Rick Porter

@rickporter.bsky.social

28204 Followers 291 Following

Work: TV business editor at The Hollywood Reporter, proprietor of thedatastream.tv. Not work: Chicagoland resident and enthusiast. Signal: rwp.07

Screenshot from the weather app showing air quality index of 500, which is as high as the scale goes
Three rows of large iridescent spheres on the water. These are about 2-3 feet in diameter
I’ve been thinking about what to compare the World Cup to as a TV product, and the best I can come up with is that it’s somewhere between March Madness and the Olympics in terms of structure, presentation and audience size. This week’s deep dive will have me trying to support that idea with a look at the outsized audience for the tournament, where it stacks up with the two reference points I just mentioned — and some other sports — and what the future holds. All while I watch Norway and England in the quarterfinals as I type.
When it comes to Emmys, though, Apple punches way above its weight. It’s won 62 Emmys since 2020, including 22 last year. One more piece of evidence: Apple’s 87 nominations Wednesday came from only 31 submitted shows (15 of which got nominations). That’s a much higher batting average than other media companies. Take a look:
Jeff Hiller is much, much taller than Liza Colon-Zayas
Terry Jones as the woman behind the counter in the Monty Python Spam sketch
Other than the two NBA Finals games, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune were the most watched shows of the week, and Family Feud and Judge Judy — which, by the way, has been in reruns for four-plus years — also make the top 10. Jeopardy!, Wheel and Family Feud would likely make the top 10 or 15 shows in just about any week of the year, not just during the summer when network numbers go down some.
In other words — and again, this is just me speculating — The Boroughs may be a victim of the kind of demographic-driven (or acquisition-driven, or whatever) kind of thinking that felled any number of pre-streaming era network shows that didn’t have enough younger viewers. You know, the kind of thing that streaming promised would become a thing of the past. And so one we have one more data point that streaming is becoming more like traditional TV in all but the delivery method.
*Note: Please ensure that all coverage has the correct spelling of JAŸ-Z (caps, with the umlaut over the “Ÿ”)*
Stevie Wonder
Bruce Springsteen follows Obama’s speech
Barack Obama speaking at the opening of his presidential center
Bono and The Edge getting ready to do “City of Blinding Lights” at the Obama center opening
Michelle Obama making a speech at the Obama Center opening as seen from the big screen at the watch party.
The big screen showing Michelle and Barack Obama listening to music
Eddie Vedder on a big screen, introducing his band from Guitars Over Guns
A crowd of people mostly in lawn chairs stretching back a ways
Black Thought of The Roots on a big screen.
At the public watch party for the Obama Center. A big screen saying “welcome to the Obama Presidential Center grand opening ceremony” taken about an hour before the ceremony starts, with some people on the lawn in front of the screen and the center’s main building in the background a couple blocks away
Promo pic for the FX show "Lucky" with cast members Craig Robinson, John Corbett, Ever Carradine and Billy Gardell
Spam email "Illuminati invitation" Based on the membership criterion of the Illuminati, we find you are of great interest in possession of a good mastery of manual dexterity and academic proficiency. With this, we look at you as the class that will be the platform for which you stand to meet the wealthy people who can raise you to wealth, power, fame and glory. I strongly recommend that you join us in the Illuminati. Joining us you become wealthy and live the life you desire. Do you accept the offer?
I'm also fascinated by shows that are squarely in the middle of their network's ratings table. What does a perfectly average TV show look like, in terms of ratings? It's that exercise I want to get into today.
WNBA score bug that says “Dream Fever”
Top floor of the Harold Washington Library
And also, as much as it produces really good long-form reporting a lot of the time, I would venture that 60 Minutes is mostly a habit for a large chunk of its viewers. For literally almost my entire life (I’m 54), the show has aired on Sunday evenings — 6 p.m. for a few years in the early 1970s and 7 p.m. every year since 1975. The median age for a network TV viewer is in the mid-60s, so those folks have known it as a Sunday staple for most of their lives too. Habits don’t die easily. I’ll be (morbidly) curious to see what happens when 60 Minutes starts airing new episodes again in the fall, but until then anyone trying to read the ratings for evidence of the behind-the-scenes mess is making stuff up.
A 78-4 roster from 82-0.com: 2010s Steph Curry, 1980s Michael Jordan, Jazz Gordon Hayward, Raptors Pascal Siakam and 1960s Warriors Wilt Chamberlain
Screenshot of a spam email that reads as follows: Hello pretty, I never thought I would find myself writing a message like this. The truth is, I came across your LinkedIn profile and found myself returning to it more than once. There is something about your smile and the warmth in your photo that genuinely caught my attention. What surprised me most was realizing that a woman I have never met could leave such an impression on me. It felt strange, but also wonderful. It took courage to write because I know LinkedIn is meant for professional connections. Still, I felt I would regret staying silent. I would love the chance to get to know the person behind that beautiful smile and photo and see where a single conversation might lead. If you don't mind, I would be happy to share a photo of myself so you can put a face to my name. I look forward to hearing from you.
Header for my newsletter, The Data Stream, and headline of Sunday's post: "A short history of dubious streaming ratings claims" Subhead: "Are they outright lies? Probably not — but there are a lot of ways to put a spin on viewing numbers."
Final paragraph of the linked story, which reads as follows. “The state proclamation does not take a side on the best way to order an Italian beef, as that would likely have caused fractious debate within the legislature. (But it’s dipped with sweet peppers.)” The parenthetical is highlighted.
Crucifictorious from Friday Night Lights
The Dell Yearling book cover of "How to Eat Fried Worms"
