As a lot of viewers may know things haven’t been rosy for the entertainment industry as of late. Dollhouse, Eleventh Hour and even the relatively new show Defying Gravity, have all felt the brunt of the overpaid, underpromising TV executives. Most of us are expected to believe that this is due to the Economic Downturn – sure, money is tight and shows cost money to produce. Then the blame game begins, where massive amounts of outrage floods the web on forums of fans screaming out for the blood of the production teams. What people may not realise is that popular shows have been dropping like flies for years and it’s not the fault of the teams who make them at all.
The most controversial example was a show written by Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s creator Joss Whedon, called Firefly. This is the most talked-about cancelled show on television, not because it wasn’t brilliant or funny, or even entertaining. It was because the studio didn't have enough people wanting to watch it to sustain viewing. This is where they become known as a “cult” television series. They are called this because only a small percentage of the population (which is roughly this size of a cult) watch the show when it’s being aired live. Cult TV is huge and in excess of 10 shows or more is cancelled every single year, either after a Pilot or the initial episodes of the series has launched. In fact, if a show manages to complete a season of television, then they are actually doing really well!
There are many reasons given to the public as to why this happens: arguments between the producers and the studio, restructuring of the studio’s plan towards viewers, over-hyped upcoming new shows that tackle issues of reality, the executives don’t understand what it’s about, and so on. These reasons have business sense in mind, but not to the hundreds (perhaps millions) left stranded when they discover their show scheduled for another three seasons suddenly vanishes from their programme guides. Why do they happen at all, you ask. The answer is a lot simpler than you might think – it’s called ratings. Broadcasters take viewers’ money and interests very seriously and, while this is handled partly through licensing, it is mainly through ratings-watch lists. This is basically a transmission system built into every device capable of receiving a signal from networks, which tells companies exactly what frequency viewers happen to be watching. Depending on how many televisions you have, each device then counts collectively for one household’s “vote” for a specific programme being shown. Once all this has been added up, it indicates approximately how many total viewers watch the programme live in a particular part of your country. Every show follows this method of production: if people don’t watch the shows live for whatever reason, even if you enjoy multiple programmes, then you are unwittingly contributing a decision that may cost the project its longevity.
The problem with this is the business angle. The simple fact is broadcasters really don’t care what people think about what you want to watch; they are only interested in what you want to watch more... this is commonly referred by them as the typical “business” model. This is also why most programmes are shown in conflict of others you might want to see on a different channel, because the only way for them to gain leverage over their competitors is to one rising star in the entertainment world against another. In turn this forces viewers to choose what they want, as DVR-ing doesn’t improve ratings for a show at all and, in retrospect, it is the very reason why most get canned in the first place. Petitions and vigils are ways most used to get your point across to television networks but, usually, companies just ignore them, citing that if you (the viewer) want them to stay on television then you have to watch them. In this manner they are saying its life is left firmly in your hands and they are not responsible for what they must do to in order to stay in business.
In the end, it comes down to what you are prepared to watch at that exact moment, not which shows you like and which you don’t. Public opinion is great, but to them it’s about money...
So what can people do about it? In my opinion it’s what nobody is actually willing to do, and that’s for viewers to go on strike. The money broadcasters make is primarily through ratings, but unless an entire country of people are prepared to not watch a network of television for shows on the verge of being cancelled, then studios will simply go about business as they always have. On the other hand, it nobody watches their favourite channel in the US or Canada for a week, or even a day, you can imagine just how many billions of dollars a company will lose!
So when you're watching tv today, remember we have nobody to blame for the cancellation of shows but us. It is we that make the difference, but if we can’t even be bothered ourselves, then people shouldn’t be surprised why our favourite shows are never seen again.
The most controversial example was a show written by Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s creator Joss Whedon, called Firefly. This is the most talked-about cancelled show on television, not because it wasn’t brilliant or funny, or even entertaining. It was because the studio didn't have enough people wanting to watch it to sustain viewing. This is where they become known as a “cult” television series. They are called this because only a small percentage of the population (which is roughly this size of a cult) watch the show when it’s being aired live. Cult TV is huge and in excess of 10 shows or more is cancelled every single year, either after a Pilot or the initial episodes of the series has launched. In fact, if a show manages to complete a season of television, then they are actually doing really well!
There are many reasons given to the public as to why this happens: arguments between the producers and the studio, restructuring of the studio’s plan towards viewers, over-hyped upcoming new shows that tackle issues of reality, the executives don’t understand what it’s about, and so on. These reasons have business sense in mind, but not to the hundreds (perhaps millions) left stranded when they discover their show scheduled for another three seasons suddenly vanishes from their programme guides. Why do they happen at all, you ask. The answer is a lot simpler than you might think – it’s called ratings. Broadcasters take viewers’ money and interests very seriously and, while this is handled partly through licensing, it is mainly through ratings-watch lists. This is basically a transmission system built into every device capable of receiving a signal from networks, which tells companies exactly what frequency viewers happen to be watching. Depending on how many televisions you have, each device then counts collectively for one household’s “vote” for a specific programme being shown. Once all this has been added up, it indicates approximately how many total viewers watch the programme live in a particular part of your country. Every show follows this method of production: if people don’t watch the shows live for whatever reason, even if you enjoy multiple programmes, then you are unwittingly contributing a decision that may cost the project its longevity.
The problem with this is the business angle. The simple fact is broadcasters really don’t care what people think about what you want to watch; they are only interested in what you want to watch more... this is commonly referred by them as the typical “business” model. This is also why most programmes are shown in conflict of others you might want to see on a different channel, because the only way for them to gain leverage over their competitors is to one rising star in the entertainment world against another. In turn this forces viewers to choose what they want, as DVR-ing doesn’t improve ratings for a show at all and, in retrospect, it is the very reason why most get canned in the first place. Petitions and vigils are ways most used to get your point across to television networks but, usually, companies just ignore them, citing that if you (the viewer) want them to stay on television then you have to watch them. In this manner they are saying its life is left firmly in your hands and they are not responsible for what they must do to in order to stay in business.
In the end, it comes down to what you are prepared to watch at that exact moment, not which shows you like and which you don’t. Public opinion is great, but to them it’s about money...
So what can people do about it? In my opinion it’s what nobody is actually willing to do, and that’s for viewers to go on strike. The money broadcasters make is primarily through ratings, but unless an entire country of people are prepared to not watch a network of television for shows on the verge of being cancelled, then studios will simply go about business as they always have. On the other hand, it nobody watches their favourite channel in the US or Canada for a week, or even a day, you can imagine just how many billions of dollars a company will lose!
So when you're watching tv today, remember we have nobody to blame for the cancellation of shows but us. It is we that make the difference, but if we can’t even be bothered ourselves, then people shouldn’t be surprised why our favourite shows are never seen again.