Britney gleefully does it again.
No “oops.” By demand and by design, the Britney Spears episode of “Glee” ran-up record ratings not only on broadcast television but also on Twitter and iTunes. While they whistle their favourite “Circus” tunes, business school students should pore over the numbers and angles in Britney’s total domination of the fibre optics, because her ownership of Tuesday night has a thousand tales to tell post-modern marketers eager for examples of multi-media synergy.
For the first time in seventeen years, premiere week’s number one program—“Glee,” of course—gained audience numbers and ratings share in week two; the last show to outdo itself was “Seinfeld” in 1993. Featuring five Spears hits and a cameo by the pop star herself, the episode scored 6% higher than any previous “Glee” broadcast, and it out-rated its nearest competitor by nearly 30%. Of course, it steamrolled the competition in teen and young-adult demographics, but it won the night in virtually all ratings categories.
The tell-tale take-away for techies
The Britney-themed episode originated on the internet last spring when one of Britney’s managers “tweeted” fans, proving that he was not that innocent when he inquired, “Do you guys want to see a Britney Spears episode of ‘Glee’?” The subject rose to number one in Twitter trends within ten minutes, ultimately attracting Ryan Murphy’s attention. Murphy created and now is executive producer of the runaway hit.
After the episode aired in the eastern time zone, Britney Spears tweeted her thanks to enthusiastic fans, and “Britney Spears Episode” remained the world’s top-trending subject on Twitter for more than twelve hours. As the episode aired across the country, Spears commanded seven of the top ten Twitter and Google trends, and she generated more than 200 million unique visits to her social media and online properties. Most importantly, the five Spears songs featured in the episode remain in iTunes top twelve most downloaded more than two days after air time.
