Hatred towards Syfy and among other things

[carmencatalina]

personally, i don't much like seeing people's deaths being wished for - that has been a problem in the past, btw, when critics called it against SGU. it wasn't acceptable then, it should not be acceptable now. for anyone.

In this, I completely and totally agree with you.

I have plenty of respect, by the way, for other's opinions, and am quite the civil poster on the SGU boards, as many will attest, even those that don't agree with me.

And yet, I found that post to be distasteful and in really poor timing, and I question the motivation of the poster. Not to discuss or inform, but to stir the pot and incite unhappiness.

[Ian-S]

I may be wrong but I believe Syfy's biggest mistake in all this is not getting in on a cut of the profits from International TV distribution and DVD/BR sales, to me it seems that Syfy bankrolled the whole project but only got a 33.3% share of the income (if you say 33.3% income from US TV, 33.3% income from International distribution, and 33.4% from DVD Sales).

If that's the case (and we'll never know for sure but that's what I seem to remember reading), then that's a very majorly poor business decision from Scyfy, it would be like me opening a pub but giving nearly 67% of my profits to the restaurant next door.

[Keeper]

I may be wrong but I believe Syfy's biggest mistake in all this is not getting in on a cut of the profits from International TV distribution and DVD/BR sales, to me it seems that Syfy bankrolled the whole project but only got a 33.3% share of the income (if you say 33.3% income from US TV, 33.3% income from International distribution, and 33.4% from DVD Sales).

If that's the case (and we'll never know for sure but that's what I seem to remember reading), then that's a very majorly poor business decision from Scyfy, it would be like me opening a pub but giving nearly 67% of my profits to the restaurant next door.

i believe it may have been syfy's twitter account, however i remember seeing a comment from or on behalf of them (and i'm not going to go poking for it. i've found so many SG-related pages lately, i'm beginning to feel like a broken record )

funding is from many different sources, especially for a show like SGU. they aren't the only money-provider, they're just going to have to pay quite a chunk for the rights to show it.

additionally, DVD/BR sales will likely be funded/distributed by yet another company, who have every right to make profits from the show they're distributing. MGM, as producer, will simply make certain to get what they feel is an appropriate funding from each distributor and any other 'sleeping' partners* for each stage.



*iirc, sleeping partners in business are those with a financial stake, but no control except to pull out if they see fit. syfy actually fall into this to some extent as, while they broadcast the show, they have no control over production as such (as far as i know.)

[KEK]

Well more towards MGM and TPTB since Syfy never said they cancelled the show.

Syfy and MGM both put out press releases stating that it was a mutual decision to change the format of the show from a series to movies, and push on with SGU. We've had Joe confirm that Brad was willing to do a 6th season and wait on SGU, with no comment to the contrary from Syfy.

Would SGA be renewed for a 6th season, if SGU never exsisted? Most likely,

What's that based on? SGA's numbers weren't great and costs were always rising. Surely it's much more likely that Syfy would have taken their sweet five season syndication deal instead, no? And a seventh seems even more far-fetched.

This is all kinda beside the point of course, disdain for Syfy has been rising for years, you'd struggle to find a kind word said about the channel anywhere, especially in sci-fi circles. This is just another excuse for people to rage against them, and with the way their programming is going I don't see it getting better any time soon.

[beafly]

Not really pissed at SyFy. They just don't air anything I'm interested in watching anymore.

[jelgate]

True, but SyFy gave it the death blow. They should have shown a bit more faith in a franchise that existed for so long and make SyFy a spot on "TV land."

Thats crazy. SGU was bleeding SyFy with their lower and lower ratings. Loyalty does happen but it only goes so far. If a show does bad no matter how old or well liked by the studio they have to cancel i

[myhelix]

Thats crazy. SGU was bleeding SyFy with their lower and lower ratings. Loyalty does happen but it only goes so far. If a show does bad no matter how old or well liked by the studio they have to cancel i

They could have gave it a final movie or a few extra episodes for the sake of fandome, they would have not going bankrupt over night. They still have wrestling to cash is. And by the way, the whole SyFy marketing seems to be going haywire since SGA Season 4 and the sudden cancellation after S5. The channel have a massive amount of critics lately, and that is, to a big part, their own fault!
Destroying SciFi Friday was part of the firs big error.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

jelgate,

Thats crazy. SGU was bleeding SyFy with their lower and lower ratings. Loyalty does happen but it only goes so far. If a show does bad no matter how old or well liked by the studio they have to cancel i

You say the show was "bad" as thought it is objectively so. Uh uh. Many many people have greatly enjoyed SGU.

