The Year in Media

The Year in Media | Comedy’s Comeback on TV

By BILL CARTER

Staff members of The Times’s media news department are highlighting the most significant developments this year in the industries they cover.

On the morning of Sept. 20, the hierarchy of CBS sat by their smartphones awaiting information that might be, in the jargon of television, a game changer.

Viewers had been expected to show up in big numbers to watch the hit comedy “Two and a Half Men” following the clangorous exit of Charlie Sheen and his replacement by the Twitter-mad Ashton Kutcher. But nobody expected the results CBS encountered that Tuesday morning. The reconstituted “Two and a Half Men” had attracted 28 million viewers, an unheard-of number for scripted television shows. In the financially vital category of viewers from the ages of 18 to 49, it hit a 10.3 rating, a gain of 110 percent over the previous year.

CBS’s night of comedies was off to a spectacular start, one that coincided with a drop of more than 30 percent for one of television’s mightiest unscripted shows, “Dancing With the Stars” on ABC. The moment signaled an incipient shift in the tastes of television viewers — away from the reality shows they had come to love and back toward the golden oldie of television entertainment: the sitcom.

Not only did new hits like “New Girl” on Fox and “Two Broke Girls” on CBS emerge to underscore the comedy comeback, but several long-running comedies, including “Modern Family” on ABC and “How I Met Your Mother” on CBS, saw ratings surge to all-time highs.

Viral Spiral, 2006-11

Living helix of passed-along ads reveals the exponential growth of video sharing on the social web

By Tim Nudd

Unruly is interested in the sharing of online video, not just the viewing of it. And the Viral Spiral really illustrates—in a much more powerful, visual way than a set of numbers—just how much video-sharing is growing on the web. For example, look at the Dove "Evolution" spot from 2006 or the Cadbury "Gorilla" spot from 2007. Those were considered viral juggernauts at the time, but had just a tiny fraction of the shares of any of 2011's top five.

The other great thing about this infographic is that it lives and breathes. Hovering over any circle brings it to life—and clicking on it opens the full video in a new window. Also, the share numbers are updated three times a day for all videos, going all the way down the spiral. It will be interesting to see whether this growth in sharing continues at quite this pace in 2012.

15% Of Online Videos Viewed In November Were Ads

By Megan O'Neill

People are watching more video ads than ever before.  Earlier this month new statistics showed that in the third quarter of 2011 online video ad growth surpassed online video view growth and online video revenues are set to triple in 2011.  New data from comScore just adds to the proof that online video is bigger than ever.  According to comScore’s November 2011 U.S. Online Video Rankings, video ads accounted for 15 percent of all videos viewed in November and 1.3 percent of all the minutes spent viewing online videos.

comScore reports, “Americans viewed 7.2 billion video ads in November, with Hulu generating the highest number of video ad impressions at more than 1.3 billion, followed by Tremor Video in second with 1.1 billion.”  Adap.tv, BrightRoll Video Network, Specific Media, CBS Interactive, TubeMogul Video Ad Platform, Microsoft, AOL and SpotXchange Video Ad Marketplace finished out the list of top U.S. online video Ad properties, according to the number of ads viewed.

Although Hulu clocked in with the most video ads, Tremor media delivered the highest duration of video ads.  Tremor aired 594 million minutes of ads while Hulu aired 565 million minutes.  The top 10 ad properties reached 52.4% of the U.S. population with their online video ads.

Joshua Cohen of Tubefilter crunched the numbers and found out that we’re each watching just under 16 minutes and 49 seconds worth of video ads per month, on average.  This, he reports, “is about one minute and 11 seconds shy of the amount of commercials and promotional spots you watch in one hour of television.”  That’s a statistic that makes me feel a little bit better about the amount of online video advertising we’re watching now, but also fills me with dread at how much more advertising they can cram into our online video viewing experience before we catch up to TV.

Do you feel at all overwhelmed with online video advertising yet?

TV 2011: By the numbers

The numbers don’t lie. People cared about two things this year — football and Snooki. See for yourself. Three charts rank what we watched on TV, what we talked about and what we read about in the past year.

