Mob Life Prospectus

8/2/2019 Mob Life Prospectus

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BACKGROUND &

INDUSTRIAL CONTEXT


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HistoryTLC, for years prior to its 1991 buying byDiscovery Communications, was known for itsoriginal name, The Learning Channel. TLC

was primarily concerned with providingdocumentary-style instructional, technical,and wholesome educational programming toits audience. Its content featured a widespectrum, ranging from documentaries on

medicine, cooking, home improvement, andtechnology. Thus, TLCs audience base wasclassified as inquisitive.

In 1991, Discovery Communications

purchased all of TLCs shares from FinancialNews Network and Infotechnology Inc..Through the first half of the 1990s, TLCremained primarily an academic andeducational channel. However, the later part

of the decade witnessed a significant changefrom an academic theme to a more popular,mass-consumption theme. Programmingbegan to gear itself towards particular

niches of audiences by adding more popularand reality-based spins on already existingtopics (Home Savvyand New Detectives aretwo examples). Furthermore, as TLCsprogram content shifted so too did itsaudience. By the end of the 1990s, daytime

female viewers, who were also less interestedin TLCs educational portion of itsprogramming, became the primary target

audience. As part of a rebranding effort in1998, the network began advertising itself asTLC instead of The Learning Channel.

From 1999-2001, TLCs programmingcontinued to transform. The networksemerging theme was reality-drama (such asJunkyard Wars) and interior design and

makeover (like the series Trading Spaces).TLCs program subjects continued to expandto including law enforcement, medicaldramas, extreme weather, dating, home

design, and housing makeover. During thesethree years, TLC adopted the slogan LifeUnscripted. In 2006, the slogan was changedto Live and Learn along with a program shiftaway from home design programming andtowards themes centered on life lessons,

family life, and personal stories. In 2008, theslogan was again altered, this time to LifeSurprises but mostly this acted only as abrand refresher. Programs such as CakeBoss, Hoarding: Buried Alive, Say Yes to the

Dress, and What Not to Wearhave led TLCsemphasis on these themes for the past 5years and continue to dominate the ratings.

Due to ownership by Discovery

Communications, related channels andnetworks include Animal Planet, TravelChannel, Science Channel, and TheDiscovery Channel.


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Core Themes

TLC is Discoverys second-most watchednetwork with 100 million viewers worldwide,with access from over 99 million homes in the

United States and an additional 73 millionhomes internationally. As such, TLC isregarded as a premier source of daytimeprogramming today. Its target audience is themid to late 30s female demographic. It is

currently labeled as one of the Top 10 CableNetworks for Women. When asked tocomment on the audience, TLCs executive

vice president and general manager, DavidAbraham, said, Were very aware that were

strong with women. When TLC is workingwell, the woman controls the remote. Evenso, not just any woman enjoys TLCprogramming. Comcasts Viewer Profile onTLC shows that 66 percent of all viewers are

female and 71 percent are homeowners,which suggests that many of the femaleviewers are housewives.

There is not one specific day in which newepisodes air, but there is a particular time.Every day of the week features one seriesnew episode at 9pm ET with a new episodefrom a different series following immediatelyafterwards at 10pm ET. However, given that

TLCs audience is primarily daytime viewers,it seems the network places also places moreimportance on repeated airings of shows soas to ensure maximum availability for primary

Contemporary TLC audiences. The TLC schedule is shown inFigure 1.1 in the Appendix

Core themes in TLCs programming today arefamily, life lessons, personal stories, andcultural insight. What Not to Wearplays

heavily on life lessons as the hosts givefashion makeovers to stagnant and abnormaladult females, thereby effectively changingtheir life outlook. Cake Boss and Say Yes tothe Dress incorporate staunch family

environments into the developments andoutcomes of the plots. Hoarding: Buried Aliveand My Strange Addiction both look atdysfunctional disorders and problems, whilecreating engaging personal stories throughout

the episode, and My Big Fat Gypsy Weddingand NY Inkboth use their formats to gaininteresting cultural insight.

