Death of AFV

Most of us can remember a time when watching TV with your family was fun. Relaxing after your days at elementary school, you would just sit back on your couch on Sunday nights and laugh along to all of the funny clips that Tom Bergeron was showing you.

This past Sunday, I was scrolling through TV channels and happened to see that America’s Funniest Videos was on. I sat through the hour-long program and at the end, and rarely laughed. The show just didn’t have the same effect as it used to.

So… what happened to the show today? Far less people watch the show then back in the 2000’s. But why? Are people just done with the concept? Have the videos become too fake? Is it just not entertaining to see someone fall anymore? There are multiple reasons for AFV’s decline.

New Host

Sometimes one person can make or break the show that they are on. Some people are just that talented whereas they can make a mediocre show good. That was the case for Tom Bergeron, a born comedian. Especially on AFV, he always found a way to say just the right thing for each clip, and nothing else. He has a dry sense of humor, and his comedy enhanced the videos.. Three years ago,, Bergeron decided that he had enough with the show and just wanted to host Dancing With The Stars. Producers then had to scramble to find a new host, and a host who could fill Bergeron’s shoes. They went with the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Alfonso Ribeiro, who is charismatic, and funny at times, but he is no Bergeron. Ribeiro finds a way to say the most awkward things for each clip, and ruin the hilarity behind each moment.

Social Media

One of the main reasons that fans enjoyed AFV so much in the early 2000’s is because they were watching clips they had never seen before. They were getting a glimpse into a family’s life and were able to connect with them. The problem was, as social media sites such as Twitter  and Facebook grew rapidly in the 2010’s, more people were able to show their funny moments immediately with these sites. This instant gratification created no need to mail in their video and wait to see if they would become famous or not. This then caused AFV to receive less videos, thus lowering the quality of all the videos that aired on their show.

Fake Videos

As I was watching the new show, I could tell that many of the videos, especially the ones up for the $10,000 prize, were clearly set up. You could tell that the people in the videos were acting, and that the “coincidental” events that were occuring were obviously planned out beforehand. Of course, after showing the videos, they panned the camera on the three people in the audience (mainly children) who were laughing. If the producers would be able to catch these videos early, and not show them, it could exponentially help their program.

Internet Streaming

Another difference in today’s culture as compared to the culture of the early 2000’s is the fact that many people stream videos online as compared to watching cable. With online streaming, one could completely avoid commercials and just watch the shows that they want to. Many today prefer watching Netflix originals over cable TV shows, and if they so happen to  like the cable TV shows, they will just wait for the current season to come on to Netflix. This decline in overall viewership has hurt AFV. They aren’t getting the eyes that they normally get on the show, so they have to resort to corny fake clips to buy time instead of being able to find all of the “diamond in the rough” videos that made this show so famous.

Shows like this will not be able to survive with all of our technological advances in today’s world. The Internet and the ability to share pictures and videos instantly will be the final nail in  the coffin for America’s Funniest Home Videos. AFV has had its impact on our culture, but every show will have its final dance sometime.