Brian Hughes

There’s been immense change in late night over the past two years, including new hosts for two of the three broadcast networks and the two major cable satire shows. Plus, another new show entered last week, TBS’s Full Frontal, one of just a handful of late-night programs hosted by a woman. The changes come at the same time as late night generally is experiencing some churn. Magna Global’s Brian Hughes talks about which networks look most promising in latenight, which ones still need work, and how that could evolve.

The networks have been hyping the big growth in live-plus-three-day-DVR-playback ratings (L+3) to start the season, and they have been impressive. Brian Hughes, SVP and audience analysis practice lead at MagnaGlobal, argues that it’s the live-plus-same-day-DVR viewing (L+SD) that media buyers should be more concerned about, rather than L+3. He talks about this season’s DVR usage, whether overnights are still valuable and what new show has impressed him the most.

When David Letterman announced his retirement a few weeks ago, there was a huge amount of speculation over who would succeed him. But CBS named his replacement within a week, picking Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report. Brian Hughes, SVP and audience analysis practice lead at Magna Global, talks about why CBS made its choice, how it could play out in the ratings and whether The Late Late Show will be getting a new host, too.

After Netflix released the first season of House of Cards in its entirety Feb. 1, the concept of “binge viewing” — watching multiple episodes of a series in a single sitting — became a very hot topic. My team and I are tasked with addressing these trends because it always leads to the same question: Is this going to kill linear TV viewing? The short answer is no. And here’s why.

DVRs, online video viewing and tablets are certainly impinging on traditional television viewing. But in the eyes of media buyers, TV remains the undisputed champion in terms of delivering mass audiences. No other medium can effectively reach 111 million people at once, as the Super Bowl does each February. Brian Hughes, SVP and head of the audience analysis practice at Magna Global, talks about the trends he’s watching this year, whether there are too many singing shows and how technology is changing television.

Brian Hughes, SVP and audience analysis practice lead at MagnaGlobal, talks about NBC’s strengths, its weaknesses and why Animal Practice might not be that bad after all.