TV Shows Use Web To Predict Hits

An article in the New York times discusses how TV execs spotted an unlikely hit TV show by monitoring the internet and its chat forums. Analysis by Initiative Media indiucated a new way of researching TV show popularity:

Initiative Media began looking at Internet chatter for the first time last year, adding a new element to the mix of methods of predicting early awareness of shows. Last year, when “Lost” defied all expectations by demonstrating a clatter of attention on the Web, Initiative began questioning whether the passive examination they were doing of the chat sites was simply not a proper way to measure advance audience interest in television shows.

New York Times