Reform Syfy Now Uberthread - Syfy Boycott/Ultimatum thread

[Ekras]

Guess I missed out on that. I usually come right into the forums and pay little attention to what's on the front page of the site.

http://www.gateworld.net/news/2011/0...ans-from-syfy/ -- We are referring to it as the "Bugger Off" letter because he essentially says "go away and watch "Alphas" instead.

[LtColCarter]

http://www.gateworld.net/news/2011/0...ans-from-syfy/ -- We are referring to it as the "Bugger Off" letter because he essentially says "go away and watch "Alphas" instead.

Guess I did see it then...but I didn't interpret it as an "F$$k Off" letter.

[Ekras]

You're in the minority - check out the comments. Or read @syfy on twitter (where he was quite a bit more hostile - even banning most of the Save SGU groups).....

Speaking of which just yesterday he tweeted "All shows cost at least 1-2 million an episode. It takes us about 5 seasons for any show to be profitable" (Paraphrased) - If that's what they are paying no wonder they are losing money - they need to hire better negotiators, hire non-union actors, and find other ways to cut their production costs that don't include cutting Science Fiction from their lineup.

[LtColCarter]

You're in the minority - check out the comments. Or read @syfy on twitter (where he was quite a bit more hostile - even banning most of the Save SGU groups).....

Speaking of which just yesterday he tweeted "All shows cost at least 1-2 million an episode. It takes us about 5 seasons for any show to be profitable" (Paraphrased) - If that's what they are paying no wonder they are losing money - they need to hire better negotiators, hire non-union actors, and find other ways to cut their production costs that don't include cutting Science Fiction from their lineup.

Sounds like he needs to read a copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People.

[jelgate]

It was on the front page here at GateWorld for awhile. The one where Craig Engler blamed the fans for SGU's demise, instead of their poor business decisions.

Ah the good ol' its the networks fault. I believe thats O4 on fan excuse bingo

[Ekras]

Ah the good ol' its the networks fault. I believe thats O4 on fan excuse bingo

OF COURSE it's the networks fault...and we shouldn't have to suffer as a result of their incompetence. Unless a show drops to almost 0 viewers, you don't cancel it- PERIOD. They are the ones who took the risk with SGU- We would have been happy with a lower costing show- If the risk didn't pan out, they need to suck it up, take the loss, and let the show finish. I'm not saying they should have renewed it past Season 5, or shouldn't have looked for ways of cutting costs to minimize the loss.... but cancellations should be almost non-existent. If I wanted to be treated like this I would watch CBS.

Imagine if Ford put out an unpopular Car.... than told all the people who purchased it "well not enough people bought them that we could make a profit on repairs, so we decided not to honor your warranty- if it breaks, tough luck" - thats what the networks are essentially telling us.

[LtColCarter]

OF COURSE it's the networks fault...and we shouldn't have to suffer as a result of their incompetence. Unless a show drops to almost 0 viewers, you don't cancel it- PERIOD. They are the ones who took the risk with SGU- We would have been happy with a lower costing show- If the risk didn't pan out, they need to suck it up, take the loss, and let the show finish. I'm not saying they should have renewed it past Season 5, or shouldn't have looked for ways of cutting costs to minimize the loss.... but cancellations should be almost non-existent. If I wanted to be treated like this I would watch CBS.

Imagine if Ford put out an unpopular Car.... than told all the people who purchased it "well not enough people bought them that we could make a profit on repairs, so we decided not to honor your warranty- if it breaks, tough luck" - thats what the networks are essentially telling us.

Not honoring a a warranty is quite a bit different. We're not paying for the show...when you buy a car you pay for the warranty. If the dealership won't/can't offer it then they give you your money back. I don't remember making any financial outlay to SGU' production...do you?

[Ekras]

Not honoring a a warranty is quite a bit different. We're not paying for the show...when you buy a car you pay for the warranty. If the dealership won't/can't offer it then they give you your money back. I don't remember making any financial outlay to SGU' production...do you?

Uhh - what do you think your cable subscription is for? Why do you think there are ads in shows? (The fact that they are legally allowed to do both is a whole 'nother story i'm not getting into now) -

Essentially the ad companies are "paying" us for watching an ad - we take that "payment" and "give" it to the network we are watching. They keep the money. It's no different than actually paying for it, except we aren't offered the choice to keep the money, and are instead a middle man deciding where the payment goes. At least thats how its supposed to work in theory.