Foreign influenceJust like other American cable networks,some of TLCs most popular shows areformatted after those that originated in other

countries. For instance, My Big Fat GypsyWeddingstarted broadcasting on TLC in 2011after TV producer Simon Cowell took interestin making a U.S. version ofBig Fat GypsyWeddings, a British documentary series on

gypsy culture (produced by FirecrackerFilms).


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Marketing & Brand

Similarly, Four Weddings (which features fourbrides and grooms who attend and rate eachothers weddings) and What Not to Wearboth

originated on United Kingdom networks.TLCs version of these two shows areformatted virtually the same, except in TLCsFour Weddings, only brides, not grooms,participate. Due to the international success

of some of these shows, certain programminghas also been tailored for foreign audienceviewing. For example, foreign versions ofWhat Not to Wearare broadcasted inColombia, Argentina, Portugal, Mexico, Brazil,

and Spain.

of upcoming new episodes for programs,launching viewer incentives such as therecent chance to win $5000 gift.com money

by watching new episodes ofWhat Not toWear, and offering online blogs, videos,forums, and lifestyle guides for any onlinebrowsers.

Advertising on TLC targets the networksmain audience- adult women. Currentcommercials include an ADT home securitysystems commercial, Swanson cooking brothcommercials, IKEA home furnishing

commercials, a Sears commercial promotingholiday deals, and a Twix chocolate candybar. Most of these advertisements arenarrated by women and feature actresses asmain characters. For example, in the Twix

commercial, a woman narrator speaksseductively while a liquid chocolate and otheringredients twist and pour into one another.The commercials also cater to family-orientedinterests, but still maintain women as the

central targets in this context. In the Searscommercial, a woman is shown sneakingaround the house and out to the Sears storewhile Christmas music and pictures of giftsand wrapping are shown repeatedly. This

denotes a sense of enjoyment of the femalecharacter in preparing thehouseholds gifts.

TLC brands itself much like any othertelevision network. It uses slogans, such asLife Surprises and Live and Learn, that are

either spoken by a narrator duringcommercials or placed beside or below thechannels logo. The logo itselfa red TLC inboxescan also be found on the lower right

hand corner of the screen after a commercialbreak. TLC also heavily brands itself throughits content. Its themes permeate throughoutevery show on its schedule, and the contentis very appropriate for leisurely, daytimeviewing.

Promotions techniques for TLC includesaying only on TLC when showing previews


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Show Analysis:

Say Yes to the Dress


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The PremiseBeginning in 2007, a new show began to airon TLC titled Say Yes to the Dress, whichfocuses on the process of finding a wedding

dress at the popularly known bridal boutiqueKleinfeld Bridal in New York City.Throughout each episode, audiences followsales associates, managers, and fitters who,along with individually profiled brides, search

for the perfect wedding dress. Everyappointment that is chronicled is presentedthrough a series of problems that need to be

solved, with the most important one beingthat the bride finds a dress to purchase.

Approximately half of each 30-minute episodefocuses on the perspective of those who workat the store while the remaining is seen fromthe viewpoint of the bride and her friends andfamily. The success of this series has lead to

several spin-off series, including Say Yes tothe Dress: Atlanta, Say Yes to the Dress: BigBliss, and Say Yes to the Dress: RandyKnows Best.

Common ThemesCommon themes found in this series arefamily drama, problem solving, struggling withbody image, and managing economic

constraints. Balancing problems and dramaamong the brides friends and family is afrequent element of the show. More oftenthan not, differing opinions emerges aboutdress styles and costs between the bride and

those in her shopping party. From this, therole of the store consultant is transformed intoa mediator, one who has to balance the

opinions. The end of each episode culminatesin the final solution, or sometimes a lackthereof, as the featured brides find andpurchase a wedding dress. Furthermore, theprocess of finding the perfect wedding dress

is more than just the main premise of theshow. This development throughout eachepisode is considered to be symbolic for themarriage that each bride is preparing to enter.Finding a flawless dress represents to the

brides that their marriages will also beflawless. Also, with searching for the perfectdress, brides are sometimes presented withstress about their body image. Thus, thisstruggle is presented in the series as another

conflict that brides overcome as they discoverand purchase their wedding dress. In additionto all these themes, economic troubles arealso a feature of the show. Since the show

began to air in 2007, the 2008 economiccrisis of America has become evident intelevision programming. There are manytimes on the show when brides struggle withwanting a particular dress and limited funds.This is an additional obstacle that brides are

confronted with and must learn to overcome.


