"David" <dimlan17@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:018lv3dcp1sfg3272vm0anksn35mpupsgu@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> ... CBS Paramount Network Television
> has held talks with Comcast, the cable provider, about finding new
> life for "Jericho," the low-rated drama canceled by CBS last month,
> according to two people briefed on the talks who requested anonymity.
There are a couple of things interesting about this. The first is that
CBS, after issuing a statement basically canceling the show for the
second time and seemingly trying to preempt another fan campaign,
has apparently been trying to keep the show going behind the scenes.
It's almost like they're afraid to let whatever the pickup deadline is
go by, when SciFi or one of the other interested networks might
pick up the show. They might end up looking bad if it turns out a
partner****p kind of arrangement keeps the show going for years,
profitability, and they missed the New Paradigm boat when they
couldn't make that happen themselves like NBC did with DirecTV
for Friday Night Lights.
The other interesting thing is what form the synergy would take.
With Friday Night Lights being shown on DirecTV 4 months early,
it's apparently DirecTV trying to get more subscribers. Cancelling
your cable and setting up a dish just to see Friday Night Lights a
few months early seems a stretch. Only 2% or so of the population
watches the show, so it doesn't even make that big a difference,
as a perk, to existing DirecTV subscribers. But there is some
promotional value just getting DirecTV`s name out there, and if
even only 10,000 make the jump and stay with DirecTV as a
result it'd work out to $10+ million in subscriber revenue over
the next 5 years.
There's also strengthening of customer loyalty if subscribers see
it as part of DirecTV carrying more and more exclusive content.
Maybe they don't watch Friday Night Lights but perhaps they
will the next addition like this.
What I think would work perhaps even better for Comcast as
a CBS Paramount cable partner, would be an exclusive television
advance pay-per-season package as Jericho`s first window, and
then a later free window for Comcast customers before it airs
on CBS. The price of the advance pay-per-season package may
be $25 for 13 episodes, for example, with individual episodes also
available but for $3.99 perhaps. If you have Comcast you buy it
that way. If you don't, maybe a month later the web pay-per-
season (and pay-per-episode) showings start for the same price.
Those who don't want to pay can see it on Comcast for free, say
a month before CBS gets it. CBS gets a much-reduced license
fee so it can afford to put up with lower ratings or put it in a
Friday or Saturday timeslot where ratings pressure is less. With
some extra features, CBS may even get the pay subscribers and
the Comcast subscribers, the ones with Nielsen boxes especially,
to watch the show again.
That scenario really capitalizes on a show's loyalty, including giving
its core base an op****tunity to financially sup****t the show upfront.
In Canada here it might be Rogers instead of Comcast, and I'd buy
the $25 season subscription. If it were ExpressVu (a Canadian
satellite provider), I'd pay $25 for the Jericho web subscription.
Every viewer of the show has a chance to sup****t it upfront.
How many would? That's a key question obviously. Millions
pay to see popular movies. Millions will buy a popular movie
DVD. Others wait to see it on free TV. The equivalent kind of
windows have never really been tried for TV, at least not in this
modern era with DVRs and easy clicking to order PPV, and the
popularity of the Internet. But if one million were willing to pay
the $25 and most of them did so on the web, it'd pretty much
pay for the whole 13-episode season and make Jericho a big
moneymaker for years.
One million might seem unachievable, but start a campaign and
with some willing to buy gift subscriptions maybe it`s doable
for some shows with a very strong core base. It`d make such
a show financially lucrative for years, just on the strength of its
core base sup****t. Even if a few hundred thousand were to
sup****t it (again, less if some buy gift subscriptions or give
to a campaign sup****ting giveaways of that and promotion of
the show) it would make a big enough financial contribution to
the show to make it solidly viable. DVD packages with extras
would be certain to contribute some, as would advertising or
the related network window licensing fee, plus foreign rights.
A show like Jericho is probably well in the black even without
any aftermarket or syndication revenues.
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