Are Bronies the main reason why MLP is still running?

[nami438 90]

lol seriously?

 

Think about what you just said for a few minutes.

 

Kids and their parents aren't usually made of money. Raising children is expensive and it's pretty safe to say that, in this economy, parents aren't exactly throwing their money at Hasbro so that their kids can collect everything MLP. Kids are fickle and their interests change, so the toys that they have vary in high amounts. As an example, I babysit the children who live two doors down from my parents. The older child is a 6 year old girl, and the parents do have money. She has soooooooo many toys. I mean way too many. If I were them I would throw away about 75% of those toys because they sit in the basement and collect dust. But that's not my business, I'm just trying to make a point that this kid has tons of toys. Of all the toys that she has, she has 1 MLP brushable, 1 McDonald's toy, and a set of little G3 figurines (kind of like the "blind bags" G4 has). That's IT.

 

But, bronies? Adult collectors? They likely don't have children. Either they are teenagers who make a little money and don't have to spend that money on bills or food, or they are adults, with no children, who are only really responsible for themselves. They can collect. Before I got married, I'm pretty sure that I have spent over $100 in brushables alone. The trading cards and the CCG, oh man, I'm kind of embarrassed about how much I have spent on those things. But it's a lot. The PVC figurines? I do not really buy the blind bags, but I have bought as many of the collections as I have seen in the stores. That's a good $50+.

 

And I'm one of those people who tries to be careful about not overspending, lol.

 

I know that not all bronies like to collect... but I'm fairly certain that out of all of us, there are hundreds of us who do.

 

If 100 bronies each bought 25 brushables, multiply 25 by 5, then by 100. That is $12,500 in revenue for Hasbro.

 

If 100 little girls each bought 3 brushables, multiply 3 by 5, then by 100. That is only $1500 in revenue for Hasbro.

 

Don't think that the number of bronies is comparable to the number of little girls who watch the show? Well, according to the Herd Census, "between 26.6 million and 34.9 million people with some sense of "broniness" in the United States." While I'd gauge that many of those millions of bronies might not be collectors, the ones who are make up for it. Not sure if there is a study about how many of them collect, but there may be.

 

Right now, in 2014, according to this: http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/pop1.asp

There are 24.7 million children between the ages of 6 and 11 in the United States. If half of those children are girls, then you only get 12.35 million.

 

Therefore, if we can reasonably deduce that little girls do not collect as much MLP merch as a brony does, and if there are far fewer little girls than there are adults who identify as bronies, then this means that bronies make up a much larger market than people may think.

 

I am honestly surprised that there are so many people in this thread who do not think that bronies make that big of a difference when it comes to buying MLP merch. Having adults make up a fanbase for ANYTHING makes that product last longer than it would have if only kids were into the product. If you need proof, look at any other fandom of a children's product and find out that the ones with the large adult following are still ongoing, but the ones who do not have a large adult following have died.

You are 100% right as far as I can tell, that adult collectors keep a franchise alive. But MLP has had adult collectors since the beginning, long before the brony phenomenon, and I would be hesitant to now call all adult collectors of ponies by the "brony" name. In my original post, my definition of "brony" did not include adult collectors who liked the show before Gen 4. I should have made that clearer.

 

From what I've seen, "brony" mostly refers to the surprisingly large group of males who enjoy the FiM show, and had little interest in My Little Pony before, hence the Gen 4 show being what got them into the franchise. Perhaps your definition of a brony is different than mine, in which case maybe we agree, lol

 

You're right, most kids and their parents are not trying to collect everything My Little Pony. That's traditionally a subset of people who are old enough to have a lot of disposable income and again, existed long before the "brony" word. Of course many bronies also collect the toys, but I don't think all adult collectors of ponies are bronies. Do you include, say, the crowd on MLP Arena forums as all "bronies"?

