or


[10/05/09 - 09:08 PM]
The 10 Things You Need to Know About the New Season: #6 - Shows Rarely Change Networks
By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC)

Please note: As a courtesy, please do not reproduce these comments to newsgroups, forums or other online places. Links only please.

Welcome once again to "The 10 Things You Need to Know About the New Season," our annual feature about, well... the 10 things you need to know about the new season. The goal of this venture is to address not only common questions people have about television but to also demystify (or potentially reaffirm) stigmas out there about certain networks, time periods, genres and so forth. So with that in mind let us put on our journalistic caps and give you the cold hard truth about what's potentially ahead for some of your favorite new and returning shows...

6. Shows changing networks is the exception, not the rule.

Of the 707 shows to premiere on broadcast television (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, UPN, The WB and The CW) in the past 10 years (those that have launched from 9/1/99-6/1/09), guess how many of those aired on two different networks? Excluding the WB/UPN merger, just 18. And if you expand that pool to include the 74 returning shows for the 1999-2000 season, that number grows to only 29. Take a look:

1/3/97 - jag (cbs, from nbc)
9/17/98 - for your love (wb, from nbc)
9/11/00 - hughleys, the (upn, from abc)
9/12/00 - mysterious ways (pax, from nbc)*
9/22/00 - sabrina, the teenage witch (wb, from abc)
10/8/00 - pjs, the (wb, from fox)
9/12/01 - candid camera (pax, from cbs)
10/2/01 - buffy the vampire slayer (upn, from wb)
10/9/01 - roswell (upn, from wb)
1/19/02 - making the band (mtv, from abc)
2/28/03 - grounded for life (wb, from fox)
9/5/04 - surreal life, the (vh1, from wb)
10/3/04 - america's most talented kids (pax, from nbc)
2/14/06 - world's most amazing videos (spike tv, from nbc)
6/4/06 - simple life, the (e!, from fox)
7/18/06 - contender, the (espn/versus, from nbc)
9/11/06 - monday night football (espn, from abc)
10/4/07 - law & order: criminal intent (usa, from nbc)
2/4/08 - paradise hotel (mynetworktv, from fox)
3/5/08 - high school reunion (tv land, from wb)
3/23/08 - futurama (comedy central, from fox)
10/1/08 - friday night lights (directv, from nbc)
10/3/08 - wwe smackdown (mynetworktv, from cw)
1/6/09 - scrubs (abc, from nbc)
4/18/09 - nanny 911 (cmt, from fox)
6/1/09 - i'm a celebrity, get me out of here! (nbc, from abc)
6/16/09 - singing bee, the (cmt, from nbc)
9/25/09 - medium (cbs, from nbc)
TBA - secret millionaire (abc, from fox)

The above means in the past decade, just 3.71% of series have ever made the leap from a broadcast network to another home. And of those only 14 were scripted shows. In other words, on average just one scripted and one unscripted show per season wind up in new homes.

So why such long odds? First and foremost, shows rarely switch networks because they are successful. They switch because they failed the original broadcaster and, if picked up by someone else, have the cloud of "someone else's garbage" hanging over it. Secondly is the cost. Shows on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC simply cost more to produce that shows on cable. This is why there's always talk of behind-the-scenes upheaval (cast, crew, budget, etc.) when a potential move is being discussed. And finally, history shows that outside of a few notable exceptions, the overwhelming majority of network jumps don't pan out in the long run. Of the aforementioned shows, so far only six ("The Contender," "For Your Love," "JAG," "Making the Band," "Mysterious Ways" and "The Surreal Life") went on to run longer on their new networks than their original ones.

At the end of the day, switching networks is a rare feat. So while we hear the cries of "HBO should pick up 'X!'" or "Syfy should pick up 'Y!'" each year, the reality is that the hurdles involved - cost, perception and risk - are only overcome by the very few.

TOMORROW: The iTunes, Hulu and DVD question.

