mega thread The state of the Brony fandom (Numbers, Popularly, Future)

[Ganondorf8 11,259]

The fandom is still going strong despite seasons five and six not having as many viewers as was seen with previous seasons--you can blame Discovery Family for not hyping up the show enough and the fact that a lot of people can't access the channel so they rely on the online method. If anything, the fandom has reached a middle ground where the ratio of fans coming and going is equal. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as all fandoms go through this.

[NotoriousSMALL 1,984]

People come and go. Some stay. Just because "well-known" people in the fandom leave, doesn't mean it's dying. In fact, there are probably new people coming in that replace them (although probably won't replace their contributions to the fandom).

 

Stop worrying if the fandom is dying and just enjoy life.

[Luminance 2,186]

I think the fandom will have a good time for 2017 because there's a lot going on. The Movie, Season 7, EQG, new-merch and so on and forth to help sustain. I believe that 2017 would be the year to be a Brony and it isn't showing signs of dying either.

[Zachary 5,521]

Nope, This Fandom will Not Die, Never!

 

It's still going strong!

Edited January 3, 2017 by Zachary

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

The fandom isn't dying, as much as some may believe it and continue to ask it. While it's true that we're not as active as we were in 2012 and we're not such a big part of the mainstream anymore, the fact is that new people continue to join at a faster rate than people leave. We survived Twilicorn, we survived some of the hate towards and division over Season 6, and it's reasonable to believe the fandom will outlive the show.

[LeafFerret 3,382]

No, although the hype and novelty of the show has died off, the show is still going strong, those ones that did leave have probably moved on to other shows or just didn't like change but that's all pretty much minor problems. Even though no one could predict what would happen after Season 3, it went okay in my opinion. I wouldn't worry about those people leaving as we'll always have new ones arriving in their place.

[AlbaTross 1,586]

Nope, the fandom appears to be going strong. I've seen fandoms survive on far less than six seasons, four movies and tons of comics and chapter books, and more of all of the above is coming this year. Fan content certainly hasn't slowed down in recent years. If anything, more and more effort is being put into it. Have you seen The Moon Rises? I'm sure the fandom will eventually diminish at least somewhat, but I highly doubt it will come anywhere close to outright dying off.

[cmarston1 5,959]

Given how there is going to be season 7, Equestria Girls Shorts, and a theatrical movie all in this year, I think there is enough content to keep the fandom satisfied in the near future.

So I am not worried about it dying.

[Midnight Chimes 69]

Dying down? Yes, it has been for a while. But as for dying? Well just look around and you'll have your answer. Look at this forum for a start.

[NullAccount 287]

Not really. It may not have as much hype as it once had, but it is far from dying. People asked this when Lauren Faust left. People asked this after Twilight got her wings. People asked this when Meghan McCarthy stopped writing for it. It's still going strong after that, and even if MLP as a franchise completely died off tomorrow, we are still going to be right here.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Looking to those threads make me depressing. Sure, everything will die, you, me, and the world, will meet its end in some days in the future, but its not today, ok, why not enjoy it to the fullest?. This fandom will die certainly if it lose it's will to live, It may die instantly after this series ended or just breath its last breathe, we dont know, but keeping that attitudes, you are the part of its destruction.

[Johnny1226 14,674]

The fandom doesn't die it only grows and expands as more people get into it

[The Gear Spinner555 126]

Dying? Not really, if ya ask me. If anything, I feel it's shrunken in a good way-it's more tight-knit & focused, but still as welcoming as ever.

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

Here's a thought. Why not wait until FIM is officially over BEFORE asking if the fandom is dying?

[pinkiepiebabe 87]

I'm not going to just leave the fandom. Sure, the hype died down a bit, but I have a feeling that will be temporary.

[Prospekt 11,018]

Dying? Not really, if ya ask me. If anything, I feel it's shrunken in a good way-it's more tight-knit & focused, but still as welcoming as ever.

 

I don't really care how big the fandom is. I mean, I don't go around evangelizing about it Even if it shrinks, as long as the remaining members are still passionate about the show and accepting, I really have no problem.

[Vlazamal 338]

 

 

What do you think by the represenative searches for each season? What does this entail?

 

Here's the Pokemon anime as a reference:

 

 

[Luminance 2,186]

The fandom's novelty factor contributed to it's growth and with it gain attention to non-Bronies during those searches. Surrounding the show's immense popularity at around season 3 and 4 justifies that the average search for MLP was greater than now but it's normal to see how trends grow exponentially, plateau and eventually either steadily decline or die. The Brony fandom as a central subject of interest worn off over the years as people either simply forgot with time or don't care but the fans are still here.

