5. OVERVIEW
 History of Reality TV
 Agenda Settings
 A look at the demographic and how they utilize the
medium
 Social media and its influence on Reality TV
 Reality TV and its impact
 Politically
 Economically
 Socially
 Conclusion
 Questions

6. HISTORY OF REALITY TELEVISION
Reality Television: Television programs in which real
people are continuously filmed, designed to be
entertaining rather than informative.
–Oxford Dictionary

10. AGENDA SETTINGS
 Reality Television has a profound effect on intercultural
communication
 Images portrayed on reality television shows contribute
to what viewers deem important in relevant in everyday
society
 Programming editors support reality television shows
that portray intercultural misunderstanding, intergroup
conflict, and cultural differences. Conflict and drama
make for good television
 Reality televisions shows with this subject matter are
often far more successful than shows depicting cultural
understanding, intergroup harmony, and cultural
similarity

11.  Reality television shows showcase images and ideas that
become important in our society
 Viewers who frequent reality shows may develop an
misunderstanding of American culture
 Networks manipulate viewers to reap profits
 Viewers interested in reality television are constantly
exposed to commercial products
 Reality television shows influence viewers to participate
in a culture of consumerism
 Not all reality television shows have a negative influence
on their viewership
 For the most part, this form of media programming has
fallen short of its potential

12. DEMOGRAPHICS

13. THE COLLEGE STUDENT
 The primary target audience for most television programs
(and any type of electronic media really) range in the age
group of about 18 – 25
 College students use television as an outlet for relaxation
and leisure
 Television itself is evolving as a medium, and the young
adult demographic is taking full advantage of it i.e.
Netflix, hulu, YouTube
 The “Internet Television” appeal is what is allowing
television itself to prosper as a medium – you don’t even
have to own a television anymore to watch it

14. % Watch Reality Television Frequently by Age/Sex

15. College Students’ Second-Screen Activities
% of respondents, indicating what they typically do on a second screen while watching TV

16. SOCIAL MEDIA

Reality TV has expanded all
throughout the media industry.
Viewers are now often seen tweeting,
texting, and blogging about what it is
that they are watching.

A lot of shows are now including
various activities by encouraging
viewers to engage in web based video
footage, photos, programs summaries
and reviews, online discussions and
voting.

17. 
In 2012 CBS released a new idea that
really inspired and influenced their
audience to engage in more social
media with a new website called Big
Brother Connect.

This new website forms live social
streams, a new web chat, expanded
videos, a chance for the audience to see
their tweets appear while the show is
streaming live on Thursday nights, and
a twitter game called “Flock to Unlock”

“Flock to Unlock” allows fans to use
twitter to access exclusive photos from
inside the house. The photos are taken
by that specific week’s Head of
Household. Once a certain amount of
fans are seen tweeting #BigBrotherHoH,
CBS will unlock the photos for everyone
to see on their website.

18. 
So basically what CBS is doing is encouraging viewers to use social media to get
their name out there and in return, fans will get a good look at the exclusive photos
of the week.

Not only does a social medium give the audience a chance to feel closer to their
show of choice, but it also gives them a sense of connectivity to other viewers.

A solid 51% of people like to post on social networks while watching their shows to
feel connected to others watching.

With the click of a couple buttons a viewer can observe what it is that their friends
are saying about the show, it gives everyone a great chance to express themselves
for others to see.

We all know that ONE person who is constantly tweeting or posting on facebook
about their favorite show while watching it live.

As crazy as it may sound, only 41% of people watching are actually tweeting about
the show that they are currently watching.

When referring to social media as a whole, 76% of people are posting about shows
while watching them live and 67% of the audience is on social media but only to
view the opinions of others to get a different perspective.

Due to all of the involvement in social media, reality television has developed into a
complex multi-media platform.

19. 
Everyone knows of the Jersey Shore and
the impact it had on society today, but what
a lot of people don’t know is that the
Jersey Shore broke records for the most
social television show of all time.

According to a report from SocialGuide, a
website that covers social media statistics.
The Jersey Shore had over 190,000 viewers
talking about the show, and making about
300,000 comments during the premiere.

56% of the social audience commented
during the airtime which was only during
primetime.

When even comparing the primetime
premiere to other airtimes throughout that
specific day, The Jersey Shore had a
breaking record of all comments made
during all TV airtime at 65%.

In 2011, The Jersey Shore was ranked
number one for the most social programs
and episodes.

21.  When talking about social
media’s relation to the Jersey
Shore, it seems that twitter
was the primary platform.
 During the day about 4,000
tweets are trending about the
shows premiere and continue
to grow as the day goes on.
 Once 10:00 p.m ET comes
and the show is streaming,
tweets rise to about 16,000
tweets per hour of what is
happening during the current
episode. 21% of tweets are
coming from New Jersey or
New York.