[RockinRarity 1,605]

You are 100% right as far as I can tell, that adult collectors keep a franchise alive. But MLP has had adult collectors since the beginning, long before the brony phenomenon, and I would be hesitant to now call all adult collectors of ponies by the "brony" name. In my original post, my definition of "brony" did not include adult collectors who liked the show before Gen 4. I should have made that clearer.

 

From what I've seen, "brony" mostly refers to the surprisingly large group of males who enjoy the FiM show, and had little interest in My Little Pony before, hence the Gen 4 show being what got them into the franchise. Perhaps your definition of a brony is different than mine, in which case maybe we agree, lol

 

You're right, most kids and their parents are not trying to collect everything My Little Pony. That's traditionally a subset of people who are old enough to have a lot of disposable income and again, existed long before the "brony" word. Of course many bronies also collect the toys, but I don't think all adult collectors of ponies are bronies. Do you include, say, the crowd on MLP Arena forums as all "bronies"?

You are right that not all adult collectors consider themselves bronies, and that there were adult collectors ever since G1. But the sheer number of adult collectors, ever since G4 began, has increased substantially. It would probably be safe to say that the majority of collectors collect G4 exclusively. Before, MLP collectors were pretty obscure and definitely outside the mainstream.

I would say as it is right now the show would be going on even with out the fandom but maybe by season 6-7 and up it will be running because of the fans. I don't know, thinking about the future of MLP kinda scares me. Like death.

I do not mean to pick on you, but because you are the latest person in this thread to say something like this, I need to ask you:

 

Why? Why do you believe that the show would still be going on if bronies weren't the large fandom that we are?

 

I do not recall anyone giving an explanation for this argument. I only see people making guesses. Which I understand, because hypothetical situations are not always easy to predict.

 

It's just that, personally, evidence for bronies being the main reason for the show lasting this long and still going on is abundant... I find it easier to believe that we are the main reason rather than to believe that we haven't made all that much of a difference.

 

I have made my point already today about money, but I have other reasons as well. I have probably mentioned some of those earlier in this thread. But I want to hear why someone believes that the show would have 91 episodes and a growing girls' market without brony help.

[Jump Cut 59]

You are right that not all adult collectors consider themselves bronies, and that there were adult collectors ever since G1. But the sheer number of adult collectors, ever since G4 began, has increased substantially. It would probably be safe to say that the majority of collectors collect G4 exclusively. Before, MLP collectors were pretty obscure and definitely outside the mainstream.

 

I do not mean to pick on you, but because you are the latest person in this thread to say something like this, I need to ask you:

 

Why? Why do you believe that the show would still be going on if bronies weren't the large fandom that we are?

 

I do not recall anyone giving an explanation for this argument. I only see people making guesses. Which I understand, because hypothetical situations are not always easy to predict.

 

It's just that, personally, evidence for bronies being the main reason for the show lasting this long and still going on is abundant... I find it easier to believe that we are the main reason rather than to believe that we haven't made all that much of a difference.

 

I have made my point already today about money, but I have other reasons as well. I have probably mentioned some of those earlier in this thread. But I want to hear why someone believes that the show would have 91 episodes and a growing girls' market without brony help.

im not a very good explainer but i guess if you look at tv shows in general and their running time you can see why. every show is different with its relationship with its fans. look at spongebob. if kids didn't love it would it still be running

? but there is a trail period that every show must go through. if the show doesn't pull out in its ratings then its canned but if there is a decent viewing crowd then a few seasons will be pumped out. I do think the fandom has made a huge impact on the show and is guarantying many seasons. I do know that bronies are driving  Hasbro's girl toy market as of late. I don't really like to explain much because i know my explanations are horrible and i never have good information to back it up. 

Sorry if this explanation or any information is incorrect or just plain bad.

P.S. I do see what you are getting at with people just saying stuff with no meat or data behind it.