Most watched TV programs of the year

1. “Super Bowl XLV-” -Fox-Feb. 6 - 111 million viewers

2. “AFC Championship” -CBS - Jan. 23- 54.9 million viewers

3. “NFC Championship” - Fox - Jan. 23 - 51.9 million viewers

4. “AFC Divisional Playoff” -CBS - Jan. 16 - 43.5 million viewers

5. “NFC Wildcard Game” - Fox -Jan. 9 - 39.3 million viewers

6. “Academy Awards” - ABC - Feb. 27 - 37.9 million viewers

7. “AFC Divisional Playoff” - CBS - Jan. 15 - 34 million viewers

8. “NFL Playoff Game 2” - NBC - Jan. 8 - 33.3 million viewers

9. “NFC Playoff” - Fox - Jan. 16 - 32.5 million viewers

10. Dolphins vs. Cowboys -CBS - Nov. 24 -30.9 million viewers

11. “NFC Playoff” - Fox -Jan. 15 - 30.8 million viewers

12. Packers vs. Lions - Fox - Nov. 24 - 30.2 million viewers

13. “American Idol” - Fox - May 25 - 29.3 million viewers

13. “Two and a Half Men” -CBS - Sept. 19 - 28.7 million viewers

Source: Nielsen

Most read TV stories of the year @nypost.com

1. “Bottoms up!” — US Supreme Court’s decision to vacate the $1.21 million fine levied against ABC after a 2003 episode of “NYPD Blue” showed actress Charlotte Ross’ naked bum opens the way for more nudity in primetime.

2. “CBS reporter speaks gibberish on-air” — Strange case of an LA reporter’s breakdown during the red carpet arrivals at the Grammys.

3. “Couric offered ‘60 Min’ ” — CBS attempts to keep Katie Couric in the fold.

4. “Rosie to rescue?” Oprah Winfrey’s struggling cable networks bets its future on Rosie O’Donnell’s new talk show.

5. “Comedian Ricky Gervais ‘crossed the line’ with snarky jokes, Golden Globes boss says” — Gervais poking too much fun at celebs.

6. “New photos reveal slimmed-down Snooki”— Her weight-loss sucess.

7. “They’re back!” — “Beavis and Butt-head” return to MTV after long vacation.

8. “Florence mayor gives ‘Shore’ cast rules for filming” — What the “Shore” crew could and couldn’t do in Italy.

9. “ ‘Jersey Shore’ star almost takes bridge plunge”— Snapshots of Deena Cortese getting a little too up-close and personal with Florence’s River Arno.

10. “Rutgers University pays Snooki more than commencement address speaker” — For two Q&As with the “Shore” star, school paid $32,000, which was $2,000 more than Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison.

Most-talked about TV events of the year on social media

1. “William & Kate: The Royal Wedding” April 29, 20115,641,263 viewers

2. “MTV Video Music Awards” Aug. 28, 20115,567,954 viewers

3. “Super Bowl” Feb. 6, 20113,037,241 viewers

4. “American Music Awards” Nov. 20, 20112,876,243 viewers

5. “Grammy Awards” Feb. 13, 20112,529,717 viewers

6. “Academy Awards” Feb. 27, 20112,015,118 viewers

7. “BET Hip Hop Awards” Oct. 11, 20111,519,794 viewers

8. “BET Awards” June 26, 20111,317,938 viewers

9. “Emmy Awards” Sept. 18, 20111,109,629 viewers

10. “Latin Grammy Awards” Nov. 10, 2011840,112 viewers

HOT MEDIA

Social Media Site
Facebook

Call it a bully, a new paradigm, a blessing, a curse—whatever you call Facebook, its presence and power is undeniable. Today the social network has more than 800 million members and is expected to more than double ad revenue to $3.8 billion by the end of this year. By the end of 2012, Facebook, which has a Klout score of 80 and won the Readers’ Choice poll for top social site, could control nearly 20 percent of all U.S. display ad revenue. In the past year, its monthly unique visitors climbed 10 percent to 166 million. By continuing to add music and lifestyle apps, Facebook hopes to differentiate itself even further with engagement.

Search Site
Google

In Internet time, 13-year-old Google is graying at the temples, but it still leads the pack in search with Adweek readers and users overall. Despite competition from Microsoft’s Bing and smaller startups, Google boasts a 65.6 percent market share. An endless stream of search queries helped Google earn record revenue—nearly $10 billion in Q3, up 33 percent from the previous year’s third quarter.

Gaming Company
Zynga

Thanks to hits like FarmVille and CityVille, Zynga is still the king of the social gaming world. Case in point: When the company filed for a $1 billion IPO in July, it reported revenue of $235 million for the first three months of the year. Its model of free games, with money coming from virtual good sales and advertising, seems to be paying off, and our readers agree. It topped our Adweek poll.

