Media researcher Joan Bleicher
“TV Total” and “Wetten, dass ..?”: Comeback of old shows in response to Netflix
Thomas Gottschalk (left) drove with “Wetten, dass ..?” Dream odds. Sebastian Pufpaff also dreams of this with his “TV total” premiere.
© ZDF / Tobias Schult / ProSieben / Willi Weber
Media researcher Joan Bleicher sees a “trend towards nostalgic television” given the comebacks of “TV Total” and “Wetten, dass ..?” fixed. She sees reasons for this.
According to an expert, the recent comeback of many old TV shows is also a response from the broadcasters to the new competition from Netflix, Amazon and other streaming platforms. “The show revivals are part of the observable trend towards nostalgic television,” said media researcher Joan Bleicher from the Institute for Media and Communication at the University of Hamburg.
“With the repetition of proven show formats, the broadcasters tie in with the medium’s established dimensions of experience. At the same time, however, show formats are also “business cards” that help create a profile, according to the expert.
On Monday ProSieben announced that it would take the noughties hit “TV total” back into the program this Wednesday, with Sebastian Pufpaff in place of Stefan Raab. A special from “Wetten, dass ..?” with Thomas Gottschalk had 13.8 million viewers last Saturday. From November 26th, Sat.1 will broadcast new episodes of the 90s game show “Go on the whole!” with Jörg Draeger. Other TV stations have also recently revived old show formats.
“TV Total” starts this Wednesday
According to Bleicher, such a new start is always associated with risks. “The strategy consists in the transfer of attention. It is important to transfer the previous successful concepts and visual experiences to the new offer, but this does not always succeed.”
In general, the chances of success are difficult to assess. “Which age groups can remember which show formats? Which formats do they actually want to see again? Which moderators are still available for the updates and can still achieve the same effect as when they were first broadcast?” According to Bleicher, not all old successful formats would correspond to current viewing habits and usage interests.