TBS's new line up

[Nate Wesley]

How many people in this thread complaining about TBS not showing enough old shows are outside of the 18 to 49 demographic? Some of these shows (Seinfeld comes to mind) are 20+ years old- and effectively older than the younger portion of the demo they're trying to attract.

TBS is showing old shows- you're just older- and we're all older. Time marches on. Its one of those unfortunate side effects of the universe.

Not only 'what you said', but this observation: This thread is complaining about TBS' daytime schedule. Not primetime, where they'd obviously program their best content to attract viewers, but daytime. How crotchety do you have to--never mind, I knew the answer to that question before typing it.

I dunno about you, but I sorta figured most of us aimed to have a life good enough so that we'd have something better than 'Hey, what's good on TV?' to worry about upon first waking up.

 

[radiolives]

The 1:00pm and 1:30pm are awful, American Dad then My Name Is Earl. Would rather full the 1pm hour with Home Improvement, as Home Improvement only gets the 7am hour.

 

[Markieo]

I'd rather have TBS play what they have now rather than
Reality" shows...or even worse...infomercials!

 

[radiojomo]

I think, on an overall basis, TBS has more new hours of original programming a year than CC or FX. Remember, they have 8 hours per week with Conan and Lopez Tonight. Neither show can be cheap to produce.

Well, late night fare used relatively cheap to produce compared to scripted shows on the networks. Not quite sure if that is still the case but as we all know Turner is a big company and has the cash to sustain those programs. FX and CC have quite the amount of original programming now. CC has TDS and Colbert four nights a week, first run episodes of South Park and Futurama when it's in season, Tosh.0, all their standup specials/roasts and various programs that they test out.

FX has Wilfred, Louie, Rescue Me and Sons of Anarchy. Along with Sunny, Archer and the League.

The big difference between CC and FX vs. TBS is that they're investing in original programming that have large followings, which would lead to more DVD sales and possible rights to syndicate that content in the future.

 

[DToTheJ]

And in the case of "Damages," it apparently didn't have a following large enough for FX to decide to throw it to DirecTV to survive.

 

[mnradiofan]

I think, on an overall basis, TBS has more new hours of original programming a year than CC or FX. Remember, they have 8 hours per week with Conan and Lopez Tonight. Neither show can be cheap to produce.

Well, late night fare used relatively cheap to produce compared to scripted shows on the networks. Not quite sure if that is still the case but as we all know Turner is a big company and has the cash to sustain those programs. FX and CC have quite the amount of original programming now. CC has TDS and Colbert four nights a week, first run episodes of South Park and Futurama when it's in season, Tosh.0, all their standup specials/roasts and various programs that they test out.

FX has Wilfred, Louie, Rescue Me and Sons of Anarchy. Along with Sunny, Archer and the League.

The big difference between CC and FX vs. TBS is that they're investing in original programming that have large followings, which would lead to more DVD sales and possible rights to syndicate that content in the future.

That should still be true, and I forgot at how much more expensive scripted programming can be. I guess TBS just threw too much money at BAD scripted programming (Tyler Perry, My Boys) and couldn't grow the franchise. Remember, FX didn't used to have as much either, these lineups grow over time, as certain shows are used to fund other startups and the cycle continues.

Yes, you're right, as a company, they ALL have enough money to throw at original programming, but they aren't charities with bottomless pits of cash. Each network they run needs to show a Return On Investment, or costs need to be cut. No corporation is going to let any division run at a negative in the long term, unless that division is supposed to be a tax write-off.

 

[WPPCProductions]

They dump the old and bring in the later sitcoms.The schedule does not look that bad yet.It will suck if they start airing reality tv reruns.

 

[landtuna]

and "Seinfeld" just keeps chugging along

The mark of true genius. There are episodes of that which I've probably
seen 30 times....and I still burst out laughing when I see them again.

I dunno. I've met plenty of people who thought it was the dumbest show on TV.

 

[radiojomo]

Using a metaphor which might be ironic to TBS, TBS runs the network like Jay Leno runs The Tonight Show: fill airtime with proven material, win big in audience numbers.
That's why TBS keeps investing in Tyler Perry, his programs (while not bringing revolutionizing comedy to the table) are proven to work. It's also why they decide to show reruns of programs that are proven to work.

 

[justpassingthough]

Using a metaphor which might be ironic to TBS, TBS runs the network like Jay Leno runs The Tonight Show: fill airtime with proven material, win big in audience numbers.
That's why TBS keeps investing in Tyler Perry, his programs (while not bringing revolutionizing comedy to the table) are proven to work. It's also why they decide to show reruns of programs that are proven to work.

TBS does like to pander to the lowest common denominator when it comes to comedy ("Yes, Dear" anyone?) but several of these shows are Emmy winners for either Comedy or for the actors themselves ("Seinfeld", "Everybody Loves Raymond", "Friends","the Office", "Big Bang Theory") so they're commercially appealing and critically acclaimed.

Playing it safe does seem to suit them well when it comes to original programming too- but they're a cable mainstay. They were first on many systems and generally had better channel placement. Networks like Comedy Central and FX had to fight to make a name for themselves- so taking chances made more sense. They have since become more mainstream. Remember people lobbying to get CC on their cable systems when "South Park" first debuted so they could see what all the fuss was about?

 

[ding12]

They have since become more mainstream. Remember people lobbying to get CC on their cable systems when "South Park" first debuted so they could see what all the fuss was about?

I miss those days. Now almost every cable network/tv show is available and nothing is worth having.