European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 2, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and Stripe thursday August 2,1990 trip a Beauty and the beast fans win reprieve i recently read the letter from the self proclaimed unimportant old person of 26 years of age a directed toward an and the decision to forego the final season of the television program a Beauty and the this decision was based on the Nielsen ratings unfortunately i age 30 have yet to be a participant in one of their surveys since in be been stationed in Europe since 1988. I certainly wished that i would have been one of the research Homes Here since i could have definitely had an Impact upon the ratings of programs such As theall fated Quot Beauty and the maybe ill be fortunate during the next Usa eur a a sweeps rating period give me a break we arc Basing our television pro ramming solely on the ratings Back in the states. Certainly this is one Good method for our programming however should it be inc Only one i know the original article stated that the budget was also a culprit in the programming shift to the a primary audience of 18-25 years Olds. That a understood but lets get Back to the ratings. A have you Ever decided to take a poll of the an audience in Europe or elsewhere for that matter ? Why not i never watched a Beauty and the beast Wheir i was stationed stateside. I rarely watched network Abc lbs and Abc television. I remain Schlec live in my viewing. In fact most of the programs i watch arc recorded for later viewing. However since being stationed Here in Europe i have watched a number of programs that 1 have grown to like and have followed such As a Beauty and the How about conducting the poll through the stars and stripes since budget constraints would eliminate a More controlled method. Give the viewers an Opportunity to provide you with feedback an integral part of the communication process. With that opinion i would venture to say that a Beauty and the beast a probably has a pretty Strong following Here in Usa eur. Its one of those programs that have an interesting storyline to follow from episode to episode. A Keir Kevin Curry. A Ellingen West Germany i wanted to applaud Catherine l. Dennis for speaking out on a subject that Many of us a Beauty and the beast fans have Only fumed about in front of the television As we count Down to last episode Quot available to an a i was so excited when the program was introduced on an. Finally a program with a moral lesson. I. As Many viewers am so frustrated by the current television programming full of violence and sex. A a. Each episode of Quot Beauty and the beast follows a Story line from both sides and once the conflict is resolved it leaves ils viewers thinking about the issues addressed. How can the an higher ups think that this show is not for their viewing audience Why not continue to air those shows that get the viewers to thinking about our society and Legal system a Mary f. Bailey Fli Risheim Wicker West Germany just because it was cancelled in the states does no to mean it of Don t have viewers interested in it Over Here. We have followed the series from the beginning Ami would like to see it to the end. My children who Are 8, 10 and 13 years old. Enjoy the series As much As i do. I tape it Tor them to watch every week. In i Case reconsider this show and let the viewers see the last season. We May not get a Chance to eaten a rerun of the series in the states. I have Many friends Wolni also like the show and who also hate to see it Eana Elled Patricia a. Weis Hill org a West Germany. Katherine and Vincent have something special not seen in every Day life. We Here who watch an will never see the outcome of the series. Instead of giving an answer that none of us understand Why can to you just Tell us the ratings Are poor or we can to afford to buy such a popular series for anole a season. Take a poll ask the people to respond to it. Ask us How we feel about the show. Do we want Theen pals. A. File Ron Perlman As Vincent in a Beauty and the beast show on the air for the third and final season we the people say yes bring the show Back by popular do Mand. We want to see what happens with Katherine and Vincent. A Katherine la Pell Mannheim West Germany please you can to do this to us. By us i mean me and hopefully a few other staunch fans out there of a Beauty and the i know i know you re probably tired of our whining but after seeing that last show i help writing and whining. You just can to leave us a amp a fans clamouring after the last 8-10 episodes of that show a not after having Given us two full years. Its just not right. True we re a captive audience and we i watch or not watch whatever Wco re Given and be glad for it i suppose. But give us a Little respect too please. You be had us watching Vincent and Catherine faithfully every sunday night or whenever and wherever you May have stuck them and i just think that you owe us the Courtesy Nielsen ratings can go to Heck of seeing us through to the end of our a amp a Saga. Please bring it Back please is. Mary ski Rhein main a West Germany the reply was very thorough in explaining Deogra Phie categories and demographic ratings. In a sure that everyone who read the reply was Quot enriched with the information. It seems though that once again the person who has the authority to show or not show a Clevi Sion series on an has skirted the Issue. The Issue of show ing or not showing the final season old Beauty and the beast has nothing whatsoever to