Why Good TV Shows Get Cancelled - Fox Network
Quality is only a Small Factor in Determining Success
Jul 14, 2009
The CTV produced show The Listener has become an international hit; so much so that Fox International asked for a second season soon after its premier, something which is rare because international distributors are usually only marginally involved in renewal decisions. Conversely, the show has struggled to find an audience in the United States. Why television shows do well in one place and fail in another is an interesting topic because it informs us that quality is only one of many factors in determining a show’s fate. There are many shows which fail despite their high quality and many which succeed despite their low quality.
The Luck Factor – American Idol
The successes and failures of a show can be analyzed forever, but the truth is that some shows are just lucky. They have the right promotion and premiere in the right place, at the right time, when the right audience is watching. This article does not mean to argue that a show’s quality doesn’t matter. The success of Mad Men isn’t due to a cult 60’s era fan base, it has a fantastic script. The truth however, is that there are many other factors involved in a show’s success as well.
The Culture Factor – Flashpoint
A frequent contention of American media watchers has been that American audiences simply don’t want to see shows which aren’t set in the U.S. or at the very least are about Americans. The recent increase in international shows on American networks (Flashpoint, Primeval) seems to belie that to an extent, however it could still be a detrimental factor, and could certainly tip the balance between success and failure in an industry where the line is often thin. Culture is another factor which is often cited, however if it were a major factor one would expect this to result in television shows receiving fairly uniform ratings between Canada and the United States, when this is not the case. Arrested Development consistently struggled on Fox, while it did quite well on Canada’s Global network, and The Listener is a consistent top 20 performer in Canada (although this could be due partially to its status as a Canadian show) despite its poor showing in the U.S.
The Network Factor – Dollhouse, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Sci-Fi
Certain networks have a reputation for a certain type of show, which means they’re going to attract a certain type of audience. This wouldn’t matter if television viewers were interested in surfing until they found something good, but most of the population isn’t. This is why networks tend to promote their shows in similarly themed blocks, to ensure their audience never changes the channel to check what else is on. If a sci-fi themed show is picked up by SyFy (formally known as Sci-Fi), it’s likely to find an audience more receptive to its message than if it’s put on Fox, which has had a notoriously hard time maintaining an audience for any science fiction programming it has aired. CBS is known for cop shows, procedurals and accessible comedies, while ABC is known for character based shows, and they have demographics which reflect that. The bottom line is therefore: If a network picks up a show which is not reflective of the network’s demographic, it will likely suffer regardless of quality.
Part two of this series will discuss how Social Networking, Timing, and Subjectivity affect a show’s chances of success and failure.