Mobile
Apple

Apple addicts got their fix this fall with the debut of the highly anticipated iPhone 4S and sidekick Siri, its cheeky, voice-controlled personal assistant. The hype, along with real improvements to Apple’s iOS—including iCloud, an 8MP camera, and faster performance—led to a record-breaking 4 million iPhones sold worldwide over the first weekend. Google’s Android may power more smartphones globally, but to Adweek readers and millions of iOS users, the iPhone shines brightest.
App
Angry Birds

It’s an Angry Birds world, and we just live in it. The game has been downloaded more than 500 million times in the past two years and has garnered a Klout score of 76. But the cultural footprint goes much further. Game maker Rovio is becoming a licensing powerhouse, with T-shirts, toys, Halloween costumes, and more. It’s also eyeing the entertainment industry, and there’s even a Hollywood movie in the works.

Startup
Spotify

Napster co-founder Sean Parker has called Spotify (where he’s an investor) the first online music service that can compete with piracy. Founded in Sweden, the U.K.-based company launched in the U.S. in July with sponsors Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, and Motorola, and now boasts 2.5 million paying U.S. and European subscribers (and 10 million total registered users). Last week, Spotify morphed into a bona fide platform, announcing plans to roll out apps. Partners include Rolling Stone and Billboard, and there are apps for ticket listings and lyrics. Apple and Facebook, take note.

Lifestyle Website
Tumblr

If Facebook is about connecting people, Tumblr is about tapping into their creativity. In the past year, the super-easy, hyper-customizable, and highly conversational micro-blogging platform has more than tripled traffic, logging more than 15 million unique visitors in October. The fast-growing site has a Klout score of 73 and is reportedly valued at about $800 million.

Sports Website
ESPN

In the highly competitive field of sports sites, ESPN is the top draft pick with Adweek readers. Not only is it fully loaded with a lineup that caters to both casual and diehard fans, but it also enjoys content that flows easily between the site and the cable box. The stats? Nearly 49 million unique monthly visitors and a Klout score of 86.

News Website
Huffington Post

HuffPo may not be popular among its peers—The New York Times recently filed a cease-and-desist for the website’s Parentlode blog, written by the Times former Motherlode writer—but the news aggregator continues to be a hit with users, growing since its acquisition in February by AOL by 40 percent to 35 million monthly uniques. With more to read (HuffPo’s sections have increased to 21), it’s no wonder the blog won Adweek’s Readers’ Choice poll. There’s a vertical for everyone.

Entertainment News Website
TMZ

As a news outlet, TMZ has made a name for itself the old-fashioned way: with (often unsavory) scoops. Since its founding six years ago, TMZ has transformed itself into the Politico of entertainment news, aggregating an enviable audience in the process. Today, TMZ gets an average of 17.5 million unique visitors per month and even boasts a spinoff syndicated series, TMZ on TV.

Streaming media
Spotify

Of all the streaming music services that have sprung up in recent years, perhaps none has posed so serious a threat to iTunes’ hegemony as Spotify. Unlike iTunes, Spotify is a social experience. Users can listen to their Facebook friends’ playlists and can then announce to the world what they’re listening to at any given moment. It also has two tiers of service: a paid subscription plan that is ad-free (sort of a Netflix for music) and an unpaid, ad-supported service. With its bold transition last week to a platform with integrated apps, Spotify’s “new direction” seems to be a great leap forward.  

Broadcast TV: CBS is the year's hottest network

By Anthony Crupi

CBS

Sorry, Charlie. Despite Team Tiger Blood’s attempts to destroy the franchise, Two and a Half Men is far and away the No. 1 scripted series on TV. Such is the state of affairs at CBS. Not only does Men command the highest ad rates ($250,000 a pop), but the once seemingly doomed show is joined by top-rated newcomer 2 Broke Girls and TV’s highest-rated drama (NCIS). Winning, indeed. CBS doesn’t need novelty to put up big numbers. Even an exile to Sunday night and the DVR-confounding NFL overruns hasn’t broken The Good Wife, and the aging Survivor franchise regularly finishes in the top 20. Reliable earners like Criminal Minds, The Big Bang Theory, and Mike & Molly also have conspired to land CBS in the catbird seat

Late Night
CBS

David Letterman may be more AARP than LOL, but don’t tell that to the Twitterati. With a Klout score of 72, The Late Show With David Letterman has more social media heat than Jimmy Fallon on NBC—plus he’s followed by the expert lunacy of The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson. Expect Dave to shine in what promises to be the most farcical election cycle in history as he puts pretenders to the White House–and his late-night throne–on the hot seat.

