Was there a reason DS9 couldn't be used to launch UPN?

[Aldo]

I was over in the Voyager forum and read about it's creation. I never realized that Berman was pressured by Paramount to create a show for UPN and that he really wanted to wait till DS9 was over (or almost over).

So that got me thinking, I realize DS9 was already going on, but why couldn't it go over to UPN and be used to launch the network instead of forcing them to create a show on the fly.

I may be answering my own question here, but I'm assuming it had to do with deals already in place concerning the synicating of the show?

Or did Paramount simply want something new to launch it's network with?

 

[Dukhat]

Most likely because the new network simply wanted a new Trek show to get viewers' attention. Making a flagship show a show that had already been on the air for five years (and wasn't exactly a ratings success) doesn't make good business sense.

If UPN had never existed, I highly doubt ST:Voyager would have existed either; either that or that simply another syndicated spinoff would have been created after DS9 ended (and in retrospect, that would have been a better idea all around...)

 

[Aldo]

So it was in the fifth Season when Voyager launched eh? For some reason I thought it was only in it's third.

 

[toughlittleship]

Only two seasons of DS9 had aired, with season three of DS9 being filmed at the same time as VOY's first season. DS9's early ratings weren't bad, just slightly lower than TNG.

 

[flemm]

^ Yeah, that's accurate. But in any event it wouldn't have made any sense to launch a new network with a show that was already on the air and that was considered a disappointment, ratings-wise. (Even though DS9's ratings were pretty good, objectively speaking, they were lower than TNG's and dropping.)

Keep in mind that back then, there was hope in the studio's mind that another ship show that was more like TNG could recapture TNG's ratings glory and be more than a niche product. In retrospect, that seems pretty naive, but that was the idea behind Voyager.

Of course, becoming UPN's flagship show would have been the worst thing that ever happened to DS9, so let us be thankful that this was never in the cards.

 

[od0_ital]

DS9 probably couldn't be used to launch UPN due to the contracts with the stations that aired it in syndication.