[Andaasonsan 3,205]

You are right that not all adult collectors consider themselves bronies, and that there were adult collectors ever since G1. But the sheer number of adult collectors, ever since G4 began, has increased substantially. It would probably be safe to say that the majority of collectors collect G4 exclusively. Before, MLP collectors were pretty obscure and definitely outside the mainstream.

 

I do not mean to pick on you, but because you are the latest person in this thread to say something like this, I need to ask you:

 

Why? Why do you believe that the show would still be going on if bronies weren't the large fandom that we are?

 

I do not recall anyone giving an explanation for this argument. I only see people making guesses. Which I understand, because hypothetical situations are not always easy to predict.

 

It's just that, personally, evidence for bronies being the main reason for the show lasting this long and still going on is abundant... I find it easier to believe that we are the main reason rather than to believe that we haven't made all that much of a difference.

 

I have made my point already today about money, but I have other reasons as well. I have probably mentioned some of those earlier in this thread. But I want to hear why someone believes that the show would have 91 episodes and a growing girls' market without brony help.

Personally it's just skepticism on my behalf. I see a lot of evidence that Friendship is Magic has been a huge success. It's pretty hard to argue against that. The thing we lack is evidence of is what degree bronies are responsible for that success. It's the old truism that "correlation does not imply causation".

 

I'm just uncomfortable with what I see as an over-inflated sense of importance and entitlement that bronies seem to have, and worst of all the belief that this is somehow our show now, and it's not really about the kids anymore.

 

I don't think it's completely inconceivable that maybe the reason the show is doing as well as it is, is because kids are actually watching it, because it is genuinely just that good of a show.

[RockinRarity 1,605]

Personally it's just skepticism on my behalf. I see a lot of evidence that Friendship is Magic has been a huge success. It's pretty hard to argue against that. The thing we lack is evidence of is what degree bronies are responsible for that success. It's the old truism that "correlation does not imply causation".

 

I'm just uncomfortable with what I see as an over-inflated sense of importance and entitlement that bronies seem to have, and worst of all the belief that this is somehow our show now, and it's not really about the kids anymore.

 

I don't think it's completely inconceivable that maybe the reason the show is doing as well as it is, is because kids are actually watching it, because it is genuinely just that good of a show.

I can see that. And I do agree that having an over-inflated sense of self-importance is not exactly healthy. I think I see more of the "it's our show now" attitude indirectly - it is a little harder for a person to admit that they actually have this attitude. I think the majority of the adult fans understand that the show is not exclusively "ours." I don't think that's a reason to believe that we aren't a significant driving force for the show's success and continuation, though. Just because some people have egos the size of Texas, it doesn't mean that what they are claiming (that bronies are tge main reason the show is as successful as it is) isn't true.

 

I do know that correlation does not equal causation. But because we lack significant hard data about the question at hand, we can only analyze what we have and hope for the best.

 

Even if Hasbro the toy company doesn't believe that bronies make a significant portion of the fan base, the writers and creators of the TV show certainly do. Many of the show's staff have been to brony conventions, something that would not have existed if the fanbase of the show only consisted of little girls. When the creators of a kids' show know that they have an adult following, they take more risks with the content they put in the show, because they have evidence that the benefits outweigh any kind of consequence. Take season 4's finale. Tirek, the fight scene, the darker undertones (overtones?), the destruction of Twilight's house... first of all, could you imagine Spongebob's pineapple house being permenantly destroyed? The one episode where it did get destroyed by nematoads it grew back at the end... it's kind of a big deal that Twilight's home got destroyed. That is not only devastating, but it's a huge change! They do not just put that sort of thing in a kids' show if they feel that the audience is going to have terrible feelings about it.

 

Adventure Time is going the same way. The early episodes are typical one-shot episodic adventures. But as the series progresses and the show gains an adult following, they add in an overarching story. The same thing is happening with MLP.

 

Also, consider this - MLP: FiM is now officially Hasbro's longest-running cartoon, and it is still going strong.