Drama
CBS

With a median age of 58 years (higher than even the network’s average), NCIS is one of broadcast’s oldest-skewing shows. It’s also the biggest scripted draw on the dial, averaging 19.6 million viewers season to date, and boasts a none-too-shabby Klout score of 68. Veterans like Criminal Minds are big earners in the ad and syndie markets, while new- and newishcomers (Person of Interest, NCIS: Los Angeles) are holding their own.

Prime-time Schedule
CBS

Through the first nine weeks of the season, CBS has opened up a comfortable lead in the ratings race, averaging 13 million viewers in prime time, 23 percent more than runner-up ABC. Despite delivering broadcast’s oldest audience (median age is 56), CBS is tied with Fox for first place in the crucial 18-49 demo, with a 3.4 rating. In a sense, CBS may be a victim of its own success. With little room on the schedule for anything new, the net is likely to kill off one of its workhorses. (Not a bad problem to have.)

Reality
Fox
Simon Cowell, the star-making, snark-lobbing judge and executive producer of The X Factor, is like a one-man Statler and Waldorf—just substitute the judges’ table for a balcony. The Idol impresario’s latest effort doesn’t reach the heights of his first stateside series, but X has helped give Fox its first big Q4 in memory. And Idol, of course, remains the standard against which all reality is measured. Advertisers will shell out as much as $500,000 per spot when it returns Jan. 22.

Sports
NBC
Little wonder Adweek readers gave NBC the winning nod. On Feb. 5, the Peacock net will host Super Bowl XLVI, which sets the table nicely for its stewardship of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Sunday Night Football is NBC’s sole bona fide hit. With an average draw of 19.7 million viewers and a 7.9 rating in the 18-49 demo, it’s also the biggest draw on TV.

Comedy
ABC
No matter how well Mr. Kelso Goes to Malibu performs for CBS, it’s the Pritchett-Dunphy axis on ABC’s Modern Family that made Americans fall in love with the sitcom all over again. The linchpin of a Wednesday night lineup that includes new hit Suburgatory and the Friends-with-benefits Happy Endings, Modern Family earns nearly a quarter-million dollars per :30.

Cable TV: AMC pulls ahead of the pack

By Anthony Crupi

Drama
AMC

In a three-way race that saw votes going to FX and a revitalized HBO, AMC thrived on the strength of its dead. Seething with self-righteousness and desperate for deliverance, the human survivors that populate The Walking Dead are becoming harder to distinguish from the ravenous corpses roaming the post-apocalyptic countryside—and viewers are eating it up. The most-watched series in cable history among the 18-49 set, The Walking Dead represents the apotheosis of AMC’s antihero stance—the literal evocation of spiritual rot. Don Draper and Walter White would be very much at home here. Not since HBO aired new installments of The Sopranos and The Wire has a network so faithfully (and relentlessly) captured the moral compromise of an age.

Comedy
FX

While uncompromisingly dark dramas like Sons of Anarchy are FX’s stock in trade, the network has insinuated itself with comedy nerds by way of the outré hits Louie, The League, Archer, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. When your rivals are poaching your wares—Comedy Central scooped up the off-net rights to Philly for $400,000 per episode—you’re on to something.

Sports
ESPN

In September, ESPN was the first NFL partner to re-up its TV contract with the league, signing an eight-year, $15.5 billion deal that will keep Monday Night Football in the ABC Sports family through 2021. Adweek readers were nearly unanimous in selecting the sports net; the $1.7 billion in ad sales ESPN stands to bring in this year made it official. 
Family
ABC Family

While ABC Family does brisk business with millennials, the channel’s reach isn’t limited to those who are still on the hunt for a learner’s permit. The success of original series like The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Pretty Little Liars has allowed the Disney net to position itself as a must-buy for clients targeting women 18-49. Its biggest franchise remains “25 Days of Christmas,” a holiday stunt that offers classic Rankin/Bass specials, original movies, and theatricals.
Prime Time
History

Original series Pawn Stars, American Pickers, and Swamp People are among the most-watched unscripted efforts on basic cable, so much so that History in Q3 finished second in the cable race for adults 18-49. As such, its ad sales staff this year is on track to eclipse the $350 million mark, no thanks to a certain Irish bootlegger in The Kennedys.

