Wei Dai asked:
Why does TV have seasons? I know it's customary to propose possible
answers to questions posted here, but I'm really stumped. I can't think
of any reason why television networks all premier their new shows in
the fall and play re-runs in the summer, instead of spreading out the
premiers and re-runs more evenly throughout the year, or having seasons
that aren't synchronized with each other. Why doesn't the fact that the
competition is a lot weaker in the summer attract more premiers?
In television's infancy, something like 40 episodes were taped of each program and
reruns were shown in the summer, when people typically watched less television
(because the weather was better? Not sure) Now, reruns are shown throughout the
season, particularly if one of the major networks is airing a major event, such as the
Oscar's or the Super Bowl, other networks will run reruns or old movies. The practice
of seasons betweeen labor day and memorial day is still closely linked with the
belief that people watch less television in the summer. However, some shows,
especially on new networks, are premiered in the summer and advertised as being that
show that premiers in the summer so you don't have to watch reruns. I have a few
ideas about this.
Revenue comes from advertising. The larger the audience believed to be watching a
show, the greater the amount the network can bill for advertising time during the
show. So it makes sense that companies will show reruns (avoiding the costs of
production but still getting some revenue) when they believe a much smaller audience
will be watching the show - production costs for prime-time television series are
quite high (above and beyond the salaries of the actors which always becomes a public
affair, e.g. Seinfeld, Friends, Sopranos). However, viewers may be frustrated if
reruns are shown to frequently, so networks try to find the optimal balance between
new shows and low-cost reruns. However, it is more acceptable to show reruns when
everyone else is showing reruns. So the groundwork is: if you want to show reruns,
you should show them when other networks are showing them, or when you expect your
viewership to be very low (due to special events).
There are only a few major networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox (the newest). I've seen
suggested in many places that network television is an oligopoly, and the practice of
seasons is a form of (tacit?) collusion. This analysis makes sense in a number of
ways. Consider the following: in the old days of tv, there were less reruns, and
competition for viewership was strong even during special event broadcasting; with
modern recording technology, special events could be viewed and other shows taped, but
reruns are still shown during special events; in spite of (as Dr. Hanson pointed out)
primitive technology for measuring television viewership of specific shows and the
seemingly odd proposition that people watch much less television during the summer
months, reruns are still shown primarily in the summer. Fox, the newest network,
often shows new shows or movie premiers when, say, NBC is showing a special event and
CBS and NBC are showing reruns. This might suggest that Fox, th!
e newco..
It will be interesting to see if a wider variety of competition as there are more
substitutes for the 3 old channels of network television, if improvements in
technology that reduce information costs about viewership, or improvements in home
recording technology will change the way reruns are shown.
- Zac Gochenour
