network television seasons

[Shellhead]

In the old days, the big three networks that dominated American television had a common vision of how to program a season of television. The new season would debut in late September each year, and last about 22 episodes per show, with breaks around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. By spring time, the season would wrap up, and then the networks would show re-runs until the next season started up in the fall again. The theory was that people were more likely to be enjoying the weather outside in the warmer half of the year, and more likely to stay inside and watch tv during the colder half of the year.

These days, it's a mess. During it's rise to power, Fox started pushing the envelope by starting the new season earlier and earlier, and sometimes even starting new shows at odd times in the spring or summer. They realized that Americans were becoming more sedentary and thus more likely to watch tv year-round, regardless of the weather. Now all the main networks have changed to a more cynical schedule that delivers debut or finale episodes during key sweeps months like November and May, with more breaks in regular programming during non-sweeps months. Even the movies shown in off-peak time slots are better during sweeps months.

To make matters worse, Fox has lead the charge in rapidly cancelling low-rated shows. Networks traditionally waited until the first half of the season was over, and then bump shows for more questionable mid-season replacements, but now they will pull the plug after just a few episodes if the ratings are weak.

One more network programming trend that I dislike is the sporadic scheduling of the high-end shows. I think it started more than a decade ago with E.R., where they would show several episodes on a weekly schedule, then go on hiatus for a few weeks with re-runs before showing another series of new weekly episodes. This trend is even more pronounced with the high-end cable tv shows.

Combined, all of these trends make it harder to follow specific shows. It's hard to get into a show at first, wondering if it will be rapidly cancelled due to ratings. And it's hard to stay engaged with an ongoing show when new episodes only come out intermittently.

[Wild Card]

Lifestyle changes are a part of it. The Big Three was losing viewers to other outlets way before Fox TV Network came along. But the way you can get programs has also change as well. Thanks to things like the internet, ipods, slang boxes, and other devices you can get video on demand and to go. So days of being a slave to the Networks schedule will soon be just a memory, if even that.

[david r]

And did anyone want any of these changes? All I see are jobs being lost here, jobs being lost there and jobs being lost everywhere. How I miss my beloved Twentieth Century !

[Chiasm]

I personally LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the changes that have come.

Its hard for me to devote the time needed to keep up with my favorite shows. Its much easier to do so now that many of them run at different times of the year. I also love that more and more shows are going to no repeat seasons like 24 is doing and Lost sort of did this year.

I also love that some shows start in the summer now. Summer used to be a TV wasteland. Now there is actually something worth watching. And I also much more willing to give a new show a chance if its going to run during a slow time of the season. For instance the new Fox show "Drive" seems interesting but given my busy schedule I probably wouldn't watch it for lack of time. But several of my other shows will have ended their seasons when it starts so I'll be giving it a shot.

Phooey on the old days and support the new ones.

My only complaint now is that there are some idiotic programming executives that clearly have no clue how to market their shows. I ranted about this in the Veronica Mars thread but will do so again.

The CW this season has been advertising Veronica as if its a soap opera type show. Probably trying to appeal to the fanbase that likes Gilmore Girls, the show that precedes it. One ad implied that Veronica was pregnant but in reality this was a throwaway joke line she made to her dad. Another implied that Logan had hired a hooker and Veronica was "never getting over it" when in reality Veronica was trying to track down a hooker and Logan helped her on the case. The ads are typical Gilmore Girls type ads and so they turn off the very fanbase that might like Veronica. Instead the ads attract Gilmore Girl's type of fans who upon seeing Veronica don't like it because its not what it seemed.

[stealthwise]

The fast cancellations are interesting, and by interesting I mean ridiculous, in that shows are getting canned far too fast to justify even making them in the first place. While I'm glad that we got 13 episodes of Firefly, I'm not sure why they even greenlighted it in the first place if they weren't going to give it the chance.

Ratings are important, but it's also important to build an audience, and not just simply scrap shows before they hit the airwaves if they look like they'll be crap, not toss them out on the airwaves with little to no promotion or consistency in schedule and expect them to somehow magically do well.