MLP Season 5 Doing Poorer than Season 4 (In the US)

[Guest]

Before I begin I would like to state a few things that I would like people to keep in mind before replying or getting involved with this thread. I ask you to read these points carefully and understand them BEFORE replying, as it'll save us all a lot of time overall if you do:

 

• This is based off of research and checking the numbers. These numbers are not "made up" they are what has been released to the public and thus these averages are in fact correct as far as we know.
• For the averages and numbers I did not factor in youtube views, illegally downloaded or streamed episodes from other sites. The reason for not including these numbers is 2 reasons: 1. They are impossible to track. 2. They are not numbers Hasbro cares about. Episodes uploaded to illegal places or places where Hasbro is not making money are not relevant to them. They are not the numbers they are going to base business decisions off of.
• Before jumping to the "more people are watching online" argument please keep in mind that we have little to go off of to verify that. Even if a video on Youtube has 1 million views they are not necessarily unique views. On top of this, people more than likely still have the channel available to them since last year, they just aren't tuning in anymore.
• This is not intended as a slam on season 5, it's merely an observation.
• If anyone has stats for episodes in other seasons I'd like to know because I would like to extend this to cover all seasons so we can know objectively which seasons got the most views and which did not.
• Do not take personal offense, as stated above this is not my opinion on whether or not season 5 is good or not, it's merely displaying the numbers.

 

So, I was browsing the episode views on seasons 4 and 5 and I decided to do a comparison of the two. With a little math, I was able to come up with these numbers:

 

 

So what does all of this mean? Well I'll break it down simpler:

 

• Season 4's highest viewed episode was Twilight's Kingdom Part 2 with 0.79 million views, Season 5's was Tanks for the Memories with 0.65 million.
• Season 4's lowest viewed episode was Inspiration Manifestation at 0.39 million views, Season 5's was Princess Spike with 0.26 million.
• The average viewcount based upon all episodes for season 4 was 0.56 million, while season 5 is 0.45 million.
• Now because I was certain someone would bring up that season 5 is only half finished, and thus it's not fair to compare the two, I took the liberty of making an "Adjusted Average". This essentially means I took ONLY the first 13 episodes of season 4 and compared them to the first 13 of season 5.
• The adjusted average is 0.55 million for season 4, and 0.45 million for season 5.

 

Now while this is not a damning end-all-be-all conclusive report that is suggesting that Hasbro has a sinking show on their hands, it does at least provide some kind of insight to the whole "gen 5 coming" thing. By the look of these numbers, the show is doing poorer than it was at least from a premiere viewcount standpoint. While many people are watching it online, those are not numbers that Hasbro can see or make a profit off of.

 

This suggests though that if the trend continues that season 6 may very well be the final season. I think you guys need to take into consideration that MLP's viewcount has never been as high as people seem to claim it is in the US. Most people are watching the show illegally, so even if there are say "millions" of bronies, Hasbro isn't seeing that number. Not to mention there is no conclusive report on how many bronies actually exist. Even the brony census does not ever break over 22,000 in their report from last year. So we have no idea how many bronies there actually are.

 

That being said, if we compare the show to other cartoons that have been airing such as Steven Universe:

 

• Almost every single episode of Steven Universe gets double if not triple the views that MLP does.
• Always breaks the 1 million view mark.

Many shows with far less internet presence than MLP seem to get significantly higher ratings as well. For being in its 5th season, MLP should be making far better numbers than this. This would make perfect sense though as to why Hasbro is gearing up to finish Gen 4 and move on.

 

Now I'm not trying to spout doom and gloom, I'm just trying to be realistic. Realistically, there is no reason to try and hold onto bronies if the numbers are not there and the profits are not there. A lot of bronies are buying fanmade merchandise and not official as well, while there is no concise report, there is also no evidence to suggest that bronies are the ones buying the official merch or making up a majority of said sales.

 

As it stands right now based upon the evidence I have available to me: bronies are not enough to warrant keeping the show going beyond the 6th season.

[GuyNamedEarl 1,332]

Now you make some excellent points about TV viewership, but this doesn't take into account all the toy and merchandise sales, which is the show was basically created to do. As long as people continue to buy the latest product, I believe G4 will continue to exist for at least 6 seasons.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,907]

This might be because of Discovery family. How many bronies actually have that on their primary TV service? Not only that but a lot of bronies actually watch the episodes after they air, either for preference or because of the aforementioned lack of that particular TV station. Not only this but Discovery Family has done a poor job at putting FiM out there despite it being the biggest property on their network. 