 

What could have possibly made it that way? There is no evidence that kids love MLP way more than they have ever loved any other cartoon. There is no evidence that Hasbro's decision to keep the cartoon going for 5 more years has to do with any guarantee that kids in the target demographic are going to keep loving the show in growing numbers. That may happen, that may not.

 

What is really important here is that MLP lasted longer than 65 episodes. 65 is the magical number for syndication where a company can pretty much make bank with the show and continue to make money off it without making more episodes. If you consider the number of cartoons that have not even made it anywhere near 65 episodes, and the ones who have made it to 65, you will see that the number of cartoons that have gone past 65 is very small. I do not have the time right now to find out all American cartoons that have made it past that number and figure out the reasons why each cartoon made it past that number, but I suppose I could do that if people are still skeptical about what I am saying.

 

My point is that if syndication is easy money, and if there is a reason that networks have decided that 65 is a good number for syndication, then there's got to be a damn good reason to continue making episodes of a cartoon beyond that point. It had better be worth the financial risk, otherwise there isn't going to be a very good payoff.

 

The fact of the matter is that a consistent fanbase is what I believe keeps a show running. This is where the adults come in. There is not guarantee that kids won't grow out of a TV show and that a newer younger audience will be drawn in. When you have kids as a target demographic, it may be difficult to keep them interested in the show, because kids grow up fast. A girl who is 8 years old in October 2010 when the show first started is now 11 or 12 years old in May 2014. How many girls remember being in 6th grade and into cartoons? Personally, I was the only one in my class who still watched cartoons regularly. Heck, that was how I was in 5th grade too. I still liked cartoons but everyone else was into live-action TV shows and clothes shopping and stuff... still loving cartoons today, I think I was an anomaly. Most people become disinterested in "little kid" stuff by a certain age, and it isn't realistic to continue making a show if it isn't gaining a new audience.

 

Things with MLP would be so much more up in the air, if my knowledge of human nature is at all accurate, if it only had little girls as fans to rely on for revenue. Bronies are adult fans who keep the show going strong. That is all I am really trying to say.

[GXPBlast 597]

I can see that. And I do agree that having an over-inflated sense of self-importance is not exactly healthy. I think I see more of the "it's our show now" attitude indirectly - it is a little harder for a person to admit that they actually have this attitude. I think the majority of the adult fans understand that the show is not exclusively "ours." I don't think that's a reason to believe that we aren't a significant driving force for the show's success and continuation, though. Just because some people have egos the size of Texas, it doesn't mean that what they are claiming (that bronies are tge main reason the show is as successful as it is) isn't true.

 

I do know that correlation does not equal causation. But because we lack significant hard data about the question at hand, we can only analyze what we have and hope for the best.

 

Even if Hasbro the toy company doesn't believe that bronies make a significant portion of the fan base, the writers and creators of the TV show certainly do. Many of the show's staff have been to brony conventions, something that would not have existed if the fanbase of the show only consisted of little girls. When the creators of a kids' show know that they have an adult following, they take more risks with the content they put in the show, because they have evidence that the benefits outweigh any kind of consequence. Take season 4's finale. Tirek, the fight scene, the darker undertones (overtones?), the destruction of Twilight's house... first of all, could you imagine Spongebob's pineapple house being permenantly destroyed? The one episode where it did get destroyed by nematoads it grew back at the end... it's kind of a big deal that Twilight's home got destroyed. That is not only devastating, but it's a huge change! They do not just put that sort of thing in a kids' show if they feel that the audience is going to have terrible feelings about it.

 

Adventure Time is going the same way. The early episodes are typical one-shot episodic adventures. But as the series progresses and the show gains an adult following, they add in an overarching story. The same thing is happening with MLP.

 

Also, consider this - MLP: FiM is now officially Hasbro's longest-running cartoon, and it is still going strong.

 

What could have possibly made it that way? There is no evidence that kids love MLP way more than they have ever loved any other cartoon. There is no evidence that Hasbro's decision to keep the cartoon going for 5 more years has to do with any guarantee that kids in the target demographic are going to keep loving the show in growing numbers. That may happen, that may not.