• TV advertising used to be about volume — reaching the most people possible. The whole thing was (as I discussed in my Cancel Bear posts) your show can have the most ardent fan base in the world, but if it wasn’t big enough, that didn’t matter. Now, media companies are essentially saying, “but what if it did?” Just about every presentation contained the word “fandom,” because as ads become more and more specifically targeted — your streaming algorithms are essentially spying on you the way your social media feeds are — the pitch is that an audience that’s particularly engaged with a show might be more likely to buy an advertiser’s products, and there will be on-screen ways to do just that. Unless, you know, the fandom is too busy having insane arguments about what the show owes them.
Press release headline that reads: CLASS IS IN SESSION: FOX ANNOUNCES NEW CELEBRITY GAME SHOW “NATION’S DUMBEST” — THE ONLY COMPETITION YOU DON’T WANT TO WIN
Burger King logo generator thing. Inside the bun it says "May you live" and the tagline below says "in less interesting times"
Spam email that reads, "Hello, My name is Uwe Rock, the product sourcing manager ..."
Email subject line from a ticket seller: "On Sale This Week: Aimee Mann, Beth Hart, The Charlatans UK, Book of Love, and more"
The Mooninites from Aqua Teen Hunger Force
From 2012-22, the broadcast networks (including The CW) canceled or otherwise ended (allowing for pre-planned series finales) 37 percent of their scripted shows each year — about 38 of 102 shows across all five networks. In the past few years, however, those numbers have fallen off substantially — driven mostly by the fact that there aren’t as many scripted series as there used to be. Since 2022-23 (and not including The CW, which basically stopped its homegrown scripted series production then), ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC have aired an average of just 56.5 scripted shows a year. At the same time, networks have cut back development significantly, shrinking the pool of potential replacements for underperforming shows. The canceled/ended show rate has fallen to a bit under 29 percent in the past three years. Put together, those trends leave networks little choice to but leave their lineups mostly intact year to year.
The idea of a September-to-May season by which networks measure themselves against each other is older than commercial TV itself. All sorts of rhythms that we (well, anyone old enough to remember the pre-streaming era) associate with the way television works are tied to it, from the announcement of next year’s schedules in May to the crush of shows premiering in the first week or two of fall. It also, in this year of our lord 2026, makes no damn sense anymore. The construct of the TV season is an entirely artificial one, and the places where the largest number of us actually watch things now — streaming services — pay it little or no mind. Beyond some hidebound traditions, there’s not a reason to just line up the TV calendar with the actual calendar.
No Kings Chicago, marchers stretching back a few blocks with some downtown buildings in the background.
A batting helmet full of nachos
Seattle Torrent in blue/green, NY Sirens in white in front of the Sirens goal.
The homepage of Merriam-Webster dot com
The cover of the Summerland original soundtrack CD from the very short lived early 2000s WB show
A flowchart for when discourse is happening. All the sane options lead to “Don’t post,” and posting leads to regret.
A navy blue T shirt with a play on the Morton salt logo. At the top it says “protect migrants” in block letters, and next to the girl holding the umbrella in script is “salt the ice”
Schuyler sisters dresses from Hamilton
The first Spidey comic, Amazing Fantasy 15
First paragraph of a press release that reads, “LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2026 — Arena, the professional network reimagining how sports, media, and entertainment industry leaders connect, officially launches today. Founded by Parul Khosla, Adriene Bueno, and Olivia Schwartz — veterans of the NFL, NBA, Disney, and LinkedIn — Arena has evolved into a community-first professional network built for top leaders across sports, media, and entertainment.” I have circled “launches today” and highlighted “evolved” and put a big ol’ question mark after evolved to highlight the lazy, sloppy writing.
Screenshot of my weather app showing a temperature of -9 Fahrenheit and a “feels like” temp of -22. The high for the day is 5, which happened overnight. During waking hours it won’t be above -2
Apple Maps screenshot showing a 55 minute travel time from Riverside to downtown LA around 8 pm pacific time tonight
Part of a Netflix press release about Emily in Paris being renewed that reads, “Emily in Paris has captivated fans around the world for five seasons, with each season appearing in the global Top 10 English TV List for multiple weeks. The series invites fans into Emily’s chic and fabulous life inspiring trends, memes, fashion, tourism and more. Emily even became the ultimate American in Paris for those unforgettable Olympics promos. As with his previous groundbreaking television series that put New York (Sex and the City) and Los Angeles (Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place) on the cultural map, creator Darren Star’s signature storytelling has consistently shaped entertainment and global pop culture—this time through the lens of Paris.” “put new York (Sex and the City) and Los Angeles (Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place) on the cultural map” is highlighted in blue because it’s such a ridiculous statement.
My 2026 word, per a screenshot of a GIF from Merriam Webster, is “slapdash”
Chunks of braised lamb in a brown sauce on top of a puree of eggplant, cheese and cream with some chives sprinkled over the top
“Richard” painted in a medieval style with the R in blue, outlined in orange. The border is navy with gold flowers at the corners and starbursts at the midpoints of each side
Screen shot of a Gmail message from Kohl’s telling me I have $5 in rewards to use, written in English. At the top left is a little blue box from Google, which I circled in red, that reads, “It looks like this message is in Greek. Translate to English.”
A lit and decorated Christmas tree in front of a window
A bunch of plastic bins full of Christmas decorations
Headline that reads “SAG Awards Changes Name to Actor Awards.” Below it is the logo for the awards with a silhouette of the statue given to winners and the words “The Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA”