While the Sci-Fi Channel is said to have been pleased with Battlestar Galactica's season 4.5 premiere Friday, it was probably none too happy to learn Disney's upteenth re-airing of Freaky Friday (starring Lindsay Lohan, trainwreck du jour) beat it in the ratings... Freaky Friday drew 2.8 million viewers to BSG's 2.1, although Battlestar Galactica did win-out among men.
A recent article by Joel Ryan explained why shows like BSG aren't kept, even though they are actually quite popular: they're TiVo hits. And TiVo hits don't fare as well with advertisers as do those what score high on-air (as they're broadcast) because advertisers already know their commercials get the big ol' FF. This means they pay less, which means the show draws less revenue, therefore costing the network more to produce.
I'm not talking down to you by breaking it down like that; I want to make the point because it helps answer the question "Is Sci-Fi Evil?" Maybe I'm looking at the channel through rose-colored, multi-view goggles with onboard LED readout, but it could be just this side of possible that at least one Sci-Fi Channel executive is actually looking out for us hardcore fans by watering down the network. By drawing more viewers with mediocre - and even outright utter - shit, Sci-Fi can funnel those profits into the shows we sci-fi fans actually want to watch. While I'm no BSG fan, Eureka has consistently made my top 10 list since its premiere - weak follow-up seasons notwithstanding - and its recent (and very visible) deodorant tie-in has led many to believe the show is suffering.
Still, Sci-Fi needs to rein it in a bit - do we really need another Ghost Hunters spin-off (though I must admit, Ghost Hunters: College Edition intrigues me, as it may be the first "meta"-reality show)? Then there are the BSG movies already in the works and the new spin-off prequel, Caprica. And then there's Stargate - Sci-Fi's answer to the CSI, Law & Order, and Starbucks franchises (francheese?).
Science-fiction is quite possibly the most fertile genre of all the genres, yet Sci-Fi Channel executives are ever true to their nature: they find something that almost works and they wear it the hell out! With all of the recent sci-fi failures that would be right up their alley, thinking outside the cable box doesn't really seem all that hard; Sci-Fi could have picked up Jericho or Moonlight - just to name the CBS shows - and probably saved at least a shilling or two on production costs. And those few pennies could have gone toward keeping those shows with a solid fanbase afloat, even when advertisers pulled anchor.
Things are changing rapidly... except the TV industry.
Ryan's article ends by noting all the networks lost big to... football! But there are at least a few closet sci-fi fans amongst the jocks. Of course regular series will get TiVoed and the live game will get watched, the question is for the advertisers and industry to answer: how to advertise to TiVo viewers?
I can think of at least a dozen ways, right off the top of my head.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
3 comments:
Sci Fi hasn't picked up Jericho probably because it is a high cost show.
I agree that Sci Fi gets the short end of the stick, but the newest advertising research is suggesting that instead of #'s they try to find engaged viewers. Sci Fi fans are very engaged viewers, so there is hope.
There has been news this week about a Jericho movie, so there may be more Jericho in the near future.
Gwen
www.jericho-kansas.com
Thanks for commenting, Gwen, and I had not heard about a Jericho movie but I see your great site is keeping up with any and all developments, so I will point all fans there. With the Web and continued involvement of the cast and crew, any TV show (comic book, movie, or other piece of work) can continue developing and entertaining fans for... well, basically ever. I wish you all the best of luck with that and I'll keep my eye on it.
As to your admonition of high production costs, that was part of my point:
Jericho was already in production and while I am far from familiar with the show, I was raised on a pig farm... I'd be willing to rent it out as set. I mean, a post-Apocalyptic world pretty much negates set costs; there are a lot of fields and rundown shitholes in Tennessee...
Seriously, preproduction costs could have been spared simply by picking-up the show before sets were stricken and pink slips passed out. Cast retention would have been high and the audience was established and rabid. All that, right there, is more than half the battle!
I don't know the demographics, but am confident most of that audience is Web-savvy (or "engaged," if you prefer), and blogs such as this one (which comprise sites like The Weirding) are finally starting to be recognized for our advertising stature; The Rundown (and all The Weirding blogs) are big supporters of sponsored posts and direct sponsorship, and I would have leapt at the chance to promote Jericho!
With such a grassroots, low-cost advertising campaign (which is all that would have been needed) and copious in-house spots on programs such as X-Files and those mentioned in the post, Jericho would have found a home at Sci-Fi literally the next week - the media coverage alone would have negated the cost of any advertising campaign, no matter how small!
Jericho could have moved from CBS to Sci-Fi without missing a beat and it's long since time the network invested in a high-production show! While fare like Flash Gordon and Dresden Files satisfy the target, they are quickly dismissed by the mainstream crowd Sci-Fi is so eager to court specifically because they are low-budget - it has fuck-all to do with genre! Either of those shows could have been minor hits, had the network supported them more and carried them closer to the vest.
Eureka broke-out on the strength of its writing and creativity. While the opener (the two-hour "movie" premiere) was strong, production-wise, the series' budget has obviously been curtailed. The deodorant tie-in is a beautiful thing we true fans of TV don't mind a bit - heck, I even like it, because it reminds me of old radio and TV shows, which bring the series a sort of commercial "class," if you will - it feels somehow "traditional."
Sci-Fi is definitely on the cutting-edge when it comes to "engaging" viewers, as you said - I'd peg them as the leader (though USA is strong, too); their website is phenomenal (though impossible for dial-up users to access), so I realize a lot of their overall budget goes there. But time and again, Sci-Fi has chosen the ECWs over the MST3Ks - in an admitted attempt to "water-down" the network. They even publicly stated they wanted to change the name of the channel (to "IF")!!!
My beef with them is simple: embrace the genre instead of focusing on diluting it!
Science-fiction is the most yielding genre there is! You can basically diverge into all others - romance, horror, fantasy - and still bring it back into the fold with a simple device or assumption - but you don't even have to because sci-fi fans are so forgiving!
Still, the Powers-That-Be are deadset on mainstreaming the entire product. And believe you me, once they get a taste of that mainstream money, there will never be another Sanctuary, Eureka, or BSG - it'll be Ghost Hunters East and ECW: Unclothed and Unhinged all the way...
PS, Gwen - I just wanted to make sure you understand I wasn't getting testy with you, I just feel strongly about the subject and get passionate when discussing it.
Thanks again for your comment and I hope to hear more from you in the future!
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