 

What is really important here is that MLP lasted longer than 65 episodes. 65 is the magical number for syndication where a company can pretty much make bank with the show and continue to make money off it without making more episodes. If you consider the number of cartoons that have not even made it anywhere near 65 episodes, and the ones who have made it to 65, you will see that the number of cartoons that have gone past 65 is very small. I do not have the time right now to find out all American cartoons that have made it past that number and figure out the reasons why each cartoon made it past that number, but I suppose I could do that if people are still skeptical about what I am saying.

 

My point is that if syndication is easy money, and if there is a reason that networks have decided that 65 is a good number for syndication, then there's got to be a damn good reason to continue making episodes of a cartoon beyond that point. It had better be worth the financial risk, otherwise there isn't going to be a very good payoff.

 

The fact of the matter is that a consistent fanbase is what I believe keeps a show running. This is where the adults come in. There is not guarantee that kids won't grow out of a TV show and that a newer younger audience will be drawn in. When you have kids as a target demographic, it may be difficult to keep them interested in the show, because kids grow up fast. A girl who is 8 years old in October 2010 when the show first started is now 11 or 12 years old in May 2014. How many girls remember being in 6th grade and into cartoons? Personally, I was the only one in my class who still watched cartoons regularly. Heck, that was how I was in 5th grade too. I still liked cartoons but everyone else was into live-action TV shows and clothes shopping and stuff... still loving cartoons today, I think I was an anomaly. Most people become disinterested in "little kid" stuff by a certain age, and it isn't realistic to continue making a show if it isn't gaining a new audience.

 

Things with MLP would be so much more up in the air, if my knowledge of human nature is at all accurate, if it only had little girls as fans to rely on for revenue. Bronies are adult fans who keep the show going strong. That is all I am really trying to say.

 

You do an amazing job breaking this down. Goes to show us Bronies have the power lol.

[GXPBlast 597]

I would say as it is right now the show would be going on even with out the fandom but maybe by season 6-7 and up it will be running because of the fans. I don't know, thinking about the future of MLP kinda scares me. Like death.  

 

Personally, I think MLP would have not gone past Season 4 without the bronies. Infact the later seasons would not have been as epic and may have not been as action packed without the brony influence.

Edited June 20, 2014 by GXPBlast

[Pinkamena-Pills 6,838]

Well honestly id like to think so and say Season 4 wouldn't of happened without the bronies,neither would it have been so epic,but without any hard data i can only assume such.

[GXPBlast 597]

Well honestly id like to think so and say Season 4 wouldn't of happened without the bronies,neither would it have been so epic,but without any hard data i can only assume such.

Even if Season 4 did happen, it would have not have been as epic as you said without brony influence. Plus I think the show would have eventually died off. I mean we are getting anothoer five years according to the hasbro invester meeting that happned and I have a hard time believing this would have happened without the brony influence.

Edited July 1, 2014 by GXPBlast

[Silver Letter 1,830]

No. Just...no.

There is no way that anyone can possibly believe that non-traditional fans known as bronies can somehow equate to the core audience. It is still running because the core audience still consumes it and is still the majority by a wide margin.

[#1FluttershyFan 206]

Well, if you watch the show (even if you're 6 years old) and you liked it and came back and watched another episode and so on, wouldn't you be a brony? I mean, not a full out brony with all the merchandise and stuff but if you loved the show and came back for  more, wouldn't you technically be a brony?

 

Even if it is only bronies (like people on the forums) then we would keep the show running.

[Dr. Frasier Crane 319]

Probably not, I think the target audience still counts for the large majority of the MLP fanbase, they're just not considered an abnormality and so they're not heard from in the media or over the Internet.

 

I think the epic scenes we see in season 4 are just continuing what Lauren Faust wanted Friendship is Magic to be: A show that smashes negative gender stereotypes that parents can legitimately enjoy watching  with their children.

