About
"I have the best job in the world. I'm involved in all the decisions and responsible for none of them. That's essentially what the research function is: your job is to inform decision-makers… It isn't to make those decisions for them. And that's the way I always look at myself. The bottom line, though, is in reality, you are responsible."
In his three-and-a-half-hour interview, David Poltrack discusses his role as a marketing and research executive at CBS for over four decades. He chronicles his career in advertising, working at Ted Bates Advertising in New York City, and outlines joining CBS as a manager of marketing services in 1969. He describes becoming VP of marketing and getting involved in rating audience response to television programs in the early days of Nielsen. He speaks of transitioning to the role of VP of research for CBS, details the markings of a successful show, and lays out how he responds to critics of research techniques. Poltrack recalls one of the lowest-rated pilots to become a success (Seinfeld), and offers his opinion on why other shows (The Big Bang Theory, CSI) have been successful, in part due to research. He describes his research methodology and how questions are crafted for research groups. He also talks about second-screen technology, DVR recording, and privacy issues surrounding the data collection of viewers. Karen Herman conducted the interview on January 3, 2013 in Las Vegas, NV.
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On the irony of his name (similar to "poll track"); his parents and childhood in Stanford, CT
On his father's vocation in early television circuitry and figuring out how to "silence" commercials; on the impact of 1950s television on him as a child;
On television shows he watched as a kid
On his early career pursuits in law at Notre Dame, and then switching to advertising; on working at Ted Bates Advertising agency; on working with television clients and being offered jobs at several networks
On how he got to CBS from his job at Ted Bates Advertising; on why he wanted to leave advertising; on his first job as Manager of Marketing Services at CBS
On the difference between sales and marketing; on moving from sales to the research department
On moving from sales to the research department; on how research was conducted in the early days of television;
Chapter 2
On utilizing his marketing skills in programming decisions at CBS; on research and analysis testing before he came on; on his role to communicate to creatives about the results of his research and how it impacts programming; on responding to critics of research methodology
On criticism of his research methods; on how he tests television programs and predicting shares; on how The Big Bang Theory used research to greatly improve the ratings of the show
On the four essential questions of television research; on how the ratings game has changed; on why many pilots fail to make it to air; why characters are so critical to the success of the show
On how each character is judged for ratings; on how the research questions are structured; on how critics of research always point to Seinfeld to show its faults because it didn't test well
On how research impacts casting of shows; on the creative process and research and how they relate; on the problem of basing all the research on a single show
On using social networking in research; on looking at trends such as reality television and social trends and utilizing new technology such as mini-tablets and ipads; on the impact of the DVR on television networks
Chapter 3
On the advent of the DVR and second-screen technology; on the impact of research on scheduling
On his interaction with Nielson and his own research team
On privacy issues within the research industry; on tailoring ads to an individuals' interest and its pros and cons; on double-blind matching; on tracking user data; on the poor job the industry has done of explaining opt-out and other areas of data privacy
On a week in his life; on being given a "report card" ever morning; on his management style
On whether his research has ever been wrong;
Chapter 4
On how research helped develop such shows as CSI; on what makes great TV; on how audiences have changed
On the value of multi-generational shows such as NCIS and The Big Bang Theory; on television's role in society
On globalization; on the secret to a successful international program; on not wanting to retire
Shows
Baywatch
David Poltrack on the secret to an internationally successful television show; on Baywatch being successful abroad
Big Bang Theory, The
David Poltrack on WHY TV networks test their programs before airing them; he says The Big Bang Theory is a good example of why testing works; on how Chuck Lorre understood how to interpret his audience
David Poltrack on the importance of characters to the success of a TV show such as Big Bang Theory
David Poltrack on the value of multi-generational shows such as the Big Bang Theory; on unique characters that appeal to a broader audience with universal themes
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
David Poltrack on how CSI was a success story for his research team at CBS
NCIS
David Poltrack on the value of multi-generational shows such as NCIS
Seinfeld
David Poltrack on how critics of research always point to Seinfeld to show its faults because it didn't test well
Topics
Criticism of TV
David Poltrack on the criticism of the television research process
Pop Culture
David Poltrack on the changing nature of sitcoms as reflective of societal trends and how research follows these trends
Technological Innovation
On using social networking in research
David Poltrack on the "new gadgets" in technology and how television research is utilizing them
David Poltrack on the impact of the DVR on television networks
David Poltrack on second-screen technology
Television Industry
David Poltrack on tailoring ads to individual customers and the privacy concerns associated with collecting such data
David Poltrack on what makes great television and whether he can predict flops and successes
Professions
Advertising Executive
David Poltrack on the ad agency business in the 1960s when he started at Ted Bates Advertising Agency and what his job entailed
David Poltrack on how the Advertising Agency interacted with its television clients in the 1960s
Executives
David Poltrack on why he needs to watch as much television as possible to effectively do his job
Television Executive
David Poltrack on the view and use of research by television networks and how it was both sought and resisted
David Poltrack on his job to make creatives understand the role of research in programming
Genres
Comedy Series
David Poltrack on the changing nature of sitcoms as reflective of societal trends and how research follows these trends
Reality TV
David Poltrack on the rising popularity of Reality TV (and game shows) and how research rates that genre
People
David E. Kelley
David Poltrack on his admiration for writers such as David E. Kelley
Leslie Moonves
David Poltrack on how Leslie Moonves understood the role of research in his programming decisions at CBS
Howard Stringer
David Poltrack on how Howard Stringer said he used research at CBS "like a drunk uses a lampost- more for support than illumination"