# Why last minute TV schedule changes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 21, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-last-minute-tv-schedule-changes/270438 "2004-10-21T17:15:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-last-minute-tv-schedule-changes/270438/1 "2004-10-21T17:15:13Z")
So last night at 9pm I turn to my CBS station, looking forward to finally (after weeks of delays) seeing the season premiere of _King of Queens_. “Gee,” I say to myself, “Doug sure has lost a lot of weight. And Carrie seems to have gone blonde. And this armored car robbery isn’t very funny.” Yup, once again, CBS decided at the last minute to put on _CSI: Miami_. So last minute that my cable on-line TV guide still says _King of Queens_ as I watch Horatio and company. Why do networks do that? Doesn’t that just end up annoying the majority of viewers? I mean, people like me who tune in expecting to see _King of Queens_ are not happy, and I sure as hell didn’t stick around to watch _CSI: Miami_, so they didn’t gain a viewer here. And people who want to watch _CSI: Miami_ wouldn’t tune in at all, because the listings say that it’s _King of Queens_, and so they end up unhappy at missing a _CSI: Miami_. It just doesn’t seem like anyone benefits for such last-minute changes, and that viewership couldn’t be very high for a show that no one knows is going to be on, and so CBS wouldn’t get as much ad revenue as they would by showing the show that people expect to find. So why, why, why do they do it? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-last-minute-tv-schedule-changes/270438/2 "2004-10-21T17:20:48Z")
Often it’s because there’s something in the programme that would be deemed in poor taste due to some parallel with current event in the news. You could probably expect a showing of _Airplane!_ to be cancelled if there was a major air disaster earlier in the day. Of course, without seeing the episode, it’s hard to know if this was the case at all. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-last-minute-tv-schedule-changes/270438/3 "2004-10-21T17:27:15Z")
Programming can be changed at the last minute for any number of reasons. Live sports can run long, or TPTB can decide that a show has better ratings and replace what is originally scheduled. Programming information is provided anywhere from two weeks to a month out to newspapers, TV Guide, your online guides, etc. A lot can happen in that time. I would submit that the CSI Miami that you saw was a repeat. Generally, new shows and premiers of existing shows are heavily promoted, and it is highly unlikely that a network would slap on a brand new episode of a show without promoting it. It’s also possible that your local affiliate, for whatever reason, decided to cover up network programming with shows with local interests…like airing a debate between candidates for state representatives, for example. (ivylass, who’s worked in broadcasting for more than 15 years.) ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-last-minute-tv-schedule-changes/270438/4 "2004-10-21T18:03:25Z")
For last night specifically, game 7 of the championship series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees was being broadcast on Fox. This was something that no one could ever have anticipated happening back when the original schedule was put together. CBS wisely decided to reschedule the premier of _King of Queens_ rather than go up against that juggernaut. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-last-minute-tv-schedule-changes/270438/5 "2004-10-21T18:11:26Z")
> [@Terminus Est](#): > > For last night specifically, game 7 of the championship series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees was being broadcast on Fox. This was something that no one could ever have anticipated happening back when the original schedule was put together. CBS wisely decided to reschedule the premier of _King of Queens_ rather than go up against that juggernaut. Exactly. Networks also keep an eye on what the others are airing. That’s why you’ll see Super Bowl half-time “shows” on other networks, or premiers of new shows after the Super Bowl, in an effort to pull away (or keep) viewers. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-last-minute-tv-schedule-changes/270438/6 "2004-10-21T18:12:59Z")
Was the episode of _CSI Miami_ also a rerun? If that was the case, CBS realized that most viewers (like me) would be watching the 7th game of the ALCS on Fox during that time and that the season’s first new episode of _King of Queens_ would definitely get stomped in ratings. Thus, they bumped _King of Queens_ to a date where it wouldn’t have to compete against the intense drama of a Yankee-Red Sox series and replaced it with a repeat of _CSI: Miami_ as a sacrificial lamb. Basically, CBS wrote off last night. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-last-minute-tv-schedule-changes/270438/7 "2004-10-21T18:35:53Z")
VH1 is notorious for changing their schedule at the last minute. Rarely does the online guide ever match what they’re actually broadcasting. ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-last-minute-tv-schedule-changes/270438/8 "2004-10-21T20:41:39Z")
> [@Terminus Est](#): > > For last night specifically, game 7 of the championship series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees was being broadcast on Fox. This was something that no one could ever have anticipated happening back when the original schedule was put together. CBS wisely decided to reschedule the premier of _King of Queens_ rather than go up against that juggernaut. Aha, now that’s an explanation that makes sense. Not being a baseball fan, and living on the west coast, I wasn’t aware of the game (I know, really unAmerican of me). That would also explain why _CSI: NY_ became a _CSI_ rerun last night. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-last-minute-tv-schedule-changes/270438/9 "2004-10-21T21:05:24Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Often it’s because there’s something in the programme that would be deemed in poor taste due to some parallel with current event in the news. You could probably expect a showing of _Airplane!_ to be cancelled if there was a major air disaster earlier in the day. Of course, without seeing the episode, it’s hard to know if this was the case at all. I remember that happening once. Back when Pope John Paul II was shot, the Chevy Chase/Goldie Hawn movie _Foul Play_ was supposed to be on television that night. The plot revolves around an attempted hit on the Pope. So the network hurriedly substituted another film, _Les Miserables_. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-last-minute-tv-schedule-changes/270438/10 "2004-10-21T21:31:32Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Was the episode of _CSI Miami_ also a rerun? Yup.