With such a lack of quality programming on the big four networks, why limit Veronica Mars to a four week promo run (which is a brilliant idea, in itself)?
Why not put it on permanently instead of CSI: Mayberry?
Why not use UPN, MTV, Bravo, FX, ABC Family, etc. as a farm system for good shows?
If a show is top quality, move it up from AAA to the big leagues and expose it to a larger audience.
Doesn’t NBC own the USA Network? Why not bring Monk into Must See TV?
Do you think some of these cable or mini-net shows could handle the transition?
From USA Network’s Monk FAQDidn’t I see Monk air on ABC? Is it an ABC show that USA Network is showing reruns of?
Monk is a USA Network Original Series produced by NBC Universal Television Studio in association with Mandeville Films and Touchstone Television. ABC previously acquired secondary broadcast rights to Monk and reran episodes following their original airing on USA Network. The arrangement marked the first time that a broadcast network reran episodes of an original cable series.
I think you are forgetting that those networks have different audiences. Do you think the Chappelle Show would have done well on CBS (both owned by Viacom)?
Just because people watch something on one channel, doesn’t mean they will do it on another. Many people won’t watch a show if it changes time slots, let alone channels. Good shows are so hard to come by, it would be a shame to risk losing one trying to be greedy.
Both ABC and Touchstone Pictures are owned by the Walt Disney Company, so this appears to be an example of corporate synergy long before GE bought Universal Pictures.
Of course, broadcast networks stealing shows from cable sisters already done very well in children’s television, where cable networks’ most popular shows re-air Saturday mornings on the broadcast networks owned by their parent companies: Nickelodeon shows air on CBS, Cartoon Network shows air on the WB, and Disney Channel shows air on ABC. Not to mention reruns of popular broadcast shows reairing on cable: CNBC has The Apprentice, and USA is practically Law and Order central. Disney also seems to pipe shows between ABC and ABC Family- I believe ABC’s current hit Brat Camp originally aired on ABC Family.
Using your cable networks as a second source can also help if your show is popular (or hopes to be): during the first year it was on the air, reruns of 24 would air on FX. This was probably done since 24’s plotlines are useless if you miss an episode in the middle of the series- the show’s story plays out through the entire season.
However, as brickbacon pointed out, not all shows will appeal to all audiences. Viacom not only owns CBS and Comedy Central, but also Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1, Noggin, Logo, UPN, Spike TV, Country Music Television, MTV2, Showtime, BET, and TV Land. That’s a varied landscape. Some shows may appeal to viewers on more than one station, and they probably do air them on two or three networks. But not all tastes are the same. TV conglomerates do use corporate synergy when they think it will attract viewers- and I imagine it will be a growing trend.