Seth MacFarlane signed a talent retention deal with Fox Entertainment. One of the clauses is that Family Guy is renewed until at least 2012.
the 100% axed & 100% renewed list
- Thread starter wamdue
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Seth MacFarlane signed a talent retention deal with Fox Entertainment. One of the clauses is that Family Guy is renewed until at least 2012.
TiVO/DVR ratings are counted - whether and how much advertisers are willing to pay for those eyeballs is another story, because DVR viewers zap ads, so why should advertisers pay for that?
Here's where you can find out about DVR ratings and read analysis, which overall repeats the same mantra - "advertisers aren't impressed." TiVO/DVR viewing is not worth as much to advertisers as regular viewing, and they resist paying for it. And when they are willing to pay for it, it's gotta be within three days of original airing. If people wait a week to see an ad, the efficacy of that ad has greatly diminished because ads are often designed with certain lifespans - Thurs night ads for movies aimed at weekend theater-going for instance.
Off the top of my head, I can't think of a single case where DVR viewing saved a show that otherwise would have been cancelled. The top DVR shows at that site (by overall numbers rather than %) I linked to are the top shows generally, and in no danger of cancellation.
Too bad Knight Rider was canceled. The show was actually improving.
The only reason DVR viewing should count is because it lets you gauge how many people follow a show. While this isn't worth much to advertisers, it may be worth something to the network that ends up selling the show on DVD.
Certain kinds of shows are much better at moving DVDs than others. Genre shows in particular seem to be able to move units even when the show didn't do that well on TV. Firefly has managed to be a moneymaker for Fox, even though it got canceled and the movie didn't do that well.
If they approach these kinds of shows with the right attitude and reasonable budgets, they could consistently make money, even if it's not up-front on the advertiser's dime.
Certain kinds of shows are much better at moving DVDs than others. Genre shows in particular seem to be able to move units even when the show didn't do that well on TV. Firefly has managed to be a moneymaker for Fox, even though it got canceled and the movie didn't do that well.
If they approach these kinds of shows with the right attitude and reasonable budgets, they could consistently make money, even if it's not up-front on the advertiser's dime.
Which isn't much of a revenue stream compared with Nielsens. That's the problem with downloading/DVDs/DVR ratings - they just don't add up to much revenue yet in comparison with Nielsens. Not enough to make a difference except maybe if you add them all together in a borderline case. Maybe they could save a Chuck but not a Dollhouse. (And if Chuck is saved, it will be in large part because of another revenue stream we're not discussing - in show product placements. Eat at Subway!
)Also the network isn't always the one who sells the show on DVD. If the studio is not part of the network, then the studio would sell the DVD - who has the rights to the DVD sales varies by show.
Direct to DVD really isn't a solution. Then you lose the inherent advertising you get from being on broadcast and you have to spend more money marketing the DVD. If the audience wasn't big enough to support the show on broadcast, why would it be big enough to support production costs of the show plus increased marketing costs?
The only direct to DVD case I can think of for a cancelled show is Futurama. Stargate's direct to DVD sales are still part of a successful franchise. It's never going to be an option for most shows, because the fundamental problem remains - they appeal to too few people to pay for their production.
But direct to DVD can't support the production of Firefly on an ongoing basis, or else that would be happening now.
Not bad for a show that was once cancelled.
Cartoon Network really did a number for Family Guy and Futurama.
That's true, revenue streams that go direct to studios can sometimes help keep a show on the air that way. (That's how the product placements help keep shows on the air.) But again, it's a small factor that will influence only the borderline cases.
They are not that stupid. That's why advertisers are snubbing DVR numbers. They have caved in some for the viewing w/n three days but they must have evidence that some ad viewing is happening then, or they'd pay nothing.
That's how the B5 direct to DVD trilogy was made - and demonstrated that "reasonable budgets" means "sub-par production values." Even if the acting and writing hadn't been iffy, the bad production values were so distracting as to spoil the experience. Even Skiffy's monster movies look better than that.
You can't get a big enough budget from the revenues provided by direct to DVD audiences to make anything that won't be cringe-worthy. So that throws you right back into the same problem: how to get a large enough audience to fund a decent production?
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Yeah I realize that. I mean, Kings wouldn't survive if the studio was giving it away for free.
I was being slightly sarastic, to make the point to all the T:SCC fans who saying "the DVR numbers will save the show!"
Yeah I realize that. I mean, Kings wouldn't survive if the studio was giving it away for free.
They might as well give it away for free.
Since this thread seems to be morphing into the DVR/DVD/download thread, here's an article on how DVRs might make advertising more valuable by making it more targetable.
Maybe viewers who are fans of certain shows will express their fandom by giving advertisers their demographic data, thus making their watching more valuable. (Not sure if this can be calibrated by show, but why not?)
Actually, what's happened there is Whedon says he's moved on. Add to that many of the cast have moved on to various film and television projects, equals no one is jupin in to do it. Also, FOX, last time I checked, has expressed no interest. Neither has Universal for a sequel film (i believe whedon's quote on that was: "My phone has been silent and withdrawn").
Sure, the iron could still be re-struck, but it'll never happen. Best we can live with is that third trilogy comic coming I think later this year.
Maybe we'll get a 10th Anniversary Reunion movie in a few years time..... 
They should have done Serenity as a D2DVD experiment instead of releasing it on the bigscreen. A modest success there may well have prompted more, much in the same way that Ark of Truth and Continuum will no doubt lead to more SG movies that go D2DVD.
They should have done Serenity as a D2DVD experiment instead of releasing it on the bigscreen. A modest success there may well have prompted more, much in the same way that Ark of Truth and Continuum will no doubt lead to more SG movies that go D2DVD.
It was pretty clear from the way this season started that this was Prison Break's last season. It is also a premise that doesn't have a lot of legs to begin with and is being stretched as it is.
Which isn't much of a revenue stream compared with Nielsens. That's the problem with downloading/DVDs/DVR ratings - they just don't add up to much revenue yet in comparison with Nielsens. Not enough to make a difference except maybe if you add them all together in a borderline case. Maybe they could save a Chuck but not a Dollhouse. (And if Chuck is saved, it will be in large part because of another revenue stream we're not discussing - in show product placements. Eat at Subway!
Also the network isn't always the one who sells the show on DVD. If the studio is not part of the network, then the studio would sell the DVD - who has the rights to the DVD sales varies by show.
Direct to DVD really isn't a solution. Then you lose the inherent advertising you get from being on broadcast and you have to spend more money marketing the DVD. If the audience wasn't big enough to support the show on broadcast, why would it be big enough to support production costs of the show plus increased marketing costs?
The only direct to DVD case I can think of for a cancelled show is Futurama. Stargate's direct to DVD sales are still part of a successful franchise. It's never going to be an option for most shows, because the fundamental problem remains - they appeal to too few people to pay for their production.
But direct to DVD can't support the production of Firefly on an ongoing basis, or else that would be happening now.
See, it all goes in. The problem is the current systems. The ratings system. The advertising system. All of it.
A network needs to shake up the whole thing. Shows that are longer than the standard block format. Shows that dump commercials as primary advertising and turn to product placement and sponsorship deals. Shows which are targeted toward DVR/Tivo viewers.
An example, a 10 eps season, with the eps running for a hour and a half with no commercial interruption but with a large chunk of product placement, aired at 1:30 in the morning. Something like that has never even been thought of at this point, but it could work if the deal was cut right.