[Ekras]

Uhh - what do you think your cable subscription is for? Why do you think there are ads in shows? (The fact that they are legally allowed to do both is a whole 'nother story i'm not getting into now) -

Essentially the ad companies are "paying" us for watching an ad - we take that "payment" and "give" it to the network we are watching. They keep the money. It's no different than actually paying for it, except we aren't offered the choice to keep the money, and are instead a middle man deciding where the payment goes. At least thats how its supposed to work in theory.

And many, many, many fans would be more than happy to pay per episode if it meant getting more of a show we loved. We'd even pay a lot more than they are worth. Unfortunately thats not an option.

[LtColCarter]

Uhh - what do you think your cable subscription is for? Why do you think there are ads in shows? (The fact that they are legally allowed to do both is a whole 'nother story i'm not getting into now) -

Essentially the ad companies are "paying" us for watching an ad - we take that "payment" and "give" it to the network we are watching. They keep the money. It's no different than actually paying for it, except we aren't offered the choice to keep the money, and are instead a middle man deciding where the payment goes. At least thats how its supposed to work in theory.

A warranty with a car company is a signed contract between you and the company. I've signed no contract. And your analogy about the advertisements is a little flawed. Agencies pay to have their ad aired in hopes that we'll but their products. Yes, their payments help fund the shows on at that particular time, but their goal is to get buyers for their products. So, they do demographic studies to show which shows have viewers that are most likely to purchase their product. So, yes, its quite a bit different than paying for a show.

[Tanith0709]

OF COURSE it's the networks fault...and we shouldn't have to suffer as a result of their incompetence. Unless a show drops to almost 0 viewers, you don't cancel it- PERIOD.

uhm what?

If they're losing money on a show they're gonna cancel it, period.

On both Cable and Broadcast networks there is an expectation of what is considered to be good ratings, below that expectation tends to mean that the network is making either a loss or very little profit. If that network feels that they can achieve a larger profit with a different show then that's exactly what they will do.

Television networks are not charities (same goes for all networks in general, not just Syfy).

[LtColCarter]

uhm what?

If they're losing money on a show they're gonna cancel it, period.

On both Cable and Broadcast networks there is an expectation of what is considered to be good ratings, below that expectation tends to mean that the network is making either a loss or very little profit. If that network feels that they can achieve a larger profit with a different show then that's exactly what they will do.

Television networks are not charities (same goes for all networks in general, not just Syfy).

That was my point exactly. I wonder why he/she thinks networks would keep a show on until there was only one viewer. If that were the case...shows would never go off.

[jelgate]

That was my point exactly. I wonder why he/she thinks networks would keep a show on until there was only one viewer. If that were the case...shows would never go off.

Business would also go bankrupt. It makes no sense to me to keep a product that is failing and why I ultimately don't blame SyFy. Their profit increases means they are only showing what the publoc wants so its seems a majority of blame goes to the mass reality TV audiences

[SF_and_Coffee]

That's why I loathe the mass reality TV audiences.

[Ekras]

Ok obviously I did a terrible job of explaining my position in that post, so let me try again....

Shows should be given a "Lifespan" of a set number of seasons (For shows like SGU that should be around 5 seasons). Unless the ratings are negligible, they should be contractually obligated to produce the show for that period of time. I know that's not how it currently works, and that SyFail is simply copying the strategy employed by the major networks- but that strategy doesn't work for me, and shouldn't work for you. As a network that caters to intellectuals, they need to understand we have higher standards. If you bring us a show, we expect it to run its course. If it starts to lose money, than other methods need to be employed over the LONG HAUL to reduce costs- replace actors, use less effects, change up the story to attract new viewers, etc.

Shows also need to be guaranteed an ending if they are cancelled. A minimum of 5 hours of programing needs to be guaranteed (if the show-runners want to do so of course) in the contracts, prior to the show being green-lit.

These people aren't idiots (I hope)- with the ammount of money they claim it costs to make a show, they have plenty of room to work with to cut costs. A little creativity goes a long way.