Okay so NBC has had maybe the worst midseason strategy of all the networks as ratings show. Even worse off then ABC's disasterous December and January. So what should've NBC done this midseason? As I look back, some strategic placement of certain shows could've improved fortunes overall and simply given the death slots over to more alternative and cheap programming. Here's what I would've done: Monday: DOND Heroes/Identity (March&April) Friday Night Lights (til April)/ Raines
Tuesday: The Apprentice Scrubs 30 Rock Law and Order: SVU Okay, this night features the more affluent Apprentice, Scrubs, and 30 Rock taking on the less affluent Idol. The comedies showed little shrinkage in audience against Idol's Thursday presence earlier this year and Scrubs has survived time and time again against it.
Wednesday: 1 vs. 100 Dateline Law and Order Use cheap stuff to combat Idol. Let 1 vs. 100 stay away from Idol more than Dateline and even Dateline did well at 9 last year against Idol. Let the mothership stay put at 10.
Thursday: Earl Office DOND ER
This worked well in the fall. Why did they change it? I know they want a Thursday comedy block, but trying to get something to grow against Greys/CSI is just dumb.
Friday: Crossing Jordan/Criminal Intent Las Vegas/Criminal Intent Medium
All 3 are very compatible and could've helped bring a few more viewers to each. Have Criminal Intent replace repeats of Vegas and CJ, which typically don't repeat well.
Saturday: Dateline 2 hours repeats
Sunday: Dateline Studio 60(there are no dramas major dramas here) Grease Black Donnellys (launch in March against repeats) This night is tough for just about anything. Frankly, maybe air movies through sweeps and then go with this lineup.
I would have 1 vs. 100 and Identity flipped (in your schedule). A journal/game show is a good combination against Idol. The biggest problem for NBC is that you can only play with the hand you're dealt (and they're the dealer), and in this case it's about a 9-5 offsuit. No matter how you juggle it, it adds up to 4th place.
One of the problems with NBC was not reacting to bad ratings of their shows. They continued to air shows with almost no vieweing audience (Grease, Andy Barker, 30 Rock, TBD, Studio 60). Plus they air 4-5 hours of Dateline.
Monday DOND Heroes/1 v 100 Medium
Tuesday Dateline Crossing Jordan L&O: SVU
Wednesday 1 v 100 Scrubs 30 Rock Law & Order: CI
Thursday Earl The Office Thank God Your Here ER
Friday Identity The Apprentice Vegas
Saturday L&O Repeats Dateline
Sunday Deal or No Deal Law & Order Raines The Black D's
See I wouldn't have put an unproven reality show on Thur. at 9 and that Friday would've resulted in lower ratings than we have now, unless you are just sacrificing it. I think Sunday should be the midseason sacrificial lamb along with Tue at 8 and maybe Wed at 9 due to Idol.
They could be in a higher 4th place though than they are now. Sure losing football hurt, but they could still be averaging well over a 3.
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Originally posted by tvfan300: I would have 1 vs. 100 and Identity flipped (in your schedule). A journal/game show is a good combination against Idol. The biggest problem for NBC is that you can only play with the hand you're dealt (and they're the dealer), and in this case it's about a 9-5 offsuit. No matter how you juggle it, it adds up to 4th place.
wasn't that the issue everyone had with abc...pulling shows too quickly? damned if they do and damned if they dont
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One of the problems with NBC was not reacting to bad ratings of their shows. They continued to air shows with almost no vieweing audience (Grease, Andy Barker, 30 Rock, TBD, Studio 60). Plus they air 4-5 hours of Dateline.
I think the main problem was that they didn't move some of the lower rated stuff into new slots. For one, the mothership L&O belonged on Wednesday. Move it back there! Try out Medium on Friday with Vegas and CJ, a night of 3 compatible shows. Then try FNL on Monday behind Heroes again where no other show has yet to top it, save for early episodes of Studio 60.
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Originally posted by vlis: wasn't that the issue everyone had with abc...pulling shows too quickly? damned if they do and damned if they dont
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One of the problems with NBC was not reacting to bad ratings of their shows. They continued to air shows with almost no vieweing audience (Grease, Andy Barker, 30 Rock, TBD, Studio 60). Plus they air 4-5 hours of Dateline.