[Stolen OC 12]

Looks about right to me. Keep in mind that searches represent people trying to find out more about the show/season, so a decline in searches doesn't necessarily indicate a decline in the size of the fandom, just a decline in public interest or new members.

 

I have literally four threads on fandom decline open right now, so I'm just gonna put the same thing in each one:

 

Take a look at this graph (if you didn't participate in the BronyStudy, you're a bad brony):

 

 

So, if the amount of incoming fans was consistent, you would expect the curve to be flat, with the same number of people joining one year ago as five years ago. But we don't see that here. In a healthy fandom, you might expect there to be more recent converts than old fans, because we expect people get bored and drop out over time. Instead we see the opposite: there is a fairly linear decline in new members since season 2. So in a certain sense, the fandom is dying. But in another sense, it isn't: this graph only represents people joining the fandom. People leaving the fandom is an unknowable quantity because ex-bronies don't participate in polls. So it is possible that the number of people in the fandom has actually remained somewhat static.

 

This is what I see: compared to 2013, we have fewer fanfics, fewer people wearing MLP t-shirts, fewer ask-blogs, and WAY fewer animations. But illustrations and music have hardly declined at all. As an ass-pull statistic, I think that overall the number hardcore MLP-fans has declined by maybe 30%, partially because if boredom and partially because of show mismanagement. I think that the number of show watchers (not fans) has declined somewhat more than that, because there was a fad element to MLP back in 2013. I think the decline in parody we see is because artists get overworked and stop. We all can think of great artists which stopped producing some years ago. Go look them up: many did not move on to new fandoms or interests. They just stopped producing. MLP was a unique experience for them, but eventually they got burned out. The greatest artist also tend to get cease-and-desisted. 

[Stolen OC 12]

'No reason you can't pretend it's 2012: Go to EqD's archives and start enjoying them.

[TBD 17,254]

I'm not going anywhere, but their merchs has bored me a bit. 

[King Sejong 859]

   I can not speak for the fandom, but for me, my interest in ponies and bronies has dissipated, instead my fan activity has been with my original fandoms: furries and MSTies. After Zootopia was released, the furry fandom sprung to life, bring new art and imagination, I experienced with bronies in 2013, I also got my first fursona, I commissioned an artist and finally got it in November, my character connected me to other furries, on Google and Facebook, now we are in the process of becoming friends. Zootopia took up most of my attention in 2016, I forgot about season six of MLP, I missed the premiere and finale, as my interest in Friendship is Magic has lost much of its lustre. I was a furry before I was a brony, and I nearly left the brony fandom many times, because of creative differences and preferences I wanted from the show, ultimately I may actually leave the fandom, Zootopia came at just the right time, when MLP seemed to me getting stale, as the mane six have been developed over and over again, and much of Equestria was unexplored, so Zootopia became my new obsession, it has variety like settings and characters, it's creative and inspirational, and I was not the only one who recognised that, it has been fun to chat with furries on Google, this year I hope to meet them in real life, and go to a furry convention, this euphoria is exciting, sadly MLP does not excite me anymore, only time will tell if I can remain a brony, but to me it's no loss, I still have a good time as a brony, I am just moving on, finding new things and rediscovering my old roots.   

[Stolen OC 12]

      I was a furry before I was a brony, and I nearly left the brony fandom many times, because of creative differences and preferences I wanted from the show, ultimately I may actually leave the fandom, Zootopia came at just the right time, when MLP seemed to me getting stale, as the mane six have been developed over and over again, and much of Equestria was unexplored... 

 

It's rare that I get to talk to a former fan, so I've gotta ask: could you go into more detail about what made you lose interest, and what (if anything) could possibly excite you again?

[King Sejong 859]

@@Stolen OC,

Certainly, I felt I was noticing that stories were becoming isolated, barely relating to the previous episode, it also felt like the stories were becoming recycled, almost interchangeable, each episode was becoming less memorable, even the songs, I can not even quote from the show anymore, it feels to me that the show is unwilling to take risks, to go outside of the usual settings. At this point nothing will interest me again, I have found new energy with the furry fandom, waiting to be explored, artwork yet to be made, books yet to be published, the curiosity is enticing me to participate, and find others who want to participate, so the furry fandom is where I call home.  

[Stolen OC 12]

@King Sejong

 

Fair points, but were MLP's episodes ever really directly related? Did the show ever really "take risks?" If so than not more than it does now, I think.