Did season 6 drive a lot of people away?

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

Many of us who actively watch the show will say that season 7 was really great and one of the best the show has had. I certainly think so and polls back it up that it is a fan favorite season. It had an interesting story arc, great side character development, fantastic portrayal of Starlight (and Fluttershy) the Apple parents. It was great.

However, I feel as though many people were either burned and left with either Starlights reformation, or season 6 being not as great as previous seasons. I still think season 6 was great even if it wasn't top tier. 

I come to this idea based on a few factors.

• While ratings aren't very important to me because majority of the fandom doesn't have DF, Season 6 premiered with 380k viewers and season 7 with 250k
• Two of the big MLP watching sites are Kim cartoon and Kisscartoon, Kim season 6 so far has 2.2 million views, KIss S6 has 2.2 as well. Kim S7 has 560k, Kiss s7 has 626k

These are just two sample sizes out of a good few, youtube views season 6 V season 7 are roughly the same though I would say season 6 is ahead.

Now I understand that you could say season 6 has been around longer so it makes sense to have more viewers on those site. However I don't personally think that the season could have grown that much over s7 without new episodes and content being added.

The more I think about it, the more I think it is possible a lot of people left with the changeling reformation, which would be beyond silly in my opinion, but I do remember quit ea few unhappy campers when it happened. Couple that with the idea that season 6 was (exaggerated) considered to be some massive downgrade, I can see a lot of people deciding not to really watch much anymore. 

I don't think this is like, permanent crippling damage to the fandoms size or anything, in fact I think the movie will be considerable in getting new fans of the show as well as good word of mouth from us if we are persistent about how good season 7 was.

 

[Jeric 46,835]

It is certainly possible. I do believe that there has been three specific moments that sloughed off some numbers in the fandom, for various reasons. Twilacorn, The massive hiatus after Season 4, and the general quality of Season 6. 

That said, it's hard to discount the impact that comes from people growing disinterested in pony as their lives evolved. This fandom was populated by young adults who are now a bit older. One example, if you started this journey as a Sophomore in Highschool, you would be done with college. 

[Hierok 11,829]

I think it does, and it kind of deserved it a bit with episodes like AJ day off and 28 cringy moments later. That said, with s8 the views hopefully will grow again. 

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

1 hour ago, Hieroklicious said:

I think it does, and it kind of deserved it a bit with episodes like AJ day off and 28 cringy moments later. That said, with s8 the views hopefully will grow again. 

Yeah, at the same time though I think season 6 had a lot of episodes that were great, such as Hearths Warming Tale, Dungeons and Discords, and THe times they are a changeling

Edited December 20, 2017 by Ryanmahaffe

[Will Guide 21,325]

5 minutes ago, Ryanmahaffe said:

Yeah, at the same time though I think season 6 had a lot of episodes that were great, such as Hearths Warming Tale, Dungeons and Discords, and To change a Changeling

To Change a Changeling was from Season 7 featuring Starlight, Trixie, Thorax and his brother Pharynx.

You're thinking of "Times They are a Changeling!" That's the one where Thorax was introduced and Spike stood up for him with that song

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

Just now, WiiGuy2014 said:

To Change a Changeling was from Season 7 featuring Starlight, Trixie, Thorax and his brother Pharynx.

You're thinking of "Times They are a Changeling!" That's the one where Thorax was introduced and Spike stood up for him with that song

Yes I know what happened in the episodes, I just mix the titles up a lot.

Edited December 20, 2017 by Ryanmahaffe

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

As  to the reduced viewership, cable tv is a dying industry in the US. That has far more to do with reduced viewership than fandom shrinking. As for Kim or Kiss cartoon, from my observation, Hasbro cracked down way harder on S6 YouTube vids than they did with S7, which would lead to increased views to other websites.

But when it comes to losing viewership based on decisions the show has made... I’ll be honest, I think it has far more to do with people losing interest in the show then any one event. The fandom only got as large as it did because it was the newest fad, a departure from the expected that attracted people to the show, and once the newness of it died off, people started to loose interest. The big ‘drama’ moments were just convenient places to hop off the train.

Edited December 20, 2017 by ShootingStar159

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

11 minutes ago, ShootingStar159 said:

As  to the reduced viewership, cable tv is a dying industry in the US. That has far more to do with reduced viewership than fandom shrinking. As for Kim or Kiss cartoon, from my observation, Hasbro cracked down way harder on S6 YouTube vids than they did with S7, which would lead to increased views to other websites.