[morrismike]

True, but SyFy gave it the death blow. They should have shown a bit more faith in a franchise that existed for so long and make SyFy a spot on "TV land."

syfy isn't a charity

TPTW knew what was required to guarantee success and they chose another path in season 1. When they came to their senses it was too late. Had TPTW not axed SGA, then SGU would have had a lead in show that could have carried it for season 1. Your anger towards syfy is misdirected.

[morrismike]

I may be wrong but I believe Syfy's biggest mistake in all this is not getting in on a cut of the profits from International TV distribution and DVD/BR sales, to me it seems that Syfy bankrolled the whole project but only got a 33.3% share of the income (if you say 33.3% income from US TV, 33.3% income from International distribution, and 33.4% from DVD Sales).

If that's the case (and we'll never know for sure but that's what I seem to remember reading), then that's a very majorly poor business decision from Scyfy, it would be like me opening a pub but giving nearly 67% of my profits to the restaurant next door.

I've pointed that out before too. If syfy is footing the bill, then syfy should be getting the money for the shows that first year (where ever they are shown). The rights would revert back to MGM after that. This arrangement gives more control over show content, distribution, and provides a better incentive for MGM, TPTB, and syfy to create a better product. Under this arrangement, season 1 would have been decent and we'd still have SGU.

[morrismike]

jelgate,



You say the show was "bad" as thought it is objectively so. Uh uh. Many many people have greatly enjoyed SGU.

and many more gave up on it in season 1

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

morrismike,

and many more gave up on it in season 1

That was their loss. The second half of Season One was particularly good. The first half was introducing the Characters and situation. Good storytelling takes time. Too bad the attention span of many is so short.

[myhelix]

syfy isn't a charity

Really?

But they will need one for themselves if they follow their "new" course.

[missmobius]

Not really pissed at SyFy. They just don't air anything I'm interested in watching anymore.

exactly, nothing on there now resembles space travel

[maxbo]

I don't blame Syfy for the cancellation of SGU but I do think they were a contributing factor. Looking back on it now the day change did end up doing more harm than good (same thing is happening now with Sanctuary). On that point I agree with Darren in his article that they could have worked out a better schedule.

No, SGU's situation wasn't the same as Sanctuary's because SGU lost most of its audience within its first 10 episodes - before it was moved. Because it was too expensive to survive on those numbers it was moved to give it a second chance. In contrast, Sanctuary's numbers were pretty steady right up until the move and it had already been renewed. So, its move was more about trying to help Urban Legends than Sanctuary.

If Sanctuary's ratings don't recover when it's moved back to Friday, then its fans will be justified in blaming Syfy for screwing the show over.

They mismanaged the show from the get-go, then (allegedly) cancel it without even opening negotiations with MGM, and to add insult to injury they announce to the world it's been canned on Twitter before the cast & crew know because they can't stop leaks. Now the backlash has started from fans and there are numerous articles out about the state of their network post-SGU, the battering their brand has taken and what a loss it is to lose such a great show. Their network is a joke among sci-fi fans and their foray into the mainstream is hardly a banker, it's no wonder they're now desperately doing damage-control.

If MGM wasn't willing to share a bigger piece of the SGU pie or lower its fees to Syfy, then what was left to negotiate? And, why do you consider it Syfy's responsibility to inform the cast and crew? Shouldn't that have been BW/RCC's responsibility? Especially since they had to have been notified before the tweet leak.

And none of the fans are in the meetings that decide all this. I understand its a business and as much as i love SGU im smart enough to know it wasnt pulling in good numbers.

Ill contine to watch syfy channel i have no reason not too.

You're not alone because the majority of SGU fans understand that the show just wasn't pulling in the numbers it needed to survive.

Even is Syfy doesn't deserve all of the blame (and I know it doesn't) it deserves enough for me as a viewer to make a decision not to support or watch the channel anymore. It's not just SGU, but SGU was the proverbial straw........

Sanctuary averages a 1.3-1.4 and gets renewed. SGU before Tuesdays averaged a 1.4, gets moved, loses live ratings and they just let it die....nice......

and now Sanctuary is losing ratings on Tuesdays just like SGU did (and Caprica took the final bullet by moving to Tuesdays then having 6 months off).