* was intended to move to PAX from the start





  [october 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





[10/10/25 - 03:07 PM]
3,287,000 Viewers Tuned in on Average Through Game 4 of the ALDS Across FOX, FS1 and FS2
Through Game 4, coverage of the ALDS across FOX, FS1 and FS2 is up +11% from 2024 and +31% over 2023.

[10/10/25 - 02:46 PM]
Video: "Invincible" Season 4 - Teaser Trailer - Prime Video
Season 4 arrives March 2026 on Prime Video.

[10/10/25 - 02:02 PM]
Warner Bros. Animation, DC, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Announce "Batman: Knightfall"
Currently in production, "Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall" will be coming in 2026.

[10/10/25 - 01:07 PM]
Video: "One Day in October" - Official Trailer - HBO Max
"One Day in October," a story of a of love, courage, sacrifice and survival, is a gripping and artistically interwoven narrative based on real-life accounts from the October 7, 2023, the attack on Israel.

[10/10/25 - 12:15 PM]
Video: Prime Video Unveils Exclusive Clip, New Single "Gravity," and New Details About "Hazbin Hotel: Live on Broadway" Event at New York Comic Con for Season Two of "Hazbin Hotel"
The second season, premiering October 29, consists of eight episodes, with two episodes rolling out weekly through November 19.

[10/10/25 - 11:01 AM]
Video: "Leslie Jones: Life: Part 2" - Official Trailer - Peacock Comedy Event
Leslie Jones gives the crowd at The Belasco in LA an inside look at her life - from her many soulmates to going to therapy and even her own funeral.

[10/10/25 - 10:30 AM]
Culinary Icons and Baking Enthusiasts Carla Hall and Candace Nelson Join Gordon Ramsay as Co-Mentors in the All-New Three-Week Special Event Series "Next Level Baker"
The all-new three-week special event series premieres on Thursday, December 4 at 9:00/8:00c on FOX, FOX One and Next Day Hulu.

[10/10/25 - 09:05 AM]
New Three-Part Series "Bigfoot Took Her" Reinvestigates One of History's Strangest Missing Persons Cases
When teenager Theresa Bier mysteriously vanished in California's Sierra National Forest in 1987, a surprising suspect emerged: Bigfoot.

[10/10/25 - 09:04 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Scores Historic Growth in Week Four
"Dancing with the Stars" rose for the third straight week following its season premiere, for the first time in the show's history, in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

[10/10/25 - 09:03 AM]
Video: Peacock Debuts Official Trailer, Key Art, and New Images for "All Her Fault"
Starring Sarah Snook, Jake Lacy, Dakota Fanning, Michael Peña, Sophia Lillis, Abby Elliott, Daniel Monks, Jay Ellis, and more, the series premieres November 6.

[10/10/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Aileen Wuornos remains a rarity: a female serial killer. From childhood abuse to death-row revelations, this documentary revisits her life and crimes.

[10/10/25 - 06:32 AM]
Video: "Angela Diniz: Murdered and Convicted" - Trailer - New Series - HBO Max
Based on a true crime, the new series arrives November 13 on HBO Max.

[10/10/25 - 03:02 AM]
"Rhythm & Flow Italy": Third Season Confirmed with New Entry Judge Gue
Joining the now-iconic judges Fabri Fibra, Geolier and Rose Villain is another legend of the scene: Guè officially becomes part of the team to raise the bar even higher and discover the next stars of Italian rap.

[10/09/25 - 08:01 PM]
Video: "The Elixir" - Official Trailer - Netflix
An elixir unleashes the undead in a village. A family at odds with one another must unite and fight to survive as their hometown collapses.

[10/09/25 - 05:01 PM]
3,177,000 Viewers Tuned in on Average Through Game 3 of the ALDS Across FOX, FS1 and FS2
Through Game 3, coverage of the ALDS across FOX, FS1 and FS2 is up +14% from 2024 and +28% over 2023.