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Altogether, these elements of the showembody the primary themes of TLCprogramming: drama between family

members, overcoming personal hardships,and modern culture.

The Show & TLC

Through the different aspects of the seriesproduction, Say Yes to the Dress overallconnects with the TLC network. The show is a

human-interest program that is produced inthe form of a semi-reality series. Commentaryfrom both store employees and customersare included for each plot within the episodes.From the inclusion of these elements, the

show is able to appeal and amass its generalaudience from middle-aged women, who canmost easily relate to task involved inweddings and identify with the process ofmanaging and handling the abovementioned

problems.


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Audience & Online

Analysis


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Couple features Jens Blog, where Jenshares her journey on her road toparenthood.

TLCs advertising content is consistent acrossall of their online mediums, with webpagetake-over for their own content (fullbackground advertisements) and large

interactive banner advertisements at the topand along the side panels. Advertisementsinclude TLC content, as well as The HomeDepot, First Response Pregnancy Tests,

Panasonic Cameras. These brands tieheavily into their slogan, Live and Learn andthe journey of life.

Facebook

TLC has come a long way from its earlyprogramming and moved into a moreinteractive position with the viewer.

Represented on social media sites such asFacebook, Twitter, and YouTube, TLC hasbrought their content from the TV screen tothe fingertips of the consumer.

The online presence for TLC originates attheir main webpage, TLC.Discovery.com. Onthe webpage, shows are listed as well as TV

schedules, video clips and full length showsavailable for viewers at any time. As seen in

the Figure 1.2 in the Appendix, the TLCwebpage includes sections called such asSocial in which the combine live chat,Twitter and comment. Furthering interaction,TLC provides games relevant to each one of

their shows. From LA Ink: Virtual TattooGame ,in which you design you own virtualtattoo, to Cake Boss: Delivery Dash Game, inwhich you must deliver a cake before time

runs out, this interaction creates deeperconnections with viewers

Additionally, blogs are maintained on thewebpage for each show, capturing a behind-the-scenes look at the shows and their stars.

19 Kids and Countingfeatures MichellesBlog, documenting family trips, Thanksgivingwith the Duggars, tips on buying used clothesand teaching children values. The Little

TLC Web Site

TLC has a well-defined presence onFacebook, with their fan page declaring thatthey are 1 Million and Counting in regards to

their fan following. With 1,040,850 likes onthe main TLC page, the page is consistentlyadding fans, as seen in the Figure 1.3 in theAppendix.

Along with the main page for the network,each TLC show has its own fan page withlikes ranging from 14,412 for the new showAll American Muslim to the most liked TLCshow page, Cake Boss, with 3,274,423.

Totaling all the TLC show pages and the mainpage together, the network has a reach of11,856,465 fans on Facebookalone.


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far more expansive than the 94,060 followershave direct contact with.

Along with the TLC Twitter account, programstars are also active on Twitter, such as CakeBossBuddy Valastro (@CakeBossBuddy),who boasts 175,233 followers and 2,135tweets. With content such as photos of cakes

and decorating tips, Twitter is tailored to theCake Boss fans and their lives. Other TLCstars that are present on Twitter include WhatNot to Wears Stacy London

(@StacyLondonSays) and Clinton Kelly(@Clinton_kelly), DC Cupcake shop,Georgetown Cupcakes (@GTownCupcake)and more.

With an active YouTube, TLC combines videoadvertisements, tutorial clips and show extrasinto a highly viewed online channel. Thechannel hosts 2,373 uploads, with 100,773subscribers to the channel. Both subscribers

and non-subscribers enjoy TLC YouTubecontent with 75,397,393 video views on thechannel.