Overall bad decision making by Syfy and several good series have paid for it.

If Sanctuary was as expensive as SGU then it wouldn't have been renewed either, so it's more than ratings. The cost of the show also has to be taken into consideration. One of SGU's main problems is that it was an expensive show. That means that it had to get big numbers to survive. That's why David Blue mentioned that SGU was expected to double SGA's 1.6 million. Given that Eureka was pulling close to that and W13 had a few 3 million weeks, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility that SGU could do the same.

True, but SyFy gave it the death blow. They should have shown a bit more faith in a franchise that existed for so long and make SyFy a spot on "TV land."

But, they did show faith by committing to 2 seasons up front and renewing it despite the fact that the show never reached the desired 3+ million mark. IMO, if SGU didn't carry the Stargate name, it would never had gotten a 2nd season, so it did benefit from loyalty to the franchise.

I'm not blaming SYFY for cancelling SGU but I do wish they'd given it a bit more of a chance -like a short 3rd season(10 episodes).
I won't stop watching SYFY as long as they keep running SG1, SGA and SGU re-runs-but- and here's the thing:
SYFY is showing fewer and fewer programs that I care for.
I'm sorry but I don't care about wrestling or Ghosthunters or Face off or most of the reality shows they're airing now.
As they show fewer and fewer shows I care about-I'm watching less and less.

Most channels are giving me less and less of what I want to watch, so Syfy isn't alone. The problem with Syfy paying for a short third season for SGU is that this would still cost big bucks and, based on SGU's performance, there was no reason to believe this would be money well-spent in terms of profits. So, from a business standpoint, I can't see anyone approving such a decision.

I may be wrong but I believe Syfy's biggest mistake in all this is not getting in on a cut of the profits from International TV distribution and DVD/BR sales, to me it seems that Syfy bankrolled the whole project but only got a 33.3% share of the income (if you say 33.3% income from US TV, 33.3% income from International distribution, and 33.4% from DVD Sales).

If that's the case (and we'll never know for sure but that's what I seem to remember reading), then that's a very majorly poor business decision from Scyfy, it would be like me opening a pub but giving nearly 67% of my profits to the restaurant next door.

I agree. It appears that Syfy allowed itself to get hosed in this deal. They seemed to have carried the majority of the upfront costs of getting SGU on air, but didn't share any of the profits beyond what they could get from selling ads on the Syfy channel. Therefore, when SGU's numbers were lower than expected, Syfy was left holding the bag.

I would be love to get more info on MGM's side of this deal because I figured they probably made a profit with the show since stations paid them fees for the right to air the show and because they get profits from DVDs, etc.

They could have gave it a final movie or a few extra episodes for the sake of fandome, they would have not going bankrupt over night. They still have wrestling to cash is. And by the way, the whole SyFy marketing seems to be going haywire since SGA Season 4 and the sudden cancellation after S5. The channel have a massive amount of critics lately, and that is, to a big part, their own fault!
Destroying SciFi Friday was part of the firs big error.

No, such a move probably wouldn't have sent Syfy into bankruptcy overnight, however, that's the kind of bad decision making that could have led to bankruptcy in the future. After all, it took MGM several years before it got to the sorry state it was in recently. So, trying to appease fandom with little hope of financial gain wouldn't have been a smart business move.

As for Syfy's marketing, it's always been dodgy, IMO. So, nothing new with the promoting of SGU.

jelgate,

You say the show was "bad" as thought it is objectively so. Uh uh. Many many people have greatly enjoyed SGU.

He didn't say the show was bad, he said that the show's ratings were bad compared to its cost.

I've pointed that out before too. If syfy is footing the bill, then syfy should be getting the money for the shows that first year (where ever they are shown). The rights would revert back to MGM after that. This arrangement gives more control over show content, distribution, and provides a better incentive for MGM, TPTB, and syfy to create a better product. Under this arrangement, season 1 would have been decent and we'd still have SGU.

That's a good idea. Such an arrangement would give the company paying the fees more incentive to stick with a show. However, I think SGU would have lasted longer if it had been delayed a year. That way, MGM/Syfy/BW/RCC could have benefited from Caprica's failure and structured SGU differently.

Before Caprica's failure, I don't think anything could have stopped them from going with the drama-heavy scifi style because they all seemed to believe there was a big audience for that style of writing. Because both shows were so expensive they needed those bigger numbers. Risky move all around.