Personal digital TV subscriptions

Quote: AZDuffman

But network execs got enamored with the 25-39 year old demo. They all chased the same thing. The rest of the market, which is most of the market, was ignored more and more. But the 25-39s were the ones most likely to buy a TiVo!

That was a pretty cogent analysis. I think NBC was the extreme case. They were the network most dependent on sitcoms. In the 1997-98 season they went in with 11 sitcoms, and introduced 6 new ones + a half hour variety show for 9 hours of primetime. Nearly all the new sitcoms failed as they desperately tried to create another Seinfeld. The successes never really had broad appeal, but just some key demographics that kept them on the air.

#	Pilot	Weeks	NBC Sitcom	Final
final	1990-04-19	371	Wings	1997-05-21
→ 1	1997-04-10	45	Fired Up	1998-02-09
→ 2	1989-07-05	463	Seinfeld	1998-05-14
→ 3	1995-09-13	142	The Naked Truth	1998-05-25
→ 4	1995-09-21	189	Caroline in the City	1999-04-26
→ 5	1995-03-21	216	News Radio	1999-05-04
→ 6	1992-09-23	349	Mad About You	1999-05-24
→ 7	1996-09-19	224	Suddenly Susan	2000-12-26
→ 8	1996-01-09	281	3rd Rock from the Sun	2001-05-22
→ 9	1997-03-04	338	Just Shoot Me	2003-08-16
→ 10	1994-09-22	503	Friends	2004-05-06
→ 11	1993-09-16	557	Frasier	2004-05-13
1 →	1997-09-24	4	Built to Last	1997-10-15
2 →	1997-09-25	18	Union Square	1998-01-22
3 →	1997-09-25	145	Veronica's Closet	2000-06-27
4 →	1997-09-25	18	Union Square	1998-01-22
5 →	1997-09-28	16	Jenny	1998-01-12
6 →	1997-10-08	69	Working	1999-01-25
7	1998-09-21	400	Will & Grace	2006-05-18
8	1998-09-21	15	Conrad Bloom	1998-12-28
9	1998-09-24	88	Jesse	2000-05-25
10	1999-09-21	2	The Mike O'Malley Show	1999-09-28
11	1999-09-23	47	Stark Raving Mad	2000-08-10
12	1999-09-25	42	Freaks and Geeks	2000-07-08
13	2000-03-23	32	Daddio	2000-10-23
14	2000-10-02	26	Tucker	2001-03-27
15	2000-10-24	9	Michael Richards Show	2000-12-19
16	2000-10-26	45	The Weber Show	2001-08-28
17	2000-11-14	29	DAG	2001-05-29
18	2001-01-09	57	Three Sisters	2002-02-05
19	2001-09-27	15	Inside Schwartz	2002-01-03
20	2001-10-02	442	Scrubs	2010-03-17
21	2002-02-26	65	Watching Ellie	2003-05-20
22	2002-02-28	6	Leap of Faith	2002-04-04
23	2002-09-24	17	In Laws	2003-01-14
24	2002-09-24	18	Hidden Hills	2003-01-21
25	2002-09-26	65	Good Morning, Miami	2003-12-18
26	2003-02-04	9	A.U.S.A.	2003-04-01
27	2003-09-09	33	Whoopi	2004-04-20
28	2003-09-09	33	Happy Family	2004-04-20
29	2003-09-25	5	Coupling	2003-10-23
30	2003-12-02	17	The Tracy Morgan Show	2004-03-20
31	2004-09-09	92	Joey	2006-06-06
32	2004-09-14	37	Father of the Pride	2005-05-27
33	2005-01-04	11	Committed	2005-03-15
34	2005-03-24	426	The Office	2013-05-16
35	2005-09-20	191	My Name Is Earl	2009-05-14
36	2006-01-05	11	Four Kings	2006-03-16
37	2006-03-28	5	Teachers	2006-04-25
38	2006-10-11	330	30 Rock	2013-01-31
39	2006-10-11	4	Twenty Good Years	2006-11-01
40	2007-03-15	5	Andy Barker, P.I.	2007-04-14
41	2008-10-09	23	Kath & Kim	2009-03-12
42	2009-04-09	260	Parks and Recreation	2014-03-24
43	2009-09-17	237	Community	2014-03-24
44	2010-05-27	6	100 Questions	2010-07-01
45	2010-09-23	34	Outsourced	2011-05-12
46	2011-01-20	12	Perfect Couples	2011-04-07
47	2011-04-14	2	The Paul Reiser Show	2011-04-22
48	2011-08-05	6	Friends with Benefits	2011-09-09
49	2011-09-14	19	Free Agents	2012-01-16
50	2011-09-14	66	Up All Night	2012-12-13
51	2011-09-22	80	Whitney	2013-03-27
52	2012-01-11	12	Are You There, Chelsea?	2012-03-28
53	2012-03-21	3	Bent	2012-04-04
54	2012-04-04	9	Best Friends Forever	2012-06-01
55	2012-08-08	36	Go On	2013-04-11
56	2012-08-12	11	Animal Practice	2012-10-24
57	2012-09-10	30	The New Normal	2013-04-02
58	2012-09-11	25	Guys With Kids	2013-02-27
59	2012-12-17	15	1600 Penn	2013-03-27
60	2013-09-26	18	The Michael J. Fox Show	2014-01-23
61	2013-10-03	3	Welcome to the Family	2013-10-17
62	2013-10-03	17	Sean Saves The World	2014-01-23
63	2014-02-22	5	About a Boy	2014-03-24
64	2014-02-23	5	Growing Up Fisher	2014-03-24

Quote: Pacomartin

That was a pretty cogent analysis. I think NBC was the extreme case. They were the network most dependent on sitcoms. In the 1997-98 season they went in with 11 sitcoms, and introduced 6 new ones + a half hour variety show for 9 hours of primetime. Nearly all the new sitcoms failed as they desperately tried to create another Seinfeld. The successes never really had broad appeal, but just some key demographics that kept them on the air.

Lets not forget some of what else happened. "The Brady Bunch" was possibly the first big sitcom where the Baby Boom Generation saw themselves, or at least their friends on the screen, "Seinfeld" would be the last. When Jerry left us wanting more the youngest of them were 35, too old to start a new series based around folks that age. It was a fine run, mid 60s to late 90s and if you look at the middle of that it has the golden age of the sitcom (1970s) and the second-peak which would be the killer-thursday NBC lineup that had some pinch hitters but was king 1982-1998.

"Friends" was *the* Gen-X sitcom. I know I for one being the same age as the charachters saw my life on the screen in many ways. It was relatable. But Gen-X is the smallest demo. "Friends" lived in the shadow of "Seinfeld" just as Gen-X lived in the shadow of the Boomers.

But by this time, NBC was in a position similar to the SF 49ers at the end of Steve Young's career. A long run but near the end of the run they lived off older shows, never really rebuilt. Unlike in sports, the weakest network does not get to pick the top prospects.

NBC was a disaster in the late 1970s but had a huge run 1982-2000. TV has changed but I don't think it is hopeless.

If I were made the top exec I would simply try to rebuild one night at a time, and build from 8:00 back. Start with family-oriented stuff at 8:00. Make an ad campaign promising parents there will be no need to worry about what the kiddies are watching, but make it smart enough to keep the adults interested. At 9 something a little more grown-up. Then for 10 try and find some smart dramas, hopefully not based on just cops or hospitals.

Of course, it won't happen. They will try to sign some big names and hope for the best.