 

I also disagree about the last part, There are tons of products out there for FiM being made by many different companies and Hasbro is getting money from all of these. Of course they are not getting money from fanmade products but I am fairly certain that FiM related products sell like crazy because of bronies. I am not talking strictly about the standard toy line either. Hasbro is probably still getting tons of cash because of us, in multiple ways.

 

As a final note, season 6 has already been confirmed and while I do think it might be the final season, anything could happen.

[Guest]

  On 2015-08-10 at 5:40 PM, GuyNamedEarl said:

Now you make some excellent points about TV viewership, but this doesn't take into account all the toy and merchandise sales, which is the show was basically created to do. As long as people continue to buy the latest product, I believe G4 will continue to exist for at least 6 seasons.

Unfortunately we have no real definitive numbers on that, so I can't really compare that to anything because there is no conclusive data that I could find. :c

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 5:49 PM, Kyoshi said:

This might be because of Discovery family. How many bronies actually have that on their primary TV service? Not only that but a lot of bronies actually watch the episodes after they air, either for preference or because of the aforementioned lack of that particular TV station. Not only this but Discovery Family has done a poor job at putting FiM out there despite it being the biggest property on their network. 

 

I also disagree about the last part, There are tons of products out there for FiM being made by many different companies and Hasbro is getting money from all of these. Of course they are not getting money from fanmade products but I am fairly certain that FiM related products sell like crazy because of bronies. I am not talking strictly about the standard toy line either. Hasbro is probably still getting tons of cash because of us, in multiple ways.

 

As a final note, season 6 has already been confirmed and while I do think it might be the final season, anything could happen.

 

Yes, the shows poor ratings could be due to being on a network that not as many people have. However regardless of that being a factor is still means the show's viewership on the network is poor.

 

As far as products go, as I said there is no conclusive research done on merchandise, but I think we all can agree that bronies are not buying most of the merchandise that Hasbro has put out. And for the few products they DO make targeted towards bronies, I think it's pretty obvious they do not sell nearly as many as they do for products targeted towards their general audience and this is evidenced by the fact that brony products are sold in specialty stores and harder to come by. You're not going to find them at Walmart or even convenience stores like the other toys. I can walk into a Rite Aid and find brushables, but I definitely can't find a Doctor Whooves Vinyl figure even at Walmart.

 

I think it's safe to say that bronies are not making up a majority of the sales, because if they were, then why are they not putting brony products in major retail stores?

[Cleverclover 1,526]

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 5:34 PM, Key Sharkz said:

Almost every single episode of Steven Universe gets double if not triple the views that MLP does. Always breaks the 1 million view mark.

 

That's because Cartoon Network is a mainstream network which nearly every cable provider includes in their standard packages. The Hub Network/Discovery Family has always been more exclusive to "premium" packages, rather than the standard.

 

That being said, I don't think the ratings are really anything to be alarmed about.  

[Buck Testa 5,505]

I have never watched a single episode on television because I don't watch television. I watch it either on Netflix, tv.com, youtube, those kind of places. If hasbro had a official mlp site where they had the episodes I would go there but I see no reason for tv in this day and age. 

[Guest]

  On 2015-08-10 at 6:28 PM, Cleverclover said:

That's because Cartoon Network is a mainstream network which nearly every cable provider includes in their standard packages. The Hub Network/Discovery Family has always been more exclusive to "premium" packages, rather than the standard.

 

That being said, I don't think the ratings are really anything to be alarmed about.  

I wouldn't say I'm alarmed, simply not surprised that this talk of Gen 5 around the corner is happening. Bronies are acting like the show is being kept alive only by bronies, but there really are no number to support that idea. We don't even know how many bronies there actually are. On top of this, fans that are not generating dollars are not really fans in Hasbro's eyes. If they are not spending money, they are not a concern to them.

 

That being said even if Discovery Family is a "premium" network, the numbers are STILL down. So unless people started switching their cable providers and packages recently, it doesn't explain why the numbers are down beyond that people are not watching anymore.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

I feel like this is mainly due to how Discovery Family markets the show. They barely air any commercials for it on the channel and when they do, they seem to be the same promo for the season premiere or the same promo for new episodes that have already aired weeks before. They will also stretch out the aridates for episodes randomly and even aired one of the episodes on a holiday, when most families wouldn't be watching TV.

 

Though I wouldn't be too pissed if the show got canned at season 6 and ended with the 2017 movie, mostly because that would be imo the best length a good show could run. I know there are some people out there who want the show to run forever, but to me, that would just get stale sooner or later.

