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Tours de Farce: Winter Sweeps
While not conclusive, the latest weekend overnight numbers revealed that Pearl Jam picked up a considerable amount of viewers over the weekend and accounted for over 41 percent of the total viewing audience. Second was Bon Jovi, followed by Avril Lavigne and Bruce Springsteen, culminating in 75 percent of the sponsors spending 92 percent of their ad budget on those three tours alone.
Old stalwarts continued to do well. Jimmy Buffett maintained a solid 21 share, as did Bob Dylan and The Moody Blues, while The Rolling Stones experienced a slight bump in the major metropolitan markets , with 31 percent of computers in Boston, New York and Los Angeles tuning in for the band’s January 28 date in Oklahoma City. Talk about satisfaction!
Of course, ratings only tell half of the picture, for it is in the analysis of weekend psychographics that things really start to take off. R.E.M. chalked up a 21 percent rise in males 21 – 34 who absolutely refuse to step on sidewalk cracks (the mama’s boy factor), while both Tori Amos and Coldplay saw their respective numbers jump up into the low double digits among households that include at least one family member who mutters under his / her breath about how “they’ll” be sorry once “the revolution comes.” Incidentally, the number of Phish fans who remembered to take their medications throughout the weekend remained stable, however the overnight ratings did indicate a slight rise in Viagra and Prozac purchases among Cher and Yanni fans, respectively.
Will the ratings translate into big bucks at the box office? Furthermore, how will President Bush’s State Of The Union address impact the total viewing audiences of the itineraries for Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, SnoCore Rock and Sigur Ros? Furthermore, will Pearl Jam’s momentum carry the band through the May sweeps, perhaps even beating out their own 1998 record of a 21.7 rating combined with a 53 percent share of the tour date-viewing audience? While the experts are refraining from any second-guessing or third party hypothesis, most trained professionals are in agreement on one, important facet when it comes to the predicting tomorrow’s concert ratings today.
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