Channel Frederator Blog

Yeah, it really sucks that it got canceled. The show was really fun, the action got intense and the humor was well timed.
I’m going to miss it.

This was my favorite cartoon currently airing, too. Very sad that a show with so much going for it didn’t even get a chance.

I’ve been on all sides of this equation: as a producer of a pick-up show, a network programmer, and a producer who’s show is canceled (more times than I’d like to admit). And boy, does it stink beyond beyond belief when the show is pulled before you think it should. It’s horrible. But, I need to point out, in the kid’s business, no matter what one might think, it is very very rare that a show does not “get a chance.” In this era, almost every show on the air is entirely paid for by a cable network (usually a minimum of $5million) and, believe me, they have *no* desire to flush that money down the drain. Which is where it goes if the show only lasts a season or two. And, if the show is canceled, believe me too, there is abundant information about how much the audience is interested in the show, or not. We’re professionals, each of us with our individual interest in the business, be it art, animation, writing, music, whatever. Often we like a show for a particular professional absorption, and if the show appeals to it, we like the show and are shocked, *shocked* when the audience doesn’t agree. The audience isn’t dumb, they’re smart, they’re the bosses, they’re the deciders. It hurts like crazy when we’ve invested our hearts, our time, our money in a series, and it’s taken off before its time. But, we’re in show business, and one day it’s always ‘Game Over.”

Thanks for the insight, Fred. Can you (or anyone else) elaborate on how the ratings can effect a series during its production? Is it the kind of thing where they look at the ratings after six months and then say “well, time to end the series”, or is it the kind of thing that they can track all along, to see what the audience seems to like and what they don’t, and then talor the rest of the season more in the favor of the viewers? I would imagine it’s really hard to do that with television production of animation.

Floyd, Like I said above, a smart network (which, of course is a combination of smart and dumb people, with usually the smart ones collectively winning out) is constantly looking at their numbers. They all want a hit series –it’s the fuel that powers their fires– and so they’re always looking for information that will support their initial decision to make a show in the first place. Depending on circumstances they’ll look at the first weeks’ ratings as indicators, but, it’s usually the first three months, sometimes the first six, that make the diff. Interestingly, it’s “inside the numbers” that often has the biggest impact. Does the show gain or lose viewers during the course of the half hour? Does it perform equally well (or poorly) in any time slot or another, in combination with one show or another? Can it consistently over-perform it’s time period, wherever it runs? These are the subtleties that are hard to convey to non-programmers (and often to creators). Of course, one of the things that make animation difficult for an executive is that by the time those three months are over you already have to have committed to the next season (another $5million +!) if you’re going to have creative cohesion. And, of course, if the creator wants to progress creatively in the show (add characters, story lines, etcetera) you’d like information to help you decide whether the audience is with you or against you. So, all in all, most people are looking at numbers all the time. It’s a fine line as to whether it’s a good thing for the creator to be aware of the performance or not; I could argue it either way. But, in the end, the commercially ambitious creator is aware enough without being a slave to the week to week numbers.

Is there any change over the last ten years as to how this information is collected? You hear a lot about Nielsen ratings, but it would seem that an internet based ratings tracker for a show would yield instant feedback on an episode of a series. Is this something that Nielsen does? I guess the question is how long does it take for the network to find out how their show is really performing?

wow. glad I stumbled onto this info. thanks fred, and floyd.
-jeaux

Floyd, There have been infinite changes in how the ratings are compiled, and nobody is ever happy with any of them. However, since everyone (networks, advertising agencies, us) uses the same data from Neilsen, however inaccurate they may be, we’re all working off the same base. That said, ratings information in cable is usually available as quickly as 20 hours later, so the issue isn’t getting the numbers fast as much as it is letting the numbers settle in. Or, actually, letting us –the audience– settle in at home to decide which shows we like, which shows we love, and which shows we talk about liking but don’t really watch.

I’d like to add something about the ‘numbers’ too. I think that for better or worse SpongBob has created such a high water mark that anything short of SpongeBob numbers is ultimately considered a failure. If you take it away the playing field actually becomes more even. It’s like that really smart kid in class that always ruined the curve. Still, this business really needs another SpongeBob out there. On that note, GO FANBOY!!!

If SpongeBob was the really smart kid in school then El Tigre was the dunce in the corner…