Content on TLCs YouTube channel is heavily

concentrated with short tutorials on skin care,cooking tips, and fashion advice. Promotionalmaterial and clips for the shows are also

Twitter

With content ranging from updates on castmembers, video,s and photos, TLC Facebookpages are delivering content that viewers

care about. Interactive contests are used onpages such as What Not to Wearand theirKeep It or Toss It photo upload contest orExtreme Couponingand their Show Us YourStuff fan upload. This content allows fans to

interact with the shows they love and allowseach viewer to Live and Learn from theshow and other viewers.

TLC has an active presence on the socialmedia site, Twitter, with 94,060 followers andover 10,000 tweets to date. With their Twitter

account, TLC updates fans on shows, butpredominantly tweets relevant information tothe target audience, such as a link to a 7Step Plan for Healthy Living or homeremedies for the flu. These real-life tips

connect to programming about real familiesand their lives.

As seen in the Figure 1.4 in the Appendix,TLC tweets on average 9.8 times per day and

254 times per month with the highest day foraggregate tweets on Monday at 8 pm. Thistime slot is likely the most frequently used toannounce premieres or specials for the week,leading into their prime time of 8 -10 pm.

With 19.51% of total tweets by TLC beingretweeted, the reach of their Twitter account it

YouTube


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Audience Reaction

included but make up much less of thecontent. Through the collection of tutorials,TLC is promoting their values of learning

about real life situations.

Are you a What Not to Wear expert? Or

maybe it's YOUR outfit that needs somefeedback? Click here to upload your photo or

to cast your vote.

Posted on December 7th by TLC on theirFacebook page, this prompt and the ensuingcomments give insight into how viewers react

to TLC and their programming. With 218likes and 25 comments and 4 page shares,the post has been widely viewed and opinionsare not being held back. Several commentsproclaim I love TLC, but an equal amount

are saying Wear what works for your life.Obviously if you have babies throwing up onyou, designer clothes would not make sensefor your life now (unless of course you havedollar bills to throw out the window). That's

real style.

The viewers of TLC are highly opinionatedand wont back down from an what theybelieve. Another woman said, I don't like the

show, I will wear what makes me comfortableI am a stay at home mom running after twokids, and you sure can't do that in a designer

skirt. These strong opinions are heard onboth the TLC website as well as on otherforums such as tvwithoutpity.com.

In both cases, viewers freely express theirpositive and negative attitude for the showand the network. As mentioned ontvwithoutpity.com, I would watch this show if

everyone actually looked good in what thewhat not wear hosts style...By thatlogic...every woman needs pointy toed heelsof death,.

Reallyasuperbshow.TLCismyfavoritechannel,.These viewers love to watch thenetwork, but have high expectations andpointed opinions that they expect to heard.


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The Pitch


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flash mob and the joy and happiness that cancome from it. The final recurring character isMarcus Vandelay, a first time flash mobber

who goes from zero dancing experience to aflash mob enthusiast by the end of theseason. He is reluctant at first and choosesto join Kelly's group at the request of a friend.Each episode focuses on new characters and

flash mobs, but these three people and theirspecific flash mob group are the primary

focus of the series.

Mob Life is a show that goes behind thescenes of flash mob culture. The seriesfeatures one or two specific flash mob

organizations, with a general focus on thespecific processes that go into making asurprise flash mob. The show is comprised ofinterviews with flash mob organizers,participants, spectators, and business

owners, as well as plenty of original footageof the actual dances and spectator reactions.

Each episode focuses on a different aspect offlash mobbing. For example, one episodecovers the legal and financial aspects of it,

analyzing the need for monetary investmentand land use permissions in the production ofa flash mob. Another episode examines thepower of flash mobs as an advertisingmechanism.

There are a few recurring characters that willappear in roughly 30% of the series'episodes. Kelly Singer is a professional flash

mob organizer who is very passionate abouther work. She is also a short-temperedperfectionist. The series has severaldramatic interactions between Kelly and hernumber two, Jessica Benson. Jessica is anavid flash mobber who does it purely for fun.

