I was surfing through the "CHEERS" message board (it was my first time there), and I happened to see a message regarding the SUPER-high price that NICK paid for the rights to show "Cheers" (a multi-million $ figure)....and this price was for a "package" deal which also included "The Cosby Show" and "Three's Company"!

So maybe THAT'S what's going on here....We "WINGS" fans have been scratching our heads, wondering why NICK has bumped our show to a later, single-episode time slot in favor of these other series. It could be that NICK is trying to get the most "bang for their buck" by running those "expensive package" shows to death and making the most out of their advertising slots.

If NICK didn't shell out as much money for "Wings", this could explain their reasoning in doing this. Don't get me wrong...I still HATE Nick's decision, and I'm still hoping for an earlier, double-episode time slot for "Wings"....but this "expensive package" situation shows that not all "classic reruns" are considered or treated equal....at least not by the cable networks!

Here's something that I forgot to mention (and it's very important):

That super-high price for the "package" of "Cheers", "The Cosby Show" and "Three's Company" only gives NICK the rights to show those series for a limited number of years....When the rights expire, NICK can't show those shows anymore under that particular purchase deal.

That would REALLY explain NICK running those shows to DEATH while they are still able to!
(Again, I am NOT defending NICK's programming practices....I'm just noting the financial motivation behind them!)

Yeah. Nick @ Nite paid a high price for those. Three's Company (7 years; 2000-2007), Cheers (7 years; 2001-2008). I have no clue about Cosby Show, but I'm sure they paid a high price for that too, along with a lengthy contract.

I also think RATINGS have a lot to do with it. Wings just didn't do good - at 11:00PM. Who's to say where it would do good. I really do like Wings, but at least it's on, even at 1:00am, and it may do better there. N@N just isn't getting the ratings they used to. It's shown time and time again that only a few shows are working, BUT it probably also has a lot to do with what you mentioned above.

I think the lower than expected ratings during the marathon might have come from the fact that there is a crisis going on in Iraq and maybe people were more concerned with war coverage than they were with watching Wings. N@N should take that into consideration and give Wings another shot. Maybe it will do better this time.

Originally posted by Snoopy
I think the lower than expected ratings during the marathon might have come from the fact that there is a crisis going on in Iraq and maybe people were more concerned with war coverage than they were with watching Wings. N@N should take that into consideration and give Wings another shot. Maybe it will do better this time.

I guess you can attribute the low ratings to the war, but, I think it's something else. The audience just wasn't there at 11:00pm, otherwise it would stay there. I think they could have waited a month or so before making a decision, but, *shrugs* they did, and I can't do much to change it, so, I'll just have to accept it, lol. And I never liked Wings at 11pm. I wasn't able to watch, or tape it, at 11, and I can at 1am, so it works for me, I guess that's why I'm not so irritated. And plus, I've come to expect this with The Cosby Network.

Did you see how they are now bring I Love Lucy over to. What's up with having all these show on both N@N and TV Land.

Originally posted by msmeow00
Did you see how they are now bring I Love Lucy over to. What's up with having all these show on both N@N and TV Land.

I Love Lucy already aired on N@N for 7 years, but it's airing only for a special, about remodeling, etc.

I agree with Snoopy, I think the timing of the release on Nick and the start of the IRAQ war was a factor. As I recall the Wings Marathon began March 31st and that was right at a time when the conflict was in the early, critical stages. I think it is fair to assume much of the TV audience was drawn to CNN, MSNBC etc..at that time and it had to effect the ratings of Wings at least a little.

Beyond that, I still have a problem with the amount of time Wings was given to attract an audience in the first place. They had the marathon for the first week, then ran the show for one week in the 11:00pm time slot. Basically the show was given two weeks for people to find the show again and start watching. To me that is ludicrous. Any show should be given a minimum of a month, and in my opinion more like 3 months, to allow the audience to find the show, before you can make any determinations on ratings.

Many people are not going to be devoted to Nick at Nite to the point where they watch the channel every night. Some are going to find out about the show by word of mouth or by just stumbling across it one night flipping through channels. Any way you slice it, it takes more then two weeks for the audience to find the show and begin watching it.