It makes me wonder how much longer until NBC picks up "WWE Smackdown" and plugs it in on Friday night, with Leno as the lead out. Smackdown can't do any worse than the programming NBC currently runs on Fridays, and I'm sure it'd come cheap. (Plus, I suspect WWE wouldn't mind getting out of the MyNet deal now that half of that name is a lie.)
On Nov 17, 2:28 am, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > Apparently, not only is the 10:00 hour on life support, but the > networks are about to get out of the Friday night programming > business, as they got out of the Saturday night business a few years > ago. > > http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2009/11/13/what-happened-to-friday-night... > > Earlier this decade, the four major TV networks pretty much gave up on > Saturday nights. Outside of the Fox crime block and "48 Hours > Mystery" on CBS, the only new network programming you see on Saturday > nights is live coverage of sporting events. > > Now it appears the networks are about to do the same to Friday nights > as well. CBS announced that it is cutting the episode count of Friday > night staple "Numb3rs" from 22 to 16 this season - a likely sign that > the show will be done after six seasons. Fox has canceled cult fave > "Dollhouse," which aired on Friday nights. NBC opted not to air the > second season of "Southland," which was scheduled to air on Fridays. > And ABC may or may not move "Ugly Betty" to another night after > several poor showings on Fridays. > > Pretty soon, the Friday night network TV landscape will be made up of > cheaply-produced news magazine shows, low-budget "reality" fare, > "re-purposing" (fancy term for reruns) of current network fare and > first-run scripted shows on their last legs. Sounds a lot like > Saturday night, right? > > Looking at the numbers, it's easy to understand why the networks > appear to be pulling away from Friday nights. > > Last week, the top Friday night show on the major networks was the > 20-year-old "Law and Order" with 8.4 million viewers. That's almost > four million below last week's 20th overall ranked show, "CSI: NY" on > CBS. And in the 18-49 target demo that advertisers crave, no network > could reach a 2.0 average. Compare that to this past Tuesday, where > three of the four major networks reached at least a 3.0 average in the > demos. > > Can Friday night network TV be saved? Anything is possible, but it is > up to the networks to put competitive programming in these slots. > Give the viewers something they want to watch, and they will come in > droves. Disney Channel, for instance, has had a great deal of success > premiering its big movie events on Friday nights - the 2007 premiere > of "High School Musical 2" was watched by 17.2 million viewers. > Perhaps the networks should look at their cable counterparts for some > guidance. > > There was a time in the U.S. where Friday night was required network > TV viewing. CBS in the 1980s featured "Dallas" and "The Dukes of > Hazzard," while NBC ruled the night with "Miami Vice" for a time. ABC > could always be counted on with successful family fare like "Full > House" and "Mr. Belvedere," while "The X-Files" made Fox the network > to watch on Friday nights not too long ago. > > Do you think Friday night network television can be saved? And if so, > what will the networks need to do? > > Posted by: CNN.com writer James Dinan > Filed under: television --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
