In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Joe Flint was examining the growing attention that the networks are paying to Friday night TV programming.
An interesting insight by Preston Beckman of the Fox Network was this: "The less serialized a show the better because there is less consistency in the viewing." Another reality that is taken into account in Friday night programming is that there are a lot of people at the end of their work week who simply want to relax and kick back. They desire to be more entertained and not mentally challenged by the offerings.
"Ratings leader CBS, however, has decided that it is sufficiently strong enough on other nights of the week to be able to pay attention to Fridays. The network has actively been trying to boost its Friday numbers, and now tops its rivals in both overall viewers and adults age 18-49. Even among adults age 18-24, it trails Fox by only a small margin, which is remarkable considering the median age of CBS viewers is nearly 52. "With a strong schedule you can afford to attack Friday," says Kelly Kahl, CBS's head of scheduling. While the night isn't high priority for advertisers, Mr. Kahl says that "if you're Home Depot or Macy's, that is a good night to talk to people."
That's a real good insight by Kahl. When one thinks weekends, a lot of the time you're thinking household projects and gardening or maybe going out shopping. Those are the types of advertising that will benefit greatest from the Friday night resurgence.
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