
Visions of Sound
Coming out of the Persian Gulf War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the Rodney King beating… political correctness was awakening within America. Social awareness influencing perception, people and media. Song lyrics, specifically in alternative music, started reflecting these changes more and more. The path was paved to reintroduce a socially conscious music video show.
Streamlining the show concept with improved production quality, adding a show host, and becoming an official music video programmer with the record labels, Visions of Sound was ready.
Negotiating a promotional partnership with the Minneapolis/St. Paul alternative rock station, KJJO-FM 104.1, we called on morning DJ and Twin Cities radio legend Brian Turner, to become the host for Visions of Sound.
After several months of negotiations with KARE-TV, we agreed on a straight 50/50 barter of commercial inventory, in exchange for the 30-minute, 1:05 a.m. time slot after Saturday Night Live. In addition to producing, writing, directing, shooting, editing and marketing the show, I took on the role of spot sales to generate revenue and cover production expenses.
Visions of Sound was broadcast for 16-weeks starting in May 1992. Airing at 1:05 a.m., opposite Howard Stern’s first television-based talk show, Visions of Sound regularly won the time slot with an average Nielson rating of 2.46, which represented some of the highest numbers ever attained for the time slot on KARE TV.
While I was able to clear just enough revenue to cover expenses, eventually KARE-TV opted to replace Visions of Sound with the HBO Comedy Hour, ending the successful first season in August 1992.
Date | Rating | Share | Households | Total Viewers | May 1992 Nielson Sweeps Week | ||||||
May 16, 1992 | 2.0 | 12% | 66,000hh | 7,920 | |||||||
May 23, 1992 | 3.0 | 21% | 99,000hh | 20,790 | Overall Demo | Women | Men | Children Age 2-11 | |||
May 30, 1992 | 2.1 | 14% | 69,300hh | 9,702 | Age 12-34 | 3.0 | Age 18-34 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | |
June 5, 1992 | 2.4 | 20% | 79,200hh | 15,840 | Age 18-34 | 2.0 | Age 18-49 | 2.0 | 1.0 | ||
June 13, 1992 | .6 | 4% | 19,800hh | 792 | Age 18-49 | 2.0 | Age 21-49 | 3.0 | 1.0 | ||
June 20, 1992 | 2.8 | 21% | 92,400hh | 19,404 | Age 21-49 | 2.0 | Age 35-49 | 3.0 | 2.0 | ||
June 27, 1992 | 4.0 | 16% | 132,000hh | 21,120 | Age 25-49 | 2.0 | |||||
July 4, 1992 | 2..9 | 13% | 95,700hh | 12,441 | |||||||
July 11, 1992 | 2.6 | 16% | 85,800hh | 13,728 | |||||||
July 18, 1992 | 2.0 | 13% | 66,000hh | 8,580 | |||||||
July 25, ,1992 | 2.4 | 17% | 79,200hh | 13,464 | |||||||
August 1, 1992 | 2.7 | 21% | 89,100hh | 18,711 | |||||||
August 8, 1992 | 3.2 | 25% | 105,600hh | 26,400 | |||||||
August 15, 1992 | 1.7 | 14% | 56,100hh | 7,854 | |||||||
August 22, 1992 | 2.6 | 19% | 62,700hh | 11,913 | |||||||
Average | 2.46 | 16.4% | 80,500hh | 13,924 |