FOX has to be relieved that the "Empire" is back and "Shots Fired" will live to fight another day benefitting from the "Empire" draft.
Saw the 16 series renewal story this morning. CBS' success is all about consistency and stability, so props to them for knowing that most of the time, replacing what they have will result in lower ratings.
When I entered the business, network television had only one revenue stream: advertising. In addition the network would pay affiliated stations to carry their programming.
Over the years affiliate compensations went away, affiliates started paying the networks and now stations get paid by cable and satellite providers to carry the channel. The networks share in that, giving them a second revenue stream. This dual revenue stream was an advantage that basic cable channels had through subscriber fees.
One of the drivers of retrans is professional sports, especially the NFL, so the networks are willing to pay a fortune to the NFL to keep football "over the air."
Back in the 1980s, the networks were limited in what programming they could own. This was intended to insure competition and protect independent studios.
Over the next couple decades those rules went away, and every network was affiliated with a studio, which provided programming to both their sibling network as well as to other networks and cable channels. For example, the most successful network show of the season, "This Is Us," is on NBC but comes out of the 20th Century Fox TV Studio. NBC pays a fee to air the show and the studio can distribute the show on other platforms.
The line between running the studio and the network has started to vanish. For me a network's role in the TV ecosystem is changing and becoming more of a vehicle for creating assets for the larger corporation. Although a network on its own might not be profitable, if it is successful in producing hits coming from its studio, the network is accomplishing its goal.
Finally the Holy Grail for shows used to be 100 episodes and syndication, but that is no longer the case. We'll pick up on that tomorrow.
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- "Fleabag" episodes 1-3 (Amazon) I had heard so much about it, so I took a chance. It was worth it. May offend some but I would recommend checking it out.
We also deleted the final four episodes of "Star" … spring cleaning has begun.
“Empire” easily reclaimed its spot as Wednesday’s No. 1 show with its return. The FOX series came back from a three-month hiatus with a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49, a tenth of a point better than its last episode in December. “Shots Fired” had a more modest start, drawing a 1.1, a few tenths below “Lethal Weapon’s” average in the 8 p.m. timeslot earlier this season.
Elsewhere, “Law & Order: SVU” hit a season low on NBC with a 1.1, and “Chicago PD” (1.2) tied its season low. “Blindspot” (0.9) improved a tenth on its last episode. “Survivor” (1.7) and “Criminal Minds” (1.3) both held steady for CBS, while “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” (0.8) slipped a tenth.
ABC’s “Designated Survivor” fell 0.2 vs. last week to 1.1 following a block of comedy reruns. “Arrow” and “The 100” were both even with last week for The CW.