The relationship between these two acts as arepresentation of the binary between thephysical and mental effort required to create a

The Premise

Why TLC

TLCs most salient programming themes arefamily, personal stories, life lessons, andcultural insight. Mob Life seeks to fit into

these themes, but specifically incorporatesthe themes of life lessons and cultural insight.In each episode, the processes anddifficulties of executing a successful flashmob forces participants, who each have

varying experience in flash mobbing, tonegotiate their relationships with otherparticipants, to learn teamwork and makepersonal decisions. Moreover, while eachepisode will feature a new flash mob, it will

also feature a new location and newsurroundings. This will allow for cultural


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characters respond and relate to the new anddiverse flash mob members, how the newflash mob members respond to the main

characters, and the general practice of flashmobbing itself. Mob Life will explore theincredible culture of flash mobbing in a waythat the general public has never beenexposed to.

insight, as new group members will havemostly come from these respective locations,observers will more than likely be residents of

these towns/cities, and the performancesetting itself will change. These constantchanges will all add an entirely new elementof cultural interest and insight to the viewer.

TLC has already tapped into this mode ofreality TV. In 2006, the network launched

Miami Inkas a way to feature an interestinglens into the Miami scene. In an interview,TLCs then VP of production Michael Klein

said, "With our show, we're focusing on fiveindividuals in South Beach who're reallyentrenched in the South Beach lifestyle. It'stheir world through their eyes. The tattoos aresort of our way into that world." Miami Inkis

now virtually NY Ink, which features the maincharacter ofMiami Inkwho has moved toNew York. This allows audiences to gaininsight into an entirely new cultural arena

outside of the tattoo parlor.

We seek to launch Mob Life as a similarmechanism into an exploration of variouslifestyles, scenes, and cultures throughoutAmerica. Cultural shifts will be faster paced,

proving almost as snapshots of differentpeoples. Nevertheless, the most interestingaspects of the show will be how the main

Time Slot

Mob Life will run at 9/8 C on Wednesdaynights. This time slot is immediately beforeToddlers and Tiaras, which is currently one of

TLCs most popular shows. Thus, these twoshows can potentially be featured together innetwork advertisements, so as to help gaininterest from audiences that are intrigued bydramatic programs. Furthermore, airing Mob

Life beforehand will ensure that the show isexposed to the maximum amount of viewerswhen it initially airs.


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Appendix


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Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

9/8c 10/9c

CakeBoss:Next

GreatBakerCandyQueen

WhatNotto

Wear

DontTellthe

Bride

Toddlers&Tiaras

DUICellBlock6:

FemaleLockUp

SayYestothe

Dress

Bridesof

BeverlyHills

Extreme

ChristmasTrees

LiVlePeopleBig

World

All-American

Muslim


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TLCWebSite


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ShowFacebookPages


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TLCFacebookPage


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TwiVer


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YouTube


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Hibberd, James. "TLC Inks Tattoo Reality Series." Television Week 24.17 (2005): 1-72. AcademicSearch Premier. Web. 3 Dec. 2011

Hibberd, James. "Family Planning Works For TLC." Television Week 25.24 (2006): 4. Academic SearchPremier. Web. 3 Dec. 2011.

Hibberd, James. "New TLC Series Are Child's Play." Television Week 25.2 (2006): 2. Academic SearchPremier. Web. 3 Dec. 2011

Barovick, Harriet. "Labor, Love And Ratings." Time 154.16 (1999): 103. Academic Search Premier. Web.3 Dec. 2011

Crupi, Anthony. "TLC Remodels Its Schedule." Mediaweek 15.32 (2005): 35. Academic Search Premier.

Web. 3 Dec. 2011.

Lafayette, Jon. "New Programs To Freshen TLC." Television Week 24.15 (2005): 3-30. AcademicSearch Premier. Web. 3 Dec. 2011.

"Compulsions and Obsessions Return With TLC's New Season of "My Strange Addiction" - PremieresSunday July 17th at 10PM." Web. .

"Advertise on TLC | Comcast Spotlight Advertising." Comcast Spotlight | Experience the Power ofComcast Spotlight Advertising. Web. 3 Dec. 2011. .

Gettyimages.comGoogle Images

Tweetstats.comhttp://statistics.allfacebook.comFacebook.comTelevisionwithoutpit.com


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Mob Life Prospectus