The Pop Pirate

Why am I surprised?

We may as well just call it pulling a Fox... Cancelling critically lauded, fan beloved and award winning programming is what the Fox Newtwork does best. This time? Arrested Development.

While it's fun to blame it on the network, I know they don't really have a vendetta against quality shows. They may not have patience to let quality shows grow, but Fox- and all networks- cancel shows for one reason: they aren't profitable. If a show brings in enough viewers to entice the sponsors to pony up the bucks, the show lives; if it doesn't the show dies.

But here's the problem with this system: increasingly, the ratings aren't able to count everyone who watches the show. There's Digital Recorders, DVDs and Torrents that are now offering alternate ways of distributing the content, none of which are tracked by Neilsen.

Take me for example: I've never watched an episode of Arrested Develpment on TV. It's on at a crap time, and I don't watch anything else on Fox, so I'm never reminded to record it. But, at the same time, I'm a huge fan. I bought the second season DVD the day it came out.

There's got to be some way of measuring a show's sucess that more closely reflects it's true popularity, and in doing so becoming more creative in creating revenue from those shows that are popular. If the networks could pull that off, maybe quality TV shows might become more plentiful, and internet nerds will have to find something else to complain about besides their favorite TV shows getting cancelled.

On the other hand, maybe with DVD and Torrents and Digital Recorders, good shows are still not being watched. If that's the case, there's not much we can do besides subscribe to HBO...

posted by Jeff @ 9:25 PM