 

For the show getting more ratings, I suggest that Discovery Family advertise the show better so kids will actually know when new episodes are on. 

[Queen Sparkle 104]

  On 2015-08-10 at 6:13 PM, Key Sharkz said:

Unfortunately we have no real definitive numbers on that, so I can't really compare that to anything because there is no conclusive data that I could find. :c

 

 

 

 

Yes, the shows poor ratings could be due to being on a network that not as many people have. However regardless of that being a factor is still means the show's viewership on the network is poor.

 

As far as products go, as I said there is no conclusive research done on merchandise, but I think we all can agree that bronies are not buying most of the merchandise that Hasbro has put out. And for the few products they DO make targeted towards bronies, I think it's pretty obvious they do not sell nearly as many as they do for products targeted towards their general audience and this is evidenced by the fact that brony products are sold in specialty stores and harder to come by. You're not going to find them at Walmart or even convenience stores like the other toys. I can walk into a Rite Aid and find brushables, but I definitely can't find a Doctor Whooves Vinyl figure even at Walmart.

 

I think it's safe to say that bronies are not making up a majority of the sales, because if they were, then why are they not putting brony products in major retail stores?

Becuase if fanmade products were sold in stores could you imagine the lawsuits. The only reason there not in stores is because no brony wants to go into lawsuits aganist HasBro.

[Dark Qiviut 22,491]

There are some holes with your argument.

1. @@Cleverclover already said it, but I'll repeat it. The Hub/Discovery Family has always been part of a package that you must pay to get or watch. Many won't buy it because they can be really expensive, and some don't carry it. My cable provider (RCN NY) only has DF in Standard Definition, which makes a terrible viewing experience, since the show's built for HD only. Cartoon Network, on the other hand, is a mainstream network.
2. Look at the worth of the brand as of last year: $650 million. Before FIM aired in 2010, MLP wasn't worth near that much. Guardians of kids aren't the only ones responsible for buying the toys and helping grow the brand. Adult and teen bronies have a lot to do with it, too. Many bronies buy these toys for many reasons. Some like to buy them for collection. Some will play with them. Some will buy them and give them to other kids, thus giving the product even more recognition. Talking about it has a lot to do with it, giving this show a very intangible quality; without word of mouth, the brand couldn't grow. Without the fandom, this show might not've had even a third season. Magical Mystery Cure, BTW, was originally the series finale, but the brony fandom's growth is responsible for season four and eventually five, six, and also the 2017 film. Bronydom is a much bigger factor than you think.
   
   

     On 2015-08-10 at 6:13 PM, Key Sharkz said:

   And for the few products they DO make targeted towards bronies, I think it's pretty obvious they do not sell nearly as many as they do for products targeted towards their general audience and this is evidenced by the fact that brony products are sold in specialty stores and harder to come by.

   There's a reason for this: licensing. Shops like WeLoveFine and Hot Topic sell products to niche markets, many of whom are able to afford products they feel are worth the expense. You don't see stuff like the Funko vinyls sell in places like WalMart because WalMart wants to sell products at a very low production and sale cost, something Funko won't do.
3. The scheduling of season five has been absolutely terrible. One of the reasons why season four garnered higher ratings was its fall-to-spring schedule. The majority of shows operate this schedule because people are at school or work during the middle of the day, so they won't be on vacation. During the late spring and summer, kids and parents won't stay inside; they'd rather go out to playgrounds, after-school programs, camping, spending time with other friends, or on vacation. The timing immediately puts the show at a much bigger disadvantage. Then observe all the terrible advertisement, like repeating the season five premiere commercial for several weeks. Without good ads, then you don't know what episode will air. This stunts the growth of the show/fandom.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Dark Qiviut

[skbl17 199]

There are many factors that could be used to explain why viewership is down in the United States.

 

The first is, of course, the way pay television operators program Discovery Family on their lineups. Earlier, Steven Universe was brought up as a show that regularly gets hundreds of thousands of more viewers compared to MLP. While that is true, keep in mind that Steven Universe airs on Cartoon Network, a channel that is available on even the most basic of cable packages. Discovery Family is less like Cartoon Network and more like Disney XD in this regard; cable, satellite, and IPTV companies tend to place Discovery Family on higher and more premium channel tiers than Cartoon Network.

 

Second, Discovery Family doesn't promote MLP the way its predecessor Hub Network did. There were times when The Hub/Hub Network did feel like "MLP Network", where they went out of their way to promote the show, from promos to social media to ponified versions of popular songs. Discovery Family still promotes MLP, but not to the same extent.