22. POLITICAL IMPACT

Reality TV tends to carry a liberal bias. Since its creation, MTV has
been aimed at a youthful liberal demographic.

Reality TV shows such as The Real World, Jersey Shore, and Big
Brother use racial stereotypes for entertainment purposes and casting
is a thorough process to make sure issues of race and culture will be
addressed.
In reference to casting The Real World:
“The producers select potential elements of racial conflict and
misunderstanding, setting up possible versions of reality for the
show.”
-Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture

Issues of race in reality have gone to court: Claybrooks v. ABC

Tendency to associate racism with rural conservatives rather than
urban liberals.

23. ECONOMIC IMPACT

24. THE ECONOMICS OF REALITY TELEVISION

Reality TV represents a very valuable market for TV networks due to it’s high
viewership and low cost of production.

While a single actor for a hit scripted TV can make upwards of 800,000 dollars,
reality TV actors make far less. For instance the stars of the Jersey Shore, a show
that generates a viewership of more than 4.4 million mostly young people, only
make a couple hundred dollars per episode.

Larger networks can place their reality TV on their smaller channels or channels
that specialize in reality TV to generate overall viewership and not have to
sacrifice big network shows.

It is easy to incorporate product placement into the show and make it seem
organic thus generating more money in advertising.

These shows have proven they have staying power by continuing to remain on
air for extremely long periods of time and receive a cult like viewership.

The shows can stay on air longer throughout the year because there is the ability
to constantly keep it fresh and no need for scripts.

25. PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Due to the unscripted and natural feel of reality TV, product placement is coming
into much more use because it feels organic.

It has become easy for products to be integrated quietly into the lives of the
people we watch and viewers are more comfortable seeing these people use
these products.

Actors on reality TV are much more willing to use these products on their show
than actual actors. While actual actors worry about their art and long term value,
for the most part reality TV stars are more concerned with immediate rewards.

In a recent study of the top ten shows with product placement, nine of the ten
shows were reality TV programs.

Some shows are even starting to become sponsored such as the hit TV show
Top Chef were all the tools and cooking instruments are carefully chosen as
product placement.

Complete sponsorship of a reality show can cost about three million dollars or a
partial between one and two million.

As a result of this new humongous profit income, networks continue to create
more and more reality TV programs.

27. THE NEW REALITY TV ECONOMY:
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND REBUILDING

Two reality TV shows, The Shark Tank and America’s next great
Restaurant focus on helping people start new lives and new jobs.

These shows represent growth in our economy not only in the TV
business but also in the goal of entrepreneurship and new business.

This new area of Reality TV where business meets reality TV can also
be seen with TV shows like Pawn Stars and Storage Wars, shows that
were meant to show the decline of our economy.

This new wave of shows hope to have a more positive outlook and hope
to help America while others watch on.

Other shows such as Extreme Home Makeover have the benefit of
helping others in the same way as the two previously stated shows
while at the same time integrating design reality TV into its core to bring
in more viewers.

28. THE GLOBAL ALLURE

Due to the overwhelming success of reality TV in the US, reality
TV has spread throughout the world and thus affects the global
economy as well.

In Latin America, the last decade has seen all kinds of reality
shows from survival shows to image change shows, with
dedicated reality TV channels such as True TV.

From singing contests to talent quests to cooking competitions,
consumers in the Asia-Pacific region are being bombarded with
reality TV programs almost every night of the week.

Young Indian audiences are so enamored with reality television
that they will not watch the dramas so dear to their parents.

29. SOCIAL IMPACT
 Most college-age students don’t like to
admit they watch as much reality TV as
they do because they don’t want that
“social stigma” associated with it.
 Many watch because they can identify
with the characters, even though they
consider reality TV a “break from reality”
rather than a representation of reality.
 Reality TV fits a college-student’s
lifestyle and habits.

30. 
Studies suggest that watching reality TV affects the viewers
self-esteem.

What about reality TV is most important to a college student?
1. character relationships
2. conflicts and arguments

Parasocial Relationships and Zillmann’s disposition theory

Reality TV fits a college-student’s lifestyle and habits.

Studies suggest that watching reality TV affects the viewers
self-esteem.

32. THE FUTURE OF REALITY TV

33. QUESTIONS
1. Do you notice Reality TV shows exaggerating
stereotypes?
2. Is there a stigma attached to watching Reality
TV?
3. Does watching Reality TV create an educational
experience, exposing you to new cultures and
lifestyles, or will it always fall into that cheap,
guilty pleasure category?

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