But when it comes to losing viewership based on descriptions the show has made... I’ll be honest, I think it has far more to do with people losing interest in the show then any one event. The fandom only got as large as it did because it was the newest fad, a departure from the expected that attracted people to the show, and once the newness of it died off, people started to loose interest. The big ‘drama’ moments were just convenient places to hop off the train.

That is a pretty good way of looking at it. Though I do think many people really were just that mad at those dramatic moments. It's a TV fandom, people overreact like that a lot.

[Thrond 3,257]

I think it would be helpful to look at much longer trends. I saw a lot of people's interest waning through the fourth and fifth seasons as well, so I'd be a lot more interested in seeing if the show has simply had a general decline in viewership as its novelty wore off. I mean, I have the bias of generally enjoying more of season 6 than the seasons immediately before and after it, but this show has been on for seven years, and a lot of older fans hopped on in 2011-2012. 

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

I still thought season six was a pretty good season despite how many feel it was underwhelming in comparison to what came before and after it. The television ratings being down isn't surprising at all as many now watch the episodes through various streams, online via downloads, or on Netflix when they eventually get released there. Discovery Family is a channel many don't get--unless you're living in the U.S.--so alternate means of watching the show are deemed more feasible. It also doesn't help that times are changing and people are turning towards online media as opposed to simply watching it on the television.

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

On 2017-12-20 at 3:10 PM, Jeric said:

One example, if you started this journey as a Sophomore in Highschool, you would be done with college. 

I got into it during the first half of 2013, so I was 22 (and already in college) then.

I'm 27 now, and it still has yet to lose its steam for me.

Edited May 8, 2022 by Even Evil Has Standards

[NathanW200 306]

I really enjoyed season 6 I enjoyed all the seasons of my Little pony and everything about the series I might never get sick of the show especially if it keeps going 

[King of Canterlot 9,588]

I think there are plenty of factors that lead to many people leaving the fandom. I think that for some people they thought that the episodes were boring or weren't as great as episodes from earlier seasons. I also think that the popularity of the fandom as being a kinda mass counter-culture online began to die down and lots of people simply got off the hype train. People's interest in things do change over time, and I think over the number of years the show has existed many people who once watched the show went through some big life changing experiences that caused them to feel like it's not important to them that they watch the show anymore. Really I think its a factor of all these things combined that has led to smaller numbers in viewership of MLP.    

[Once In A Blue Moon 894]

A point to note is that, in the UK at least, I don't know of a way to legally* watch Season 7 on demand^ (not available to watch on Amazon, Netflix or iTunes and not available on DVD.) I suspect that this is true for other regions as well - and if illegal is the only way of watching it then these won't be captured by traditional viewing metrics.

 

 

*and to be clear, this means that I haven't watched season 7 yet

^it can be watched live, though

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

26 minutes ago, Once In A Blue Moon said:

A point to note is that, in the UK at least, I don't know of a way to legally* watch Season 7 on demand^ (not available to watch on Amazon, Netflix or iTunes and not available on DVD.) I suspect that this is true for other regions as well - and if illegal is the only way of watching it then these won't be captured by traditional viewing metrics.

 

 

*and to be clear, this means that I haven't watched season 7 yet

^it can be watched live, though

Well I was also factoring in those "illegal sites" which show season 7 under season 6 in viewership.

[Clod 8,293]

Well I guess that's what happened to me for a while. I didn't really make it through the season before quitting. Though I'm not entirely sure that it was the season itself and not other factors in my life. But once I did come back it was just hard getting through season 6. I really didn't enjoy it at all.

[Sovereign Leader Rarity 12,000]

It happens when any show goes through any sort of major change in terms of structure. Change can be seen as a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective. The bottom line is, with a show that has amassed such a large following as MLP: FIM, some people are going to like those changes and others will not. The same thing happened to Adventure Time, a show that altered dramatically in tone in it's later seasons. It's nobody's fault per say, it's just inevitable that changes to the formula are going to turn some long-time fans away.

Just saying, I myself don't really have a problem with Season 6. It has it's fair share of issues to be sure, but I don't see it as being even close to the worst season of the show.