 

Third, more and more people are "cutting the cord" and dropping subscription television altogether. This is not just a problem with MLP viewership, but television viewership in general. As pay television providers and content creators continue to jack up monthly rates by adding under-the-line fees, the average cable package has become more and more expensive over the last few years. With the growth of online streaming and on-demand services such as Sling TV, Roku, Netflix, and Hulu, the need for pay television is decreasing. In fact, I'd wager that live sports are the only thing keeping cable television services afloat, but even that could be on its way out as companies like ESPN, FOX Sports, and the WWE are all experimenting with separate streaming services that are not dependent on having a cable subscription.

 

Of course, that is not to say that MLP is dying, it just means that content delivery methods - both legal and illegal - have changed since 2010, and Hasbro hasn't been able to keep up with the changes and adapt to this new digital media environment. That should not be read as an indictment on MLP, but a sign that Hasbro needs to find new ways to get MLP to online viewers. I'm surprised Discovery and Hasbro haven't launched a "TV Everywhere" like streaming and catchup service for pay TV subscribers. There were episodes up on Hubworld, but the full episode clips went away after Hub Network relaunched as Discovery Family.

Edited August 10, 2015 by skbl17

[BlinkZ 1,151]

Well with these nubmers in mind, I can defenitly see why they are pushing out Equestra girls more, other then the fact the ornigla target audince has grown up so they have to update somehow. makes sense to me. Although i'd miss mlp if it stopped but what can you do.

[CT-1138 3,183]

Well, it's kinda difficult to keep ratings when you have a seasonal gap that lasts almost a year, then release in Summer (when most kids are outside) and then have a mid-season hiatus until Fall. 

[Dark Qiviut 22,491]

  On 2015-08-10 at 7:03 PM, skbl17 said:

Third, more and more people are "cutting the cord" and dropping subscription television altogether. This is not just a problem with MLP viewership, but television viewership in general. As pay television providers and content creators continue to jack up monthly rates by adding under-the-line fees, the average cable package has become more and more expensive over the last few years. With the growth of online streaming and on-demand services such as Sling TV, Roku, Netflix, and Hulu, the need for pay television is decreasing. In fact, I'd wager that live sports are the only thing keeping cable television services afloat, but even that could be on its way out as companies like ESPN, FOX Sports, and the WWE are all experimenting with separate streaming services that are not dependent on having a cable subscription.

This is a very fantastic point. Because a lot of people are dropping subscription cable, more people won't watch shows that are exclusively on them. FIM is exclusively on subscription TV. Just a few days ago, Variety reported 566,000 lost customers this past quarter thanks to cord-cutting. This will hurt cable companies even more.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Dark Qiviut

[Zerbu 72]

  On 2015-08-10 at 6:58 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

Magical Mystery Cure, BTW, was originally the series finale, but the brony fandom's growth is responsible for season four and eventually five, six, and also the 2017 film. Bronydom is a much bigger factor than you think.

Just curious, but do you have a source? I'm not denying that it could be true, but I need a source before I can be sure.

[Guest]

  On 2015-08-10 at 6:51 PM, EB Creations said:

Becuase if fanmade products were sold in stores could you imagine the lawsuits. The only reason there not in stores is because no brony wants to go into lawsuits aganist HasBro.

I was referring to the official products. I.e. stuff like the shirts at Welovefine, etc. I apologize for the confusion.

 

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 6:58 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

@Cleverclover already said it, but I'll repeat it. The Hub/Discovery Family has always been part of a package that you must pay to get or watch. Many won't buy it because they can be really expensive, and some don't carry it. My cable provider (RCN NY) only has DF in Standard Definition, which makes a terrible viewing experience, since the show's built for HD only. Cartoon Network, on the other hand, is a mainstream network.

 

All the more reason why lower ratings are worse. If they already have a small viewership, a decrease in nearly 100,000 viewers on average over a season is pretty bad.

 

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 6:58 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

Look at the worth of the brand as of last year: $650 million. Before FIM aired in 2010, MLP wasn't worth near that much.

Confirmation? Source of previous brand value? I mean if we are comparing brand values from the previous generations, we need numbers and then we need to calculate inflation. $650 million is worth a lot less now than it was in 1980. In 1980 according to CPI inflation calculator was worth $28.9 Million. In other words, money was worth almost three times what it is now.

