Cable TV is struggling to find network sitcom hits it can use for reruns - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 06-20-2014, 12:49 AM

http://online.wsj.com/articles/for-t...sis-1403218969

“New Girl” is the only viable option for 2015, while “The Mindy Project” and “Last Man Standing” are the only comedies left for 2016 syndication. Yet all three aren’t big hits. "We're all getting starved,” says an FX executive. "For every elite show like 'Big Bang Theory', there is an awful lot of mediocrity out there that won't pull ratings."

EmoJoe · 06-20-2014, 01:26 AM

Syndication is becoming an outdated concept. Why sit and wait to watch a half-hour of New Girl each night when you can watch the entire series on Netflix at your leisure?

comedyfreak · 06-20-2014, 04:34 AM

Plus if the Networks would take the time and develop their shows maybe quality would go up.

SitcomsOffline · 06-20-2014, 09:44 AM

That's what happens when you produce nothing but topical reality shows...

tlc38tlc38 · 06-20-2014, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SitcomsOffline

That's what happens when you produce nothing but topical reality shows...

Ditto.

Isn't 2 Broke Girls supposed to start airing in syndication on TBS in 2015 or 2016?

I never really watch "new" shows in syndication, I like to watch the older shows in reruns better.

EmoJoe · 06-20-2014, 11:23 AM

I'm not sure where you guys are getting the idea that reality shows still dominate network television. It's not 2003 anymore, there's really not a whole lot of them left, other than the ones in out-of-the-way timeslots on cable.

robyrob · 06-20-2014, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmoJoe

I'm not sure where you guys are getting the idea that reality shows still dominate network television. It's not 2003 anymore, there's really not a whole lot of them left, other than the ones in out-of-the-way timeslots on cable.

I guess it all depends on your definition of "reality shows" - but the bottom line is that the shows that too many of the nets are relying on; like American Idol, The Voice, Dancing With the Stars, Swimming With the B-List Actors, etc aren't going to be something that they can sell into syndication. Prime-time game shows - does anyone want to see reruns of those? Survivor, Amazing Race, Shark Tank, again not something that seems like they would do well in reruns.

They aren't really producing as many successful sitcoms, and it sounds like it is starting to catch up to them.

MrCleveland · 06-20-2014, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robyrob

I guess it all depends on your definition of "reality shows" - but the bottom line is that the shows that too many of the nets are relying on; like American Idol, The Voice, Dancing With the Stars, Swimming With the B-List Actors, etc aren't going to be something that they can sell into syndication. Prime-time game shows - does anyone want to see reruns of those? Survivor, Amazing Race, Shark Tank, again not something that seems like they would do well in reruns.

They aren't really producing as many successful sitcoms, and it sounds like it is starting to catch up to them.

I agree...

I hope TV goes into a 2nd wave, like how movies did in the early 70's by stopping the low-budget sci-fi films and going for blockbuster films.

tlc38tlc38 · 06-20-2014, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCleveland

I agree...

I hope TV goes into a 2nd wave, like how movies did in the early 70's by stopping the low-budget sci-fi films and going for blockbuster films.

Some of those low-budget films are my all-time favorites like Sleepaway Camp 2 and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

MrCleveland · 06-20-2014, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlc38tlc38

Some of those low-budget films are my all-time favorites like Sleepaway Camp 2 and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

I have nothing against those films...it's just that in the 50's and 60's, people were watching TV and many of the movies went cheap. Today, since we have the internet...TV is now going for cheap!

yankeesrj12 · 06-20-2014, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmoJoe

Syndication is becoming an outdated concept. Why sit and wait to watch a half-hour of New Girl each night when you can watch the entire series on Netflix at your leisure?

I'd agree, if The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, and Two and a Half Men weren't still doing solid numbers in syndication. If a show is easy to follow and funny, like these three, they are easy to watch anytime on the cable networks. Sometimes I don't want to watch the show in order, or a bunch of episodes, but just put something on. Knowing these three are on gives me that option.

mets82 · 06-20-2014, 03:07 PM

I also think a problem is that they are showing the reruns too early. I mean they have already got The Middle and Modern Family on. Not only that but those two shows are played to death. I think that the real problem. I think there are some shows that are in syndication early and then when they are shown, they are shown too much. Ex., by 2015 or 2016, do you think people will flock to Modern Family or Big Bang Theory? I mean the answer would have been yes, if they werent shown a million times a day. I mean I rarely watch Seinfeld or Friends just because of that. I've seen the episodes a 1000 times already, why should I watch it again?

Mace Dolex · 06-20-2014, 04:27 PM

I'm glad TV stations are getting jittery about their programming, and I agree that the syndication reruns are just airing constantly, I'm fine with 2 episodes a day but stations like TBS and FX air shows in 2 sometimes 3 hour blocks.

