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1. From the perspective of a mens' rights group, what are the key demographics you feel Spike is not appealing to?
I think the question is more easily addressed by looking at who SpikeTV DOES appeal to… since it’s the more easily identified group. I feel Spike TV targets two demographics that they feel provides adequate coverage of men in general. The first is the 18-24 (or maybe 13-24) youth market. They hit this using programming that’s along the lines of MTV and Comedy Central… primarily brainless inane humor targeting men’s ‘base’ aspects. Works well for those of us in our irresponsible youth (hey… we were all there once). The second is sports programming targeting the percentage of men who are sports fanatics.
The problem with this approach is that it brings nothing new to the table, both the above demographics are covered by other cable stations in a more targeted manner than SpikeTV is capable of (MTV, ESPN, etc…). They’ve portrayed themselves as a station for men in a broad sense, but their programming and advertising belies that portrayal. IMO they are really targeted at what they feel are the largest and easiest to hit groups of men (logical). The problem with this is in doing so they fail to draw from the bulk of men, those who are a bit too mature to be interested in “Striperella” and for whatever reason don’t find watching sports on TV particularly stimulating (except for the Tour de France of course, EVERYONE loves the Tour! ;-), but that’s on OLN).
In my opinion they’re just another also-ran in a dial full of also-rans… sure I’d rather watch them than “Lifetime” but if given a choice I wouldn’t watch either… and since we have a choice my wife and I have chosen to get rid of TV altogether. As far as a negative portrayal of men, certainly if you assume all men like the derivative inane programming that passes for ‘shows for men’ on SpikeTV you would end up with a negative image of men, but the same could be said of people who watch Prime Time Network programming IMO… not what I would call intellectually stimulating content there. Similarly, 5 minutes watching Lifetime is enough to provide the casual observer with a very negative image of women… one that is equally flawed to any image that SpikeTV would convey.
2. What sort of reaction, if any, have you recieved from Spike in regards to your proposal?
I never received a response from Spike TV to my feedback (and it was constructive not critical), although in their defense they stated that they couldn’t respond to every suggestion made.
Dave K - A Radical Moderate
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by Anonymous User on 02:29 PM October 14th, 2004 EST (#2)
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I don't have cable or satellight, TV., so I've never seen 'SPIKE TV.' However I have heard other men talk about it and it isn't usually favorable.
Thundercloud.
"Hoka hey!"
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We had Time Warner before we moved, and rarely watched it. As far as SpikeTV goes, the boys and I would watch some of the car shows on sunday morning (shadetree mechanic, horsepower tv) but that was it. Overall our household watched maybe 8 hours of tv per week (4 people), so we decided it just wasn't worth the money, additionally it seemed that whenever we sat down and watched with the boys, it was the same crappy anti-boy/anti-man junk, and they don't need that shit in their lives.
I could probably get the networks if I bothered to connect an antenna (or we could subscribe to Adelphia or get a dish)... but we just have not missed it enought to bother.
Dave K - A Radical Moderate
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by Anonymous User on 04:47 PM October 16th, 2004 EST (#5)
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I checked and saw that SPIKE is still there, but I don't watch it. I guess that means it was just to mediocre in programming content the few times I browsed to see what was on it. Was this channel supposed to appeal to men or something? I watch mostly The History Channel, FOX News, movie channels, Discovery Channel, Animal Channel. Other than that I read books and buy DVD's that I consider worth buying.
I really wish the SPIKE channel would address the social/political issues that so prevelantly affect men in our society today. I'm trying to read as many of the books on NCFM's reading list here as I can. I often find other good men's issues books on Amazon, when I'm buying books that are on the NCFM reading list.
It's too bad that Glenn Sack's doesn't have a TV program on SPIKE TV. There would then be at least one thing I would watch on their channel. I'll just keep reading, then maybe some day I'll start my own on one of those public access channels. I'm sure Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch lay awake nights worrying about that.
Ray
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IMO, Spike misses being a channel for men in the broad sense in a couple of ways. First, I'm going to disagree with the above comentator in that I don't think they air enough sports. Aside from wrestling and a sports-like game show called "Most Extreme Challenge", I don't recall seeing any sports on there at all. To be a true men's network, I think they'd have to at least air some football games once in a while.
Secondly I think they need to break away from the modern standard mold of appealing to the lowest common denominator in their programs. I'm not against professional wrestling, but I do think the WWE product has sunk below the depths of what most men want to watch. In the last few years, they've run a necrophilia story, a "marry the old geezer for money then bump him off" story combined with an in-law incest twist, and a "girl gets raped, becomes pregnant, gets attacked, baby dies, rapist becomes hero trying to avenge her" story. Not only that, but viewers also got to see people beat the crap out of a guy playing a mental retard week after week. Maybe some men find that entertaining, but there are also many who find those to be reasons to change the channel permanently, and those are the ones who probably don't like anything else on TV so there is no real competition for their veiwership.
Third, I think Spike needs to figure out a little better what is a men's show and what is a women's show. For a long time, TV execs and everyone else thought that all those people at home drooling over the Miss America pagent were men, (who were considered depraved for doing so). Turns out most men have no interest in the pagent at all. Stripperella is Spike TV's modern misconception along the same lines. On a woman's network it probably would have been a smash, think of all the women who want to look like her vacariously enjoying seeing her exploit lonely men in order to get ridiculous amounts of money for being sooo attractive during the night, beating up those same men for being lowlifes during the day, and being praised as a hero for doing so! That same scenario doesn't appeal to men, (which is why we aren't watching it), and I assume that's why Stripperella was cancelled after only 2 months.
Finally, the network needs to appeal to men more intellectually. The CSI series looks good, (though I haven't really watched it). Add a news program or two, maybe some of the better sci-fi stuff, and some of the science stuff that men would prefer to watch like the "Nova" program or even some war tactics documentaries.
In summary, (I probably could have skipped this writeup and just used this paragraph, but oh well), Spike would IMO appeal more to men if they aired football and other popular sports, some sitcoms, some news, political shows, science shows, the better sci-fi shows, documentaries, and action and horror movies. Additionally they should raise the standards on what they air and leave out the stuff that they assume men will like based on their incorrect view of men as drooling sex fiends. Also, avoiding misandry as much as possible couldn't hurt either. And lest we forget, they should add a men's rights talk show. :)
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by Anonymous User on 05:19 PM October 17th, 2004 EST (#7)
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>"they should add a men's rights talk show. :)"
Yes, but a REAL men's talk show. Not one like that ghastly "THE OTHER HALF". which was called a "Men's talk show" but all those "men" did was sit around and talk about WOMEN'S issues...!
How the hell was THAT a "MEN'S" talk show???
Thank God it was eventualy canceled. ...At least I THINK it was canceled....
Thundercloud.
"Hoka hey!"
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by Anonymous User on 01:40 AM October 18th, 2004 EST (#8)
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Personally, I think Spike TV would appeal a lot more to men if they ran some really great film-noir movies, like they do on TCM. Richard Widmark and Dick Powell...THOSE guys were men!!! To see them kick butt and take names in those great old films would completely solidify their reputation as the foremost network for men. Ooh, and some Clint Eastwood wouldn't hurt either!
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