Text 696, 87 rader
Skriven 2005-03-15 05:28:00 av Kevin Karmann (1:278/230)
Ärende: Scores
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----- Original Message -----
From: "David A. Berkowitz" <dberkow@wowway.com>
> Production cost is not the big factor.  It's advertising revenue that the
> suits have to watch.  When a network completely gives up on making a
profit
> on a timeslot then production cost may be worth considering.

Maybe, but ENTERPRISE still performed a good bit better than the movies that
ran on Fridays previously or even the reruns of TOP MODEL and THE ROAD TO
STARDOM don't do all that well, either.  Granted, all of these cost
nothing --- I believe most (all?) of the films UPN ran in the last couple
seasons were Paramount/Viacom productions (at one time, they had a few
"originals" shuffled in, bujt that died pretty fast).   OTOH, populating the
night with second runs might not be entirely healthy for the series being
rerun.  In addition to the possibility of splitting the audience ("Darn, I
missed TOP MODEL tonight... I might as well catch it on Friday"), it also
could overexpose the concept.  I think reality series can be even more hurt
by this than dramas or comedies, making them easier to "burn out."   I
haven't seen TOP MODEL, but it would seem to be that particular concept will
run thin pretty quick with only one run a week and, in fact, the ratings
*have* been down for the first run episodes.

It isn't unheard of that a network gives up a particular timeslot -- FOX and
the WB gave up on Sundays at 7 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Central a long time ago,
filling it with reruns of "expendable" series that need to be burned off
anywya (like, say, FUTURAMA) -- but a whole night seems a bit extreme.  They
might not be losing money that way, but they certainly aren't rolling in it,
either.

Add to that the fact that UPN had next to *no* promotion this season for
ENTERPRISE -- although, ironically, I think they've sped things up *after*
canceling it.  Of course, it is no secret that UPN (or, rather, Les Moonves)
really didn't want a fourth season of ENTERPRISE to begin with... but was
kind of pressured to by the give and take of corporate politics.

So the question is... what will UPN put in place of ENTERPRISE that can help
it out on Fridays?  I really have no idea.  Of course, I'm not their in
their "new" target audience (younger women and urban minorities), which is
also the exact same niche that the WB focuses on...

>For example,
> each episode of Friends was costing in excess of $2 million in the last
> couple of seasons for a half hour show.

Ah, but costs can sometimes dictate drastic actions to cut costs.  There has
been talk, for instance, of moving LOST -- certainly the second most
important of ABC's new series and a consistent top 10 performer -- from
Hawaii to California due to the high price of filming on the islands.  Last
I heard, Hawaii was trying to cut them some breaks (taxes, etc.) to get them
to stay, but I don't think a decision has been made one way or the other.
So even being a "hit" might not save the way the series is produced.  Heck,
the producers even joked at an event over the weekend that, in light of the
fact that one of the main characters dies by season end (they aren't saying
who, of course), ABC might've been hoping to kill off more of the extensive
cast.  And who knows?  Losing a bit of the series unique style might shift
the opinion of some viewers...

> Enterprise has the fatal flaw of costing a bundle and not drawing an
> audience that commands  big advertising revenue even in its hopeless
Friday
> time slot.

Incidentally, there's a rumor that, following the end of filming for the
series finale last week, the Trek sets are being packed up... and shipped to
Vancouver.  Apparently, when the next series comes along in five years or
so, it will be filmed in Canada to save costs, much the same way as the
Stargates or BATTLESTAR GALACTICA or any number of other genre offers are.
On the production end, that'll probably make little difference.  A set is a
set, no matter what country it is in... and realistically Vancouver actually
has more climate variety than Southern California.  Still, it might affect
being able to get some of the higher profile, Hollywood based guests,
although ENTERPRISE has actually had very few, if any of those, anyhow.
Also, it's kind of sad to think that these particular soundstages have been
the "home" of Trek from the films to TNG to VOYAGER to ENTERPRISE....

Kevin




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