EmoJoe · 06-20-2014, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robyrob

I guess it all depends on your definition of "reality shows" - but the bottom line is that the shows that too many of the nets are relying on; like American Idol, The Voice, Dancing With the Stars, Swimming With the B-List Actors, etc aren't going to be something that they can sell into syndication. Prime-time game shows - does anyone want to see reruns of those? Survivor, Amazing Race, Shark Tank, again not something that seems like they would do well in reruns.

They aren't really producing as many successful sitcoms, and it sounds like it is starting to catch up to them.

American Idol is dying and will likely be extinct within the next few years, Dancing With the Stars has been downsized to one night a week, and most of the cheap "swimming with the stars" type deals have gotten cancelled after one season. The last really big network reality hit was The Voice in 2011. The highest-profile reality launch of recent years, The X Factor, was a complete and total bust. So maybe they're not producing hit sitcoms, but they're not really producing hit reality shows either.

I think the general problem is just the same problem that the rest of TV is facing - the move towards a fragmented rather than a mass audience and the rise of digital media/streaming content. There's not a lot of shows that *everyone* is watching anymore, so there's not a lot of shows that you can throw into syndication and expect massloads of people to tune into. People don't want to sit down and watch whatever the networks are feeding them anymore, they want to go to Netflix or Hulu or On Demand and watch whatever they want. That leads to a decline in live viewership which, in turn, leads to less big hits that are syndication-ready.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yankeesrj12

I'd agree, if The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, and Two and a Half Men weren't still doing solid numbers in syndication. If a show is easy to follow and funny, like these three, they are easy to watch anytime on the cable networks. Sometimes I don't want to watch the show in order, or a bunch of episodes, but just put something on. Knowing these three are on gives me that option.

Tellingly, none of those shows are readily available on streaming sites, either. Not sure if it makes a big difference but I would guess it does to at least an extent.

The shows you listed are shows that are basically designed to be watched by mass audiences in syndication, though. They're "old-school". The younger-skewing more niche shows like 30 Rock, New Girl, The Office ect are probably more likely to be hits on streaming sites than in syndication since that's how their audience is used to watching TV (hence why they're all on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon). But I guess the problem is there hasn't really been a big "mass sitcom" hit in the last few years. The closest thing is 2 Broke Girls and that hasn't reached the levels of Modern Family/Big Bang ect.

06-20-2014, 12:49 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,739	Cable TV is struggling to find network sitcom hits it can use for reruns http://online.wsj.com/articles/for-t...sis-1403218969 “New Girl” is the only viable option for 2015, while “The Mindy Project” and “Last Man Standing” are the only comedies left for 2016 syndication. Yet all three aren’t big hits. "We're all getting starved,” says an FX executive. "For every elite show like 'Big Bang Theory', there is an awful lot of mediocrity out there that won't pull ratings."

06-20-2014, 01:26 AM	#2
EmoJoe Cool cool cool Forum Addict Join Date: Apr 23, 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 71,478	Syndication is becoming an outdated concept. Why sit and wait to watch a half-hour of New Girl each night when you can watch the entire series on Netflix at your leisure?
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06-20-2014, 04:34 AM	#3
comedyfreak Cheers! Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Location: Sunny California Posts: 11,061	Plus if the Networks would take the time and develop their shows maybe quality would go up.
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06-20-2014, 03:07 PM	#12
mets82 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 14, 2011 Location: Connecticut Posts: 5,058	I also think a problem is that they are showing the reruns too early. I mean they have already got The Middle and Modern Family on. Not only that but those two shows are played to death. I think that the real problem. I think there are some shows that are in syndication early and then when they are shown, they are shown too much. Ex., by 2015 or 2016, do you think people will flock to Modern Family or Big Bang Theory? I mean the answer would have been yes, if they werent shown a million times a day. I mean I rarely watch Seinfeld or Friends just because of that. I've seen the episodes a 1000 times already, why should I watch it again?
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06-20-2014, 09:44 AM	#4
SitcomsOffline Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 03, 2013 Posts: 492	That's what happens when you produce nothing but topical reality shows...

06-20-2014, 11:23 AM	#6
EmoJoe Cool cool cool Forum Addict Join Date: Apr 23, 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 71,478	I'm not sure where you guys are getting the idea that reality shows still dominate network television. It's not 2003 anymore, there's really not a whole lot of them left, other than the ones in out-of-the-way timeslots on cable.

06-20-2014, 04:27 PM	#13
Mace Dolex Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 12, 2013 Posts: 2,670	I'm glad TV stations are getting jittery about their programming, and I agree that the syndication reruns are just airing constantly, I'm fine with 2 episodes a day but stations like TBS and FX air shows in 2 sometimes 3 hour blocks.