Most valuable TV Shows/Franchises

Cafe Society
1

When we were younger, my brother and I always did redistribution drafts with pro sports leagues. The premise was, if the NBA collapsed and pro basketball started with only ten teams, who would you draft and in what order?

Well the other day, I was thinking along the same lines with television properties. What if all networks (cable and broadcast) went out of business and we went back to the BIG three system of broadcasting? What television shows/franchises would be the highest “drafted” by the three new networks? It really makes you think about the value of a particular show.

It would be broadcast TV, so the shows would need to conform to the FCC standards (whatever they are this week). This would weaken the value of shows like the Sopranos and other HBO original fare. A toned down Sopranos is not really the Sopranos.

Also, the franchise appeal would make a show like CSI or Law and Order more valuable. If you draft one, you’d have rights to all. So a show like Law and Order would have more appeal than a higher rated show like Survivor because it brings more hours of programming.

And what about longevity? Is a hot show like Survivor valuable enough in the short term to be taken ahead of a long standing, but lower rated show like Meet the Press (which to me, is a top ten pick)? Survivor can only pump out so many seasons.

What about Oprah and other syndicated fare? Where is their place on your draft board?

We aren’t talking quality, we are talking ratings and financial value.

Here are a few of my choice picks (no order):

CSI Franchise (CBS)
Law and Order (NBC)
Oprah (Syndie)
Meet the Press (NBC)
Tonight Show (NBC)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Dr. Phil (Syndie)
ABC’s Monday Night Football (ABC)
ESPN’s Sunday Night Football (ESPN)
CBS’s Sunday Football (CBS)
Fox’s Sunday Football (Fox)
ESPN’s Sportcenter (ESPN)
O’Reilly Factor (Fox News)
Hannity and Colmes (Fox News)
SpongeBob Squarepants (Nick)
60 Minutes (CBS)
Jeopardy (syndie)
Wheel of Fortune (syndie)

A few second tier picks:
Desperate Houswives (ABC)
Lost (ABC)
Survivor (CBS)
Apprentice (NBC)
Cold Case (CBS)
JAG (CBS)
Seinfeld (syndie)

What else? Could much else from cable make an impact in the broadcast medium?

2

Are you only talking about current shows, or is it of all time? If it’s all time, I think Star Trek is far and away the most valuable franchise in the history of TV

3

I’d say currently.

The question I’d have about Star Trek, is it the most valuable franchise all time if you don’t have the movies and licensing monies?

4

No mention of the Simpsons?

5

If dozens of cable channels had to be condensed into three, I doubt that many hours of programming would be especially high on anyone’s list of requirements.

6

Great point.

7

You have *Seinfeld *in your OP though so which is it?

8

I noted that they were the syndicated episodes. Those things are still popular. Several years after the end of the series (around 2001-2), I read an article that if you took the average of the highest rated syndicated episode of each market, you got the ratings/viewers to put a show in the top 30 prime time listings (no cite available).

9

I think that people are finally starting to get that The Simpsons is past its prime (even those viewers who WEREn’T diehard fans around season 5). Infact, this is going to be the first year when I do not turn on FOX at all on Sunday nights.

Just remember, if you draft Wheel and/or Jeopardy, you have to draft both of them. Otherwise the world will collapse.

And I think that The Late Show with David Letterman is worth a bit more than The Tonight Show is.

10

Arrested Development is worth a look. I now tune into Fox Sundays to watch it and HAPPEN to catch the Simpsons.

LOL.

The Tonight Show is a franchise. It has Conan in the wings and has higher ratings than the Late Show. Without Dave, I think the late show will sink back to Joey Bishop territory.

As long as Dave is there, it IS a valuable property, but I’d guess that the Tonight Show will be the standard for a lot longer.

11

I wouldn’t include those two shows because their success depend entirely on the fortunes of one person (i.e., Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity). I especially wouldn’t pick O’Reilly Factor given the recent embarassing revelations about the host. O’Reilly seems well on his way to imploding like most would-be media demagogues eventually do. I would substitute them with The Today Show instead.