[Pinklady 345]

Nah, I don't think so, I don't think we are that important.

It has more to do with the fact that their commercial activities are still extremely lucrative.
As long as the merchandise keeps on selling well and the ratings are high, new seasons will follow.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Pinklady

[Envy 6,004]

Um... Hello? The My Little Pony franchise has existed for over thirty years. No matter how big of a head the 'Brony' fandom has gotten, it is not at all critical to the continuation of the MLP franchise.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Um... Hello? The My Little Pony franchise has existed for over thirty years. No matter how big of a head the 'Brony' fandom has gotten, it is not at all critical to the continuation of the MLP franchise.

True, it's too early to tell with G4. Each of the previous generations lasted about 10 years as a toy line (with some weird variations and sub-generations), so we're not quite half-way through this generations 'normal' life-span.

 

However, the G4 cartoon is showing more resilience than previous generation's animations, and that *might* be due to the brony fandom. Again, too early to tell.

[RainbowDangerDashie 195]

MLP FiM would have lasted the normal life span of any MLP generation, which is about 10 years, even without the bronies. I'm thinking that maybe this generation might last longer, but then again, we're only half way through this generation, and from what I can tell, MLP FiM is not ending anytime soon.

Plus, we're getting a sub series soon, 'Equestria Academy' or whatever the heck the name is, halfway into the normal lifespan of the generations, so from what I can tell, if FiM does have to eventually stop, which everything does, thats why SpongeBob is ending soon, they will probably release a 4.5 generation, similar to what they did with G3, and possibly a G5 with the same characters, which I would LOVE, and possibly that one going into a 5.5 generation as well. But in the meantime, lets just enjoy this generation of MLP while it lasts.

[Rain_Chaser 4]

It would still be a success no matter. We don't keep it running, we make it successful. It would of been on a low budget though

[Felix 1,363]

We have definitely influenced and caused a few things to be different than they would have been. Would it have lasted as long? It's hard to say. Maybe, but it would it not have gone the same route.

[Fliby 29]

I think bronies have a major part in how the show is running.Possibly without bronies the show will run somehow ok,but with us it runs with pride, and joy.Can you imagine how much money Hasbro would make if every brony bought at least one product from them?

[Stone Cold Applejack 381]

The majority of the viewers are bronies.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

It's neither yes or no. I mean the show's target audience is still the little children, and they're likely still the ones largely buying the toys & such.

 

However, the brony community does have some influence. I mean, would the show have had dark villains like Chrysalis, Sombra, and Tirek if it weren't for the bronies? Would there be a comic series running without bronies?

 

Honestly, the answer is a bit more complicated than some may give credit for, but it's there regardless.

[GXPBlast 597]

It's neither yes or no. I mean the show's target audience is still the little children, and they're likely still the ones largely buying the toys & such.

 

However, the brony community does have some influence. I mean, would the show have had dark villains like Chrysalis, Sombra, and Tirek if it weren't for the bronies? Would there be a comic series running without bronies?

 

Honestly, the answer is a bit more complicated than some may give credit for, but it's there regardless.

 

 

I honestly think we would not have so many awesome episodes without the bronies. I mean if you compare season 1 to season 4 the amount of brony influence is high.

 

Even with the Equestria Girls movie, Rainbow Rocks defiantly has some brony influence in it.

[Stone Cold Applejack 381]

It's safe to say yes. We keep MLP popular which I find ironic as all hell.

[FancyHorse 1,208]

In my opinion, if Hasbro can find ways to continue gaining revenue from MLP, the brony community makes a good commodity for it.

[The Boulder 121]

If Bronies didn't exist, I'm pretty sure the show would go on. It wouldn't be as well know, or make as much money, but it would still be a good only-for-kids show, and one of the better generations of MLP. Though I don't know if it would've been renewed for a 5th season...