Beck/Olbermann

I hope this post doesn't bring out the worst in us.  It's been a crazy week with a lot of name calling.  My intention on posting this was purely the entertainment factor and not to debate who is more disliked.  Personally, for me, I dislike both but for different reasons.  Do you think we can keep it civil? LOL 

Beck and Olbermann Far More Disliked Than Loved, Data Shows

If the sight of this face makes you angry, you have plenty of company. Image via Wikipedia

Articles about Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann invariably use the word “polarizing” to describe their subjects. It’s a characterization that’s accurate, as far as it goes, and helps to explain why both men parted ways with their employers this year, Fox News and MSNBC, this year.

But it’s also somewhat misleading, implying a sort of love-him-or-hate-him equivalence. In fact, both Beck and Olbermann elicit far more bad vibes than warm fuzzies, according to research that’s closely watched by TV executives. And in Olbermann’s case, the gap recently widened.

The research is conducted by Marketing Evaluations Inc., which surveys consumers about their attitudes toward people, brands and characters and turns their responses into what it calls Q Scores. Respondents are first asked whether they recognize the personality or brand in question; those who do are asked if they have positive or negative feelings for him, her or it.

About one-third of consumers are familiar with Olbermann. Within that group, Olbermann’s “positive Q” has remained consistent over the last three surveys at about 10, meaning 10 percent of respondents have a favorable impression of him. His negative Q, however, jumped from 32 in the summer 2010 survey to 42 in the winter 2011 survey. “I don’t think it’s an anomaly,” says Steven Levitt, president of Marketing Evaluations. “But I don’t know the cause of it.”

Keith Olbermann's Q Scores

The winter study was conducted in January and February. Right in the middle of that period, on January 21, Olbermann announced he was leaving MSNBC. A cascade of stories revealed how he had clashed with management at NBC Universal. That coverage might have had something to do with his increase in negative Q. Alternatively, that could just be his natural level: In the winter 2010 survey, his negative Q Score was a 41.

What’s perfectly clear is that Olbermann is less liked, and more disliked, than the typical TV newsman. The category average for TV news personalities is a positive Q of 14 and a negative Q of 29, says Levitt.

Where Olbermann has relatively few admirers, Beck is more genuinely polarizing. His positive Q of 17 is above the category average. But his negative Q of 48 is practically off the charts. Both numbers have been fairly steady over the last three surveys. What has changed is his recognition: from 38 percent in winter 2010 to 43 percent to 49 percent in the most recent study. “It’s a solid trend,”  says Levitt.

Glenn Beck's Q Scores

The extraordinarily high negative Q Scores of Beck and Olbermann are useful in understanding why Fox News and MSNBC grew increasingly unhappy with the hosts even as they continued to pull strong ratings. In effect, both men carry a significant negative brand halo. For a programmer whose job is to build an audience across an entire lineup of shows, that’s a problem.

Beck has solved that problem by striking out on his own with a subscription video website, GBTV. Those who love Beck can pay $9.95 a month for access to all his output; those who hate him can pretend he doesn’t exist. For Olbermann, it’s a different matter. Current TV has hitched its wagon to his star in a big way. According to the Hollywood Reporter (which does indeed describe him as “oft-polarizing”), “Olbermann will serve as the leadoff hitter for a primetime lineup that eventually will include at least one more commentary show and event coverage including the 2012 presidential election.”

A fledgling network, crystallizing its as-yet inchoate brand identity around a personality who repels four times as many people as he attracts? Well, it worked for MSNBC…until it didn’t.