Networks that play the same show many times in a row- why?

[JetJam]

What is the reason that some (actually many) networks have the same show on many times in a row? Often 4 or more times!

Even if I am a fan of that show, I don’t want to watch it that much.

I would much rather spread out my viewings thank you very much!

Does anyone know when and why this became a trend?

[Merry24]

Viacom/nick@niTe & TVLAND Started this trend years ago and it was found that for Sitcoms people wanted to continue watching that specific Sitcom more than just once or even twice. They found there audience growing. That made the advertisers please as well.

Years later thanks to Viacom/nick@niTe & TVLAND everyone is Binge watching.


Although I do agree with you totally. I miss the times where your favorite Sitcom episode was on once in the morning & once in the afternoon once in the Evening and or Primetime and aired in the late night/ overnight. However sometimes they did air the same episode or aired 2 episodes from a particular sitcom all day so people tuned out.

[Mrgman]

It comes down to ratings. Steve harvey family feud gets great ratings for GSN

[GentlemanJim]

Originally Posted by JetJam

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Does anyone know when and why this became a trend?

Just speculating, but I think it may have something to do with licensing. Rather that paying a per episode royalty each time a show airs, I think they play a flat fee to broadcast the entire series, over the contract term.

So, if they are paying $50,000 for the rights to broadcast "Everybody Loves Raymond" over the first 6 months of 2020, for example.....it saves them money to really load up the schedule with it, (and just a handful of other, similarly acquired series) than it would cost them to air a distinct series in each and every half hour slot.

"Wholesaling" their filler program material.

[mets82]

Networks never used to do this at least when I was growing up. In a way, it's good that you could binge watch your favorite show. In another way, though, it does lead to overexposure of the show. Plus, I'm a traditionalist and grew up with a show being on once, maybe twice a day.

[treky]

Originally Posted by GentlemanJim

Just speculating, but I think it may have something to do with licensing. Rather that paying a per episode royalty each time a show airs, I think they play a flat fee to broadcast the entire series, over the contract term.

So, if they are paying $50,000 for the rights to broadcast "Everybody Loves Raymond" over the first 6 months of 2020, for example.....it saves them money to really load up the schedule with it, (and just a handful of other, similarly acquired series) than it would cost them to air a distinct series in each and every half hour slot.

"Wholesaling" their filler program material.

that makes sense, because an unfortunate side effect of the popularity of these retro-channels is that the prices of vintage programs keeps increasing.

[GentlemanJim]

Plus, it kinda simplifies the book keeping. Rather than having to meticulously track how many times an episode runs, and pay a royalty for each time ....you simply commit to a flat fee over a set time frame.
Easier for you, and easier for the rights holder.

Now, of course if you are the network having to pay for program material to fill time slots, it makes more sense for you if you loop though the entire series 20 times during a 6 month period rather than only twice, because you are filling your entire schedule paying for only 6 series rather than 14+.

[Sal]

Sometimes it does get to be too much, and there's nothing you can do about it. When I access the Titan TV website to check the latest TV listings, there is a section that lists Favorites and how often they will be on in the next 48 hours. Most of them are on once a day or twice in the next 2 days except for "Bewitched" which has back-to-back episodes every day and will have 4 episodes shown on Monday and Tuesday. However, the runaway leader among classic series has to be "Three's Company". Shown on the now-useless DejaView and CMT Canada as well as Antenna TV for those of us fortunate enough to steal it, John Ritter and friends will be on the airwaves a whopping 24 times in the next 48 hours, or 12 times a day, 60 showings a week on weekdays alone. That really is too much of a good thing!


Three's Company On Canadian TV

[TVLegend]

MeTV does this. They do this with M*A*S*H, The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle, Leave It To Beaver, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Hogan’s Heroes, The Love Boat, The Carol Burnett Show, Columbo and the list goes on. It gets tiring after a while. But obviously they draw in ratings and viewers so that’s why they’re keeping them.

[CosmicCharlie]

SOON My Comcast TV will be GONE -

[SledgeBarone]

Originally Posted by JetJam

Does anyone know when and why this became a trend?

Didn't this start on MTV with The Real World in the early 1990s? I read that the network knew as early as 1985 that playing music videos all day would never work financially on a long-term basis, so they eventually had to come up with alternative programming.

[Chocolate Moose]

Originally Posted by TVLegend

MeTV does this. They do this with M*A*S*H, The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle, Leave It To Beaver, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Hogan’s Heroes, The Love Boat, The Carol Burnett Show, Columbo and the list goes on. It gets tiring after a while. But obviously they draw in ratings and viewers so that’s why they’re keeping them.

those are so old and have been played so many times, i can't believe it costs them very much to show each episode.

[Mizzourah]

I remember back in the early 80s or so, a local station started showing back to back eps of some sitcom I loved as a kid and I thought it was cool to get a full hour. Look at what that turned into. A few months ago, Sundance channel lost or ended their contracts with many of the sitcoms they ran each morning. Andy Griffith was about all they had for a couple months. It was every morning, hour after hour. I checked the listings and one calendar week had over 60 eps. They only broadcast the b & w eps., so at that rate they'd cycle Andy every 3 weeks.

[Coffeecup]

I really don't mind he repeats for I can always find something else. We do have hundreds of stations. Make Room for Daddy on Cozi has been running for quite some time, but only in the last 9 months I first sat down to see it.