[Megas 27,069]

I know a few people who dropped the show due to questionable quality of season 6, even I wanted to drop the show. Normally i’m Usually pretty optimistic about the show and the season made me really cynical towards it. I’m not gonna say there were no good episodes because that’s just bullshit, but I do feel the bad outweigh the good, and while the good episodes were good, the bad episodes were really bad, with tons of bad decisions that should have never made it past brainstorming 

[Jeric 46,835]

2 hours ago, A.V. said:

 

I got into it during the first half of 2013, so I was 22 (and already in college) then.

 

I'm 27 now, and it still has yet to lose its steam for me.

Right, it's not going to be a rule, but it is a common reason why people lose interest with almost anything. 

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

17 minutes ago, Kiryu-Chan said:

I know a few people who dropped the show due to questionable quality of season 6, even I wanted to drop the show. Normally i’m Usually pretty optimistic about the show and the season made me really cynical towards it. I’m not gonna say there were no good episodes because that’s just bullshit, but I do feel the bad outweigh the good, and while the good episodes were good, the bad episodes were really bad, with tons of bad decisions that should have never made it past brainstorming 

I honestly don’t consider season six much worse than season four. Maybe it’s just me, but when I see people talk about how much they love season four, all I hear is how much they love the season four finale. At the meat of the episodes, four and six aren’t much different: they both overuse gimmick ideas for episodes like 28 , Bats, or Power Ponies, where the gimmick is more important than the characters. They both had episodes that made the characters idiots for the sake of the plot, like Applejacks Day Off or Simple Ways. 

The only reason I think four is better is that the good episodes in four are better spaced out, whereas all of season sixes were clumped at the start, and season four made better use of its season arc. 

[iceestarz 5,752]

There are a couple episodes that were sub par to me in season 6, but that usually happens in every season. I don’t think season 6 was less quality than the others in my opinion though.

applejacks day off, stranger than fan fiction, buckball season, and P.P.O.V are the least memorable and less interesting episodes of the season to me.

[FlareGun45 2,221]

In all honesty, I think season 7 might've driven alot of people out due to the leaks, and now season 8's gonna go through that problem too! Not only that, but I think we'll know the season 9 synopsises by Summer of next year sometime!

[SolarFlare13 15,928]

I reckon it did  there were A LOT of below average / mediocre episodes In Season 6 and there were A LOT of bad ones 

Here is the full list of episodes I DIDN'T like in Season 6:

 

- The Crystalling

- No Second Prances

- Newbie Dash

- Frutter Brutter

- Spice Up Your Fire 

- 28 Pranks Later 

- Viva Las Pagasus

 

Personally, I don't really like Season 6 that much  I didn't like most of the episodes in Season 6 and it would easily have to be THE worst season of MLP thus far...

...and it's the one season I DON'T wanna go back and RE-watch 

[Will Guide 21,325]

13 minutes ago, SolarFlare13 said:

I reckon it did  there were A LOT of below average / mediocre episodes In Season 6 and there were A LOT of bad ones 

Here is the full list of episodes I DIDN'T like in Season 6:

 

- The Crystalling

- No Second Prances

- Newbie Dash

- Frutter Brutter

- Spice Up Your Fire 

- 28 Pranks Later 

- Viva Las Pagasus

 

Personally, I don't really like Season 6 that much  I didn't like most of the episodes in Season 6 and it would easily have to be THE worst season of MLP thus far...

...and it's the one season I DON'T wanna go back and RE-watch 

Well, I most certainly will rewatch Season 6 over and over. One reason is "Flutter Brutter" for having a surprisingly relatable character and showing that I could finish University, which I did thanks to its lesson of "sometimes, you have to keep doing things, even though you might fail."

The other reason is Thorax. His very existence and the episodes featuring him changed my view of Changelings from being just some mindless obedient hive serving such an wicked Queen to a race that I'm glad came back and learned what a real leader and true, mutual love are. I even owe half of my OC's existence to Thorax.

Edited December 21, 2017 by WiiGuy2014

[SolarFlare13 15,928]

1 minute ago, WiiGuy2014 said:

Well, I most certainly will rewatch Season 6 over and over. One reason is "Flutter Brutter" for having a surprisingly relatable character and showing that I could finish University, which I did thanks to its lesson of keep doing things, even though you might fail.

The other reason is Thorax. His very existence and the episodes featuring him changed my view of Changelings from being just some mindless obedient hive serving such an wicked Queen to a race that I'm glad came back and learned what a real leader and true, mutual love are. I even owe half of my OC's existence to Thorax.

Okay, I will admit. That was a good episode and I do like Thorax A LOT