Keeping Studio 60 on for 6 months, with each show performing worse than the previous, was bad. It should have been pulled before the Feb Sweeps, not after.
Grease was horrible, yet they let to finish its run.
30 Rock, well is just bad TV.
True, We do get critical for whatever the networks do/don't do, but NBC seems content with 6 million viewers and a 2.0 in the demo.
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Originally posted by vlis: wasn't that the issue everyone had with abc...pulling shows too quickly? damned if they do and damned if they dont
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One of the problems with NBC was not reacting to bad ratings of their shows. They continued to air shows with almost no vieweing audience (Grease, Andy Barker, 30 Rock, TBD, Studio 60). Plus they air 4-5 hours of Dateline.
think the main problem was that they didn't move some of the lower rated stuff into new slots. For one, the mothership L&O belonged on Wednesday. Move it back there! Try out Medium on Friday with Vegas and CJ, a night of 3 compatible shows. Then try FNL on Monday behind Heroes again where no other show has yet to top it, save for early episodes of Studio 60.
Agreed. They seemed reluctant to see if new slots help new shows.
Yes, especially in the case of Friday Night Lights which could've shared that Monday 10pm slot with Raines, which from what I hear, was actually pretty good. Better than Black Donnellys anyway.
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Originally posted by TV-aholic:
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think the main problem was that they didn't move some of the lower rated stuff into new slots. For one, the mothership L&O belonged on Wednesday. Move it back there! Try out Medium on Friday with Vegas and CJ, a night of 3 compatible shows. Then try FNL on Monday behind Heroes again where no other show has yet to top it, save for early episodes of Studio 60.
Agreed. They seemed reluctant to see if new slots help new shows.
Monday: Deal or No Deal - Heroes/Identity - Medium/Raines Tuesday: 1 v 100 - My Name Is Earl - Scrubs - SVU Wednesday: Thank God You're Here - Dateline - Law & Order Thursday: Deal or No Deal - The Office - 30 Rock - ER Friday: 1 v 100 - Las Vegas/Crossing Jordan - Criminal Intent Sunday: Grease - Friday Night Lights - The Apprentice - Studio 60/Black Donnellys
Yes, especially in the case of Friday Night Lights which could've shared that Monday 10pm slot with Raines, which from what I hear, was actually pretty good. Better than Black Donnellys anyway.
Raines is pretty good. Deserved a better slot than Fridays. Still has room to improve though.
That is an issue for the rabid fans of those particular shows. But ABC pulling them made business sense.
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Originally posted by vlis: wasn't that the issue everyone had with abc...pulling shows too quickly? damned if they do and damned if they dont
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One of the problems with NBC was not reacting to bad ratings of their shows. They continued to air shows with almost no vieweing audience (Grease, Andy Barker, 30 Rock, TBD, Studio 60). Plus they air 4-5 hours of Dateline.
I agree that Deal or No Deal is the best decision (ratings-wise) for the Thursday 9 pm slot.
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Originally posted by mushu_jj: See I wouldn't have put an unproven reality show on Thur. at 9 and that Friday would've resulted in lower ratings than we have now, unless you are just sacrificing it. I think Sunday should be the midseason sacrificial lamb along with Tue at 8 and maybe Wed at 9 due to Idol.
Originally posted by tvfan300: That is an issue for the rabid fans of those particular shows. But ABC pulling them made business sense.
The money you save by pulling a show early is a drop in the ocean compared to the money you lose by raising viewers' ire. And when you raise viewers' ire, the next thing you lose are the viewers.
But if you think it makes good business sense to cancel everything they put on the air, then by all means, as they were. Do ABC's new shows all have low ratings because they are bad shows? For the most part, no. They have low ratings because savvy viewers have come to expect ABC is just going to cancel everything anyway, and so don't bother to waste their time anymore. So keep on yanking everything, ABC. I'm sure that's really going to bring you out of the dumper.
I don't know what NBC should've done, but I can tell you what they SHOULDN'T'VE done. They SHOULDN'T'VE played musical chairs with their fall schedule two seconds after presenting it to buyers (reminding one of the old adage, "Don't pick at it, you'll only make it worse") and they SHOULDN'T'VE moved successful shows to terrible new time periods -- something which I can only imagine was done to destroy their value when it came time for contract renewal negotiations. Because it sure as heck couldn't have been done for competitive purposes.