Late Night
Comedy Central

The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart delights in his role as a twinkly-eyed, despairing Walter Cronkite for a generation that gets its news from its Twitter feed. Lead-out Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report embodies the shameless hucksterism of cable’s screaming heads, who have made a cottage industry out of presenting extreme views to an audience that doesn’t ask questions. Together, they’re the dream ticket for an election season that promises to offer the gravitas of a hot-dog eating contest.

General Interest
USA

No one’s likely to replicate its five-year winning streak in the cable ratings, but USA’s clear vision is an industry model. Its series are shot with USA’s “blue skies” filter—literally a guiding principle that colors its cop/doctor/spy/shrink dramas with an upbeat quirkiness. Homegrown series like Burn Notice and Royal Pains, and WWE Raw get a rise from viewers.

Reality
MTV

Think the civilization of Dante, Michelangelo, and Mr. Francis Albert Sinatra will reach its full fruition in a perma-tanned goomba sporting an Ed Hardy shirt? Relax. Jersey Shore is just a TV show—albeit one instrumental in saving MTV’s pancetta. In its fourth season, it averaged 7.3 million viewers, capping an unbelievable summer in which the network and its siblings earned nearly $745 million in ad sales revenue.

Lifestyle
Food Network

If the personalities who inhabit the Food Network aren’t to everyone’s taste—Paula Deen’s “recipe” for preparing English peas (open can, melt butter) reads like a parody of her folksy, cholesterol-spiking shtick–the channel has a read on how “real” Americans eat. (The foodies can sulk and saute their way on over to the Cooking Channel.) Advertisers bet big on Guy Fieri, et al.–last year Food took in $277 million in sponsor bucks.

Hottest Revenue Player: CBS president, CEO Les MoonvesBy Anthony Crupi

CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves last year received $57.7 million in total compensation, a sum that included nearly $8 million in a special cash payment for his “leadership in connection with the creation of premium content.” He’s worth every penny. While at least one rival was throwing his hands in the air and bemoaning the death of the broadcast model, Moonves continued to do what he does best: make tentpole TV. All but two of CBS’ prime-time series draw in excess of 10 million viewers each week–by comparison, NBC can say the same about just one (Sunday Night Football)–and since the season began, CBS boasts nine of the top 20 shows in the 18-49 demo. Even broadcast’s biggest booster isn’t content to rest on his nightly deliveries. CBS’ international syndication business generates north of $1 billion annually, and Moonves has done a masterful job of licensing library content to third-party streaming services. In July, Amazon cut a $100 million check for the rights to mothballed CBS Studios series such as Cheers and Frasier. Should the ad market fall stagnant, such licensing deals will keep CBS flush–as will the steady stream of retransmission consent fees and reverse compensation from affiliates. As a showman, Moonves would probably rather talk up what’s on the screen. But it’s his business acumen that justifies the adulation.

DANCING APPS

Apps That Make You Feel Like Dancing

By BOB TEDESCHI

“Dancing with the Stars” has helped spur interest in ballroom dancing, but for many who would like to follow in the footsteps of the stars, lessons are often too expensive, too far away and socially awkward in the extreme.

But if your partner is a mobile device, none of those obstacles apply.

Mobile apps could be the best thing to hit ballroom dancing since the hurdler’s stretch. The better ones — like LDF Hot Salsa ($1 to $3 on Apple), Pocket Salsa ($3 on Apple and $2 on Android) and Learn Argentine Tango ($10 to $13 on Apple) — offer solid, inexpensive tutorials.

And thanks to the mobile format, you can use them when no one’s watching, or brush up on your steps immediately before you try to impress a date in public.

After a few swings around my living room, I found the Hot Salsa series especially effective. There are three levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced), with each anchored by a set of instructional videos featuring Christian Gutierrez and, sometimes, his partner Lien Pham.

The videos are adequate, if slightly less than professional quality. The audio is passable, the lighting is fair and the set is a living room, complete with fireplace. The video is framed from a point that was slightly too far at times for me to see Mr. Gutierrez’s footwork clearly, although that problem was less bothersome when I tested the app on an iPad.