do with demographic categories or ratings. It was obvious from your reply that you were pulling the show because it was cancelled by lbs. Yes lbs did cancel the series but they cancelled it alter showing the final season. Lbs did not cancel the show alter the second season. The viewers in the United states did not have to watch the Linal episode of the second season just to be told that they would never be Able to see what happens in the beginning of the third season. You May As Well give a person half of a Book to read or show Only one part of a two part movie you said in your reply and 1 quote a Nielsen audience research data is a recognized professional tool in. The program selection process not Only in arts but in the television programming Industry throughout the Well first of All Nielsen audience data is used As a tool in the program selection process in close connection with the advertisers who sponsor television programs. They want to know How Many people Are watching a particular show so that they will know How Well their product is Selling to that audience. If the show is getting Low ratings then it is Only logical that there arc not As Many people watching their commercials thus less Likely to buy their products. The lower the ratings the less Money is being made by that particular sponsor. But unless i am wrong arts is not losing one Penny because you do not show conventional advertising. Maybe you will be Able to a improve your ability to serve us and fill in the sunday night time slow with some of your prime rated shows like a a Whf superstars of wrestling Quot now there is a wholesome mind expanding program or maybe you can fill it in with a tour of duty a or �?o21 jump Street a both of which according to your Nielsen Survey in the a a to plus were in the Bottom of the 11 least watched television programs in America finishing respectively As nos. 80 and 84. Come on give us a break we do read the paper and that is a Complete contradiction of what you said about using the Nielsen As a guide As to what you will show and what you will not show. You Are currently showing two of the lowest rated shows right now in America a Anna Marie Galligaro Furth West Germany editors note a Robert w. Matheson chief television division armed forces radio and television service Sun Valley calif., replies thank you for the Opportunity to clarify my previous. Letter which you found a enlightening a but apparently irrelevant. You raise two concerns a Beauty and the beast and first of All a Beauty and the beast has been reinstated into our planning schedule. Your analogy to an unfinished Book is a Good one especially when the Book or show in this Case is a Quality offering with a Loyal following our initial plan to not carry the last episodes of the series did not adequately consider the reaction lbs received to its cancellation. There just in t the time in a week for arts to show every program available. As we make room for new programs those series that Are a a ailing in the ratings and or cancelled Are the most susceptible to being dropped. Obviously planning to drop a Beauty and the beast a which had both a drop in ratings and a cancellation notice was the wrong Choice and that has been corrected. When a Beauty and the beast Quot returns to the an schedule you w ill see All the episodes of the last season including those that As of this writing have not yet aired on lbs. But please remember there is no a a final episode. Secondly in regard to ratings cannot defend your misinterpretations of my comments so permit me to restate myself using the excellent example you provided. The Nielsen ratings you read in a a to plus Are not a contradiction to our programming philosophy As you state. Yes we Are showing two of the lowest rated shows in America. Hut they Are the lowest rated in the Overall ratings not the demographic ratings for our audience. The Overall ratings published in newspapers reflect the viewing of every to household in the country which includes millions and millions of viewers Over the age of 55. This skews the results when you consider the arts audience is primarily under 55, so while demographics May be irrelevant to you they Are important to us. The reason �?o2 jump Street Quot is at the Bottom and not the top of the ratings is that its audience is almost entirely under 55. The reason a murder she wrote Quot Rales very High is because More than 14 million �?oover-55�?� viewers watch it compared to the j million �?oover-55&Quot viewers who watch �?o21 jump demographically in the 18 to 34-year-old Range the ratings Are virtually equal. And with teen agers added in �?o21 jump Street out rates a murder she wrote by a narrow margin despite what the Overall ratings indicate. And that is Why we occasionally carry programs such As �?o21 jump Street that appear at the Bottom of the published Nielsen ratings. My hobbies Are writing port a. Tirad pm Rio Al movies Iti re dam Minila i Dell a i la 0 it c-h38di Khz Dinton hit a a ire m your pen i i y i. A. I r old to insula . Is Virvo pm Hospital Cental . Negros Leo dental i i am years eld and humid Oku pen pals l Fri a cd Pomn. St Joseph Central , or i Al a we Aro Amer Nan ski ions a thru approx Marl rum around Trie torrid an up people v. E Are Neor us i As we . P. 1.1 t Par her Jones is2 Jan Wilson Fla. 2 f to n v 09301 i. A. P a my Are stamp or i or 1 to Lam 1 y airs. Year a Grana Pamplona 19 it Manola so l a a. Iloilo Cay Boot i am 22 years old i Hia Pommel a department West Negros Corky be i i i a a