 

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 6:58 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

Guardians of kids aren't the only ones responsible for buying the toys and helping grow the brand. Adult and teen bronies have a lot to do with it, too. Many bronies buy these toys for many reasons. Some like to buy them for collection. Some will play with them. Some will buy them and give them to other kids, thus giving the product even more recognition. Talking about it has a lot to do with it, giving this show a very intangible quality; without word of mouth, the brand couldn't grow.

 

Problem with this point is there is little way to confirm or measure it. Sure some bronies may buy toys, but there is little information on how much they are buying or if they are buying enough to even make up "the majority" or even 20% of sales. There is little to no information.

 

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 6:58 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

Without the fandom, this show might not've had even a third season. Magical Mystery Cure, BTW, was originally the series finale, but the brony fandom's growth is responsible for season four and eventually five, six, and also the 2017 film. Bronydom is a much bigger factor than you think.

 

Source please?

 

 

 

This is all interesting information, however at the end of the day, there really is no concrete research done on how big the brony fandom actually is, how much it actually contributes to Hasbro's profits and thus we have no concrete evidence that the brony fandom will keep the show going. We do not even know how many bronies actually exist. We can't just assume that bronies are what will keep the show going.

 

Is there any reports out there which can give us some information on how much of the viewership is bronies?

 

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 7:18 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

This is a very fantastic point. Because a lot of people are dropping subscription cable, more people won't watch shows that are exclusively on them. FIM is exclusively on subscription TV. Just a few days ago, Variety reported 566,000 lost customers this past quarter thanks to cord-cutting. This will hurt cable companies even more.

 

 

A valid point.

[Mesme Rize 15,687]

What makes you think that Gen 5 is around the corner? Gen 5 can be as far away as maybe 10 years or so. Gen 5 might be another place, another cast of characters and another different universe in general and creating this stuff, takes alot of time and i don't think it will be the same team that did Gen 4, since they probably also have other projects in mind.

[MAIKUN 262]

Think it's better if MLP airs on Cartoon Network instead...That would be a good move.

[Mesme Rize 15,687]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftY9iNDmmHw

 

I thought that this would be appropriate for the topic and is also giving publicity to LZRD WZRD. (you are very welcome. )

[Goat-kun 2,530]

Littlest Pet Shop viewership never went over 0, 4 mil since the S01E16. It floats just above 0, 15 in the third season. It was announced that there will be a fourth season with 26 episodes. What is this foul sorcery?

 

On a side note: Transformers: Robots in Disguise airs on Cartoon Network and has 0, 82 average viewership distributed between 20 episodes. Hm, guess we should really make MLP cater more to them boys or something.

[Dark Qiviut 22,491]

  On 2015-08-10 at 7:50 PM, Zerbu said:

Just curious, but do you have a source? I'm not denying that it could be true, but I need a source before I can be sure.

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 7:57 PM, Key Sharkz said:

Source please?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk8BmQW1X1g

 

Larson said it in the first minute.

 

And even if there wasn't any officially, you can tell it was a series finale for several reasons.

1. It felt like a series finale. Twilight was developing as a character and advancing past her studies into an Equestrian ruler. Her journey was closing, and this episode marked it.
2. The "Rule of 65" was a standard-and-practice policy in many cartoon industries for many years, especially Disney. Shows with sixty-five episodes have a better chance at syndication than those that don't. Usually, the 65th episode marks the series finale. It's very rare for a family cartoon to be extended past this number.
3. The script for the episode was locked in November 2011; the fourth season wasn't planned yet. Seasons in FIM run on a year-by-year basis.

  On 2015-08-10 at 7:57 PM, Key Sharkz said:

All the more reason why lower ratings are worse. If they already have a small viewership, a decrease in nearly 100,000 viewers on average over a season is pretty bad.

The problem here is how you compare the ratings number for FIM with the likes of Steven Universe. You're comparing apples to oranges. FIM is going to have a lower number because it's on subscription TV, which hundreds of thousands of people are abandoning. You have to buy a subscription just to watch it, and not every cable provider has it. The only way I can properly gauge an episode is if it's in HD, and I can't do that unless it's online. Also, once more, FIM's scheduling sucks this year; families will rather spend outside during the summer than spend nearly half the day inside. When a channel like DF treats their flagship franchise with zero respect, the brand and channel get hit.

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 7:57 PM, Key Sharkz said:

Confirmation?

