Let’s be honest, what is more exciting to watch: dance moms fight for their daughters’ rights to be a star or Manning play the entire first quarter against the Seahawks? Though the ballot may be split, numbers don’t lie. As reality TV becomes more and more integrated into our society one would think that, when it comes to ratings, reality TV would surpass sports. Then again, the support for athleticism is tremendous in America, so one could also think that sports surpass the reality TV invasion. So, is America drooling at the Kardashian sisters every Sunday night or sitting by the coffee table watching the preseason?
It’s obvious why people watch sports: strength, rankings and trophies. It’s more of a psychological dilemma as to why people choose to watch reality TV. People watch reality TV for vain reasons. We like to look at others in comparison to ourselves instead of as equals. We like the turmoil because, for most of us, it reminds us how better off or relatively normal we are.
According to Jesse Hicks’ article, “Why do we love reality television?” for Research Penn State, the most appealing aspect of reality is the illusion of interaction with the viewer.
According to Jason Deans’ article, “Super Bowl 2012 sets US TV rating record for third year running” the game earlier this year between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots averaged 111.3 million viewers, prior to halftime. This is a television event Americans wait all year for, businesses pay millions to be a part of and the country nearly makes a national holiday out of it.
“American Idol” also averaged that many viewings. Coincidence? More recent reality TV shows like “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo ” attracted 2.2 million viewers according to Tierney Bricker from E! News from London. These numbers may not seem like a lot, but they are definitely a good start to premiering shows.
What does this mean for scripted television? According to a New York Times article by Bill Carter, “Reality shows generally cost less than half as much to produce as scripted television.” This is a huge factor as to why reality TV takes over our televisions. Carter also said, “What viewers say they want and what they really watch are not the same… ‘Jersey Shore’ had 4.4 million viewers ages 18 to 49, more than anything else on television.”
Reality shows are bashed by everyone, but their continual show of unexpected and dramatic content keeps people watching even more than their claimed “favorite” suspense programs. The fact that sports and reality television are admired for their constantly unique and unpredictable outcomes keeps people addicted to viewing.
If we are basing this decision on the Olympics, sports trump reality TV. Sports and reality TV are watched regularly, with the exception of monumental occasions like the Olympics with its 31.01 million viewers, according to NBC.com. Ithink that some of the more popular shows like “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”, “Jersey Shore”, “Bad Girls Club” and others that do have a solid over 2 million audience collectively outweigh current preseason football games. Preseason can be compared to reruns of “Laguna Beach”, but people look to reality TV as a pleasure and humorous break from the stress of life. Watching a little girl walk around a Georgia Wal-Mart and spouting out random phrases that are senseless intrigue us.