[opendtv] Television's "bubble" shows face uncertain future
- From: Monty Solomon <monty@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 08:27:12 -0400
Television's "bubble" shows face uncertain future
- May 14, 2004 07:52 PM (Reuters)
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES, May 14 (Reuters) - Will "Arrested Development"
come to a premature end? Can "8 Simple Rules" live on for
another season without its original star, John Ritter? And just
what will become of "Whoopi?"
Those are but a few of the more high-profile question marks
floating over the heads of network executives as they decide
which of this season's ratings misfires deserves one more
chance and which ends up on the prime-time chopping block.
Their fate will be sealed next week as NBC, ABC, CBS and
Fox -- in that order -- unveil their fall 2004 schedules in a
series of presentations launching their "upfront" sales of
commercial time to advertisers.
The upfront market typically accounts for 70 to 80 percent
of all ad sales by the networks. And Randy Falco, president of
NBC Universal Television Networks Group, has said he expects
the entire upfront to reap "a couple of percentage points"
above last year's roughly $9 billion total for prime time.
Besides deciding which existing shows will be renewed for
the upcoming season, the Big Four broadcasters must choose from
dozens of new pilots competing to fill the gaps left by current
shows that get the ax.
This year's crop of likely newcomers is especially heavy on
spinoffs, including "Friends" progeny "Joey" and a fourth
variation of "Law & Order" on NBC, a new edition to the "CSI"
crime drama franchise on CBS and a successor to departing legal
drama "The Practice" on ABC.
...
- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41458444
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