravo, etc) and I watch shows like Gossip Girls online. I guess I'll have to stop watching it on the CW website and get it elsewhere...
24I think that it will take more viewers away from Gossip Girl. like my best friend: she works nights a lot so she watches Gossip Girl online the next day or whenever she's free and she's a huge fan. This will not be a good thing.
25i dont care where i watch it aslong as i can watch it. I LOVE IT.
26Eh. My guess is that the people who watch it online are doing so because they can't watch it on TV due to the time, etc. I don't think they'll get more viewers, I think they'll get more people turning to other online sources.
27That sucks, I´m living in Germany and the only way to watch this show, like the other shows, is online...
28omg this is horrible i have a test the next day...so i guess studying break will be at gossip girl time
29Josh asked at Paley center who watched online and he's like 'That's your audience right there'. I think it's a smart decision. I always watch on tv anyway, and at least this will get the show better ratings. TV ratings keep it around guys, remember this. It's not just buzz about the show.
30wahh. it's really unfair for those of us in dorms- it's hard when 60 girls share one tv and can't watch between 8-10
31im not a big fan of this show since i never really saw it (georgeous cast though) but my little sis does, and i know she watches most of the episodes online when my dads not around, so in this way that can be prevented.. lol
32I reckon it's irrelevant because they already have low ratings as it is.
33According to my understanding of the way the ratings-gathering system works, it's never going to fully account for college students and young adults (such as myself, who would never miss "Gossip Girl") who don't have landline phone numbers and who don't have established addresses that they might get Neilsen phone calls or mail surveys from. It seems to me that online views are a much *better* way to gauge ratings, because you can actually measure how many people watch it rather than take an inaccurate sample. However, I suppose they make more money off of TV advertisements than they do online ones, so they want to encourage as much on-air watching as possible.
34i never watched it on the cw site anyway
35Looks like I won't be watching it, then. I'm pretty angry about this. They don't have Top Model online either, which just plain confused me. I need to watch GG at my liesure, but it's not a priority show for me and I simply don't have room on my DVR to let it hang around on there.
36I usually watch it live, but if I can't for some reason it sucks that it won't be available online for free!
37I love the show and watch it mostly on TV but online was a great way for me to catch the ones I miss since I haven't moved into the world of DVR yet! I'm planning to soon....If Chuck ends up gay, then something is wrong. Maybe it would be Nate??? He keeps putting off Blair....hmmmmm
38*hisses* I don't have cable because I'm living in the dorms! How am I supposed to watch it now?
39I don't own a tv! This is how I watched the show. Boo - hiss boo!
40this is my new fav show and i appreciate being able to watch during lunch on my fabulous crystal clear power mac lcd screen. i watch it at night on tv but always rewatch shows online when i'm bored. it sucks that they cut out that option!
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