F/X and Multiple Series per year

[Big Don]

F/X runs The Shield and Nip/Tuck at ten on Tuesdays. Both shows are very successful, the brilliance of the split year scheduling is in keeping a steady audience year-round by showing, and this is way more innovative, than it should be, NEW episodes. They can run twice as many NEW episodes as standard network TV, still allow plenty of time off for other projects and production. Why haven't NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox copied this?

Soap Operas run year round, and while they are not high art, neither is most television. Most people just want entertainment from TV. Art really isn't part of the equation for most of us. Soaps obviously do entertain people, if they didn't there wouldn't be so many of them with such long histories.

Being, by nature, something of a homebody, the standard 18-23 episodes per season run of most TV shows has always puzzled me. Why not shoot twice as many, pay the staff and actors more and subsequently charge, (and earn) more for advertising? I know nothing about the television industry, but, common sense leads me to believe networks can charge more for advertising during NEW episodes then they can during re-runs.

Is F/X singular in this regard because the networks don't think this is viable in the long term? Or, are the networks loathe to take a page from a young upstart?

 

[punisher73]

Double post---sorry. Or should I say a rerun post?

 

[punisher73]

I believe they are starting to. If you look at "Heroes", it divides the season into shorter "chapters" with a break between that allows them to build hype for the second half of the season.

It does make sense instead of showing countless re-runs why not plug a new show or pilot show into the slot. People are used to tuning in at that time and watch it. Look at what happens to some popular shows that are on during an "off time" and then they put them in a primetime slot to go against other shows that have that established slot and alot of them don't do so well after that. TV watchers are creatures of habit and when networks mess around with that too much they lose viewers.

Anyone remember the show "Boston Commons" it was on inbetween Friends and Seinfeld and had high ratings because people just watched it while waiting for the next to start. Once they moved it out of that time slot and tried to put it against other shows in an established time slot the ratings fell and it was cancelled shortly thereafter.