You don't need an actual, concrete statistic to see the growing value of the brand. You just need to see the growth of the profit in FIM over the past few years and see it personally. For several quarters, the "girl" toys climbed in revenue, and a lot of it had to do with FIM boosting the sales. Sometimes, if the girls' toy sales declined, FIM balances the fall. Last year, FIM helped boost the sales of girl toys to $1.02 billion. In Q1 2015, although the girls' toy sales had declined, FIM has nothing to do with it (credit to @LZRD WZRD in his analysis blog and for linking his vid in page one XP). The higher the growth of toys and the more a franchise contributes to a growth in a specific category, the more valuable your brand is. FIM's $650 million brand is incredibly valuable because it boosted the genre's total value.

 

However, non-brony guardians aren't going to be exclusively or mainly involved in merely the ever growing brand. A product isn't going to grow in such a size if you cater to one audience. The more demographics you pull, the bigger the profit. FIM has several licensing deals, including ones with a market for the older, more passionate bronies. Also, within the fandom, you have sites like FIMFiction reaching 90,000 approved stories, DeviantArt with a major influx of FIM/brony fanart, and thousands upon thousands of content creators on YouTube (musicians, audiobook recordings, analysis). BABSCon grew to 2,648 attendees this year. BronyCon started with under 100 people. A year later, the third BronyCon amassed 4,000 people, almost all of them bronies (fans regardless of age or gender). When it moved to Baltimore, almost 9,000 attended. This year, 10,011 people attended. You can bet your bottom dollar that a good 90% of the people in BronyCon are bronies.

 

Even though it's a sample size, one great way to tell about the adult fandom's impact, even if not gauging the revenue, is through the likes of PEZ candy and its licensing deal with Hasbro. PEZ's fandom is one of the most influential in the world, and it literally passes down through multiple generations; chances are fourth-generation PEZ fans exist.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Dark Qiviut

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

The stupid hiatus killed ss5. Discovery didnt even care about mlp. Fandom is more skeptical about the show. Ss5 episodes are underrated compare to ss4's.

I need to be panic right now...

[MAIKUN 262]

Do you guys think MLP would perform better on a different channel maybe like Cartoon Network?

[Marimo 555]

  On 2015-08-11 at 3:18 AM, MAIKUN said:

Do you guys think MLP would perform better on a different channel maybe like Cartoon Network?

CN would give the show timeslots in the early mornings, would be lucky to be aired on more than 1 or 2 days, and the show would get even less promotion than it does on Discovery.

[Guest]

 

 

  On 2015-08-11 at 3:18 AM, MAIKUN said:

Do you guys think MLP would perform better on a different channel maybe like Cartoon Network?

 

It's possible. I would wager it would help.

 

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 11:29 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

The problem here is how you compare the ratings number for FIM with the likes of Steven Universe.

 

Fair enough. Still though, when you have such a small viewership to start with, I don't think anyone can deny that losing viewers is a bad thing.

 

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 11:29 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

You don't need an actual, concrete statistic to see the growing value of the brand.

 

Well I would at least like more information than just that it's growing. Some more stats and numbers to help us understand the rate of growth, what aspects of the brand are excelling and what is the cause of growth would all be helpful information.

 

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 11:29 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

The more demographics you pull, the bigger the profit.

 

Not necessarily actually. There are just some demographics that don't spend money on certain things. Some demographics are just so non-spending that they are not even worth going after.

 

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 11:29 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

FIM has several licensing deals, including ones with a market for the older, more passionate bronies.

 

However notice most "brony" targeted items are in specialty shops and sold in smaller supply.

 

 

 

  On 2015-08-10 at 11:29 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

Also, within the fandom, you have sites like FIMFiction reaching 90,000 approved stories, DeviantArt with a major influx of FIM/brony fanart, and thousands upon thousands of content creators on YouTube (musicians, audiobook recordings, analysis). BABSCon grew to 2,648 attendees this year. BronyCon started with under 100 people. A year later, the third BronyCon amassed 4,000 people, almost all of them bronies (fans regardless of age or gender). When it moved to Baltimore, almost 9,000 attended. This year, 10,011 people attended. You can bet your bottom dollar that a good 90% of the people in BronyCon are bronies.

 

I never disputed that a majority of people at cons and on those fansites are bronies. What I am disputing is how many bronies there are. While growing from 100 people to 10,000 in a few years is impressive, there still ends up one major problem that none of us can determine: how many bronies are there? For all we know, there could only be like 300,000 bronies in the world, and they actually make up such a minority that they are not even worth marketing to extensively.

 

To say that bronies saved MLP or kept MLP afloat this long I think at this point can't be said without more evidence.