Aesthetics aside, the quality of the instruction was quite good. The 30 lessons featured in each app average roughly one minute each — just enough to cover one distinct movement. Mr. Gutierrez typically introduces a move by demonstrating and explaining it at full speed. He then offers a slower demonstration, along with a more technically oriented discussion.

The videos are bolstered by text explanations of each move, which I found helpful, if occasionally in dire need of proofreading. You can also add notes of your own to each lesson, which is a nice touch.

Hot Salsa also includes a “Salsa Rhythm Interface” feature for practice sessions. With this, users can customize a salsa tune according to their preferred tempo and accompanying instruments, and hear an audible count to help with timing.

Pocket Salsa offers far more instruction for less money, but it has drawbacks. With 100 videos, it teaches all levels of the dance and provides a different instructional style than Hot Salsa. Rather than introduce a move with text, for instance, Pocket Salsa’s instructor and developer, Anthony Persaud, overlays snippets of text at crucial points in the movement.

The videos are shot more cleanly than those on Hot Salsa, the audio is clearer and the lessons cover both the “On 1” and “On 2” approaches to the dance, while Hot Salsa exclusively teaches the On 1 technique. On 1 dancers start the Tango on the first beat of a measure, while On 2 dancers begin the step on the second beat.

But Pocket Salsa suffered from a nagging flaw. Even though I tested it on a strong Wi-Fi connection, the videos paused frequently to load. I switched to Hot Salsa and experienced no such problems.

Pocket Salsa users can download the videos individually and avoid interrupted playback, but that requires patience or advance planning. A single episode of five minutes needed roughly seven minutes to download over Wi-Fi. (There is one upside: If you download only some videos, you’ll save space on your device.)

Salsa students with Apple devices would do well to download both Hot Salsa and Pocket Salsa, as there are benefits to hearing the steps taught by different instructors. For those who are unsure about buying Pocket Salsa, some of the app’s videos are available to download free at Addicted2Salsa.com.

Tango fans, meanwhile, have a good option — as long as they have an Apple device. The Learn Argentine Tango series (seven volumes, $10 to $13 each) features Alex Krebs, a veteran tango instructor based in Portland, Ore. Mr. Krebs leads about 15 lessons that are roughly two minutes each, with most covering a specific movement.

In a welcome departure from other apps, Mr. Krebs also includes tutorials on the history and etiquette of the dance, and he focuses on the small details, like posture, with precision.

“We want to have the hips back over the heels and the sternum over the toes, so that we have a slight forward inclination in our body,” he says.

Students may still find Mr. Krebs moving too quickly at times, however. I occasionally wished for slowed-down explanations, with close-ups on the dancers’ feet from different angles, for instance. But in the current state of dancing apps, users should feel lucky enough to get video from a single angle with adequate sound and lighting.

Android users can expect versions of Hot Salsa and Learn Argentine Tango next year, both developers said. Meanwhile, for the non-Apple crowd, there are a few far less polished alternatives to Pocket Salsa.

Ballroom Dancing Beginners Part 1, for instance, is free — and for good reason, since it is essentially a portal to YouTube instruction videos, complete with ads. Still, it’s useful, as it catalogs passable tutorials of the major dance techniques and thereby saves you the hassle of searching.

A cast of supporting apps can also help both Android and Apple users. Learn Swing, Salsa and Tango (free on Apple or on Android, as Salsa, Tango, Swing & Cha Cha) provides diagrams of the basic steps. It’s neither extensive nor especially user-friendly, but if you can figure out that Q is the developer’s symbol for quick, among other mysteries, the app will make more sense.

DanceTime Deluxe ($5 on Apple) also deserves consideration, at least for those who are using apps that don’t include rhythm samples for practicing at different speeds. DanceTime features adjustable rhythms for 23 dances, including Merengue, Bhangra and Cha Cha.

Android users get a free alternative in Dance Line, which covers 10 dance steps. The app shut down unexpectedly on my Droid Razr, however, and you can’t slow the tempo to match your dancing speed as you learn.

Maybe that’s intentional, though. If you dance fast enough, nobody will be able to figure out what exactly you’re doing with your feet.

Quick Calls

Two app developers have adopted Guitar Hero’s moving fretboard approach to help real guitarists improve their technique. Rock Prodigy ($1 on Apple), which teaches popular songs, is one of the more smartly designed guitar apps on the market. WildChords (free on iPad, with in-app purchases) is more cartoonish and is great for beginners. ... With Shopkick (free on Android and Apple), you can earn rewards by visiting retailers (offline, that is).