The CW and its limited marketing dollars are invested in its new teen shows, and that's it. That's what's "with" the CW. They care about Gossip Girl, 90210, Top Model, and the potential GoGirl spinoff and new Melrose Place next fall. They expect all other shows to take care of themselves and they aren't going to spend a dime on them if they don't have to do so. Reaper doesn't fit the teen girl mode. Ergo, the CW doesn't care and is burning the episodes off this spring. With ratings like last night, it's not likely to get renewed for next season. Sorry.
Like I said, Ostroff wanted to get rid of SPN. Badly. She wanted to cancel after 2 seasons but the Warner suits overruled her. They make too much money off SPN in the foreign markets. Just this past week, SPN beat American Idol on ITV2 in the UK. I kid you not. That's money, money, money for Warner Brothers. Reaper isn't produced by Warner. Its parent company isn't going to fight for it.
Ouch. Final numbers for Reaper per Travis Yanan at pifeedback.com
Reaper
- 2.306 million viewers
- 1.5/2 HH
- 0.9/2 A18-49
- 0.8/2 A18-34
That 18-34 demo number is the worst. With numbers like that in the demo for the new episode, CW won't spend a penny to advertise it. If you're over 34, they don't give a damn about your viewing habits. If your reproductive organs dangle, they don't care about you past the age of 18. Too bad Spike isn't looking for programming. Reaper would be a perfect fit for the tone and programming slate of that network.