ABC passing on "CSI" was Voted one of the Biggest TV Blunders of the Decade

[Brian Damage]

ABC passing on "CSI"
In the fall of 1999, ABC was pitched a new forensic drama from writer Anthony Zuiker, Touchstone Television and studio-based producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The network passed. Then, in the summer of 2000, when "CSI" went into production as a new series for CBS, Touchstone, which was a 50/50 producing partner on the show, dramatically pulled out, not wanting to deficit-finance a show for a rival network. So far, the "CSI" franchise has generated $6 billion for CBS. What's more, the "CSI" snafu prompted Bruckheimer to leave Disney's TV divisions for CBS and its sister studio, generating billions more for them with a string of long-running procedurals such as "Without a Trace" and "Cold Case" and the Emmy-dominant reality veteran "The Amazing Race."

http://reporter.blogs.com/best_of_20...he-decade.html