WHICH TV NIGHT(S) ARE A WASTE ?

[gregg75]

As bad as primetime viewing is on Friday night, I think Saturday is even worse. What does it take to get some quality shows on those nights? ABC & NBC even show some reruns of shows already aired that week on Saturdays. No wonder America's Most Wanted usually wins Saturdays, there is nothing else on.

Seems they really put a lot into Sunday shows though. Why not COOL Sunday a bit and give some of that to Friday/Saturday?

Which night(s) have you reaching for a book or cutting your toenails?

 

[Corky Marlowe]

There's been no scripted first-run shows on Saturdays since about 2003 or 2004. Fox has aired "Cops" and "AMW" for over 20 years, CBS has reruns and "48 Hours", NBC is all repeats, and ABC has college football in the fall and movies the rest of the year.

 

[imhomerjay]

Why on earth would you sacrifice success on a high TV use night to get a lower return on investment on Friday or Saturday? You fish where the fish are...really, basic biz 101.

 

[Nate Wesley]

If you're talking about network TV--Tuesdays are the worst for me. I haven't watched any network show consistently on Tuesdays this TV year except for one that's probably going to be canceled: ABC's Detroit 1-8-7. It's 'season finale' actually aired on Sunday March 20th, so I haven't had diddly to watch the past two Tuesdays.

 

[Nate Wesley]

Why on earth would you sacrifice success on a high TV use night to get a lower return on investment on Friday or Saturday? You fish where the fish are...really, basic biz 101.

I've always thought the networks (save for Fox which wouldn't mess with Cops/AMW) should use at Saturday night to experiment. Maybe run a mix of unpicked pilots, concert specials, the cheapest of all cheap talk shows, Live to Dance...

 

[landtuna]

From OTAland:

Monday: Used to be great with BBT and 2 1/2 but they moved BBT to Thursday and 2.5 ist kaput!

Tuesday: Great for wifey (who follows NCIS & NCIS El A and Good Wife). Me? Not so much.

Wednesday: Survivor and The Middle

Thursday: BBT

Friday/Saturday: Nada

Sunday: Desperate Housewives

Not much viewing going on here at Casa de Pixelation

 

[jsu5381m]

I thought 48 hours was new on Saturday nights.

 

[LKellerIII]

The old notions of TV programming matter less and less as time goes on. If you own a DVR, a computer, and a DVD player, every night is a good TV night.

 

[gregg75]

Why on earth would you sacrifice success on a high TV use night to get a lower return on investment on Friday or Saturday? You fish where the fish are...really, basic biz 101.

I just think the networks all come off like gangbusters on Sunday nights........making that night
too competitive. Why not hold back, spread a little viewership around and try to pull Saturday
and Friday up?

I think it would be good to try something different on Saturday nights. It's like they've run out
of ideas.

 

[landtuna]

The old notions of TV programming matter less and less as time goes on. If you own a DVR, a computer, and a DVD player, every night is a good TV night.

DVR's are great but they don't create desired programming where none exists.

And regarding Friday/Saturday evenings.....I remember even as a kid in the 50's it was a night mostly given over to the younger set. It would be easy for the networks to schedule feature films on these nights to attract whatever demo they are shooting for. Maybe that has become too costly, I'm not sure, but it was a big draw in the old days.

 

[imhomerjay]

Of course they come on strong--it's one of the most viewed nights. They stopped programming aggressively on Friday and Saturday because there isn't enough audience to waste a big investment on. They left while there was still original content, not the other way around. It's about as logical as saying it's too compeitive to have all the department stores open during the day and evening. They should close in the day and open at 3 am just because it's different.

:

 

[azumanga]

And regarding Friday/Saturday evenings.....I remember even as a kid in the 50's it was a night mostly given over to the younger set. It would be easy for the networks to schedule feature films on these nights to attract whatever demo they are shooting for. Maybe that has become too costly, I'm not sure, but it was a big draw in the old days.

In the 1990s, Friday nights meant "TGIF", ABC's family-friendly answer to NBC's "Must-See TV". In the late-1980s, some of NBC's biggest shows were on Saturdays, including "The Golden Girls", its spinoff "Empty Nest" and "Hunter"


And back in the 1970s, Friday nights were big on ABC -- in 1972-1973, it was "The Brady Bunch", "The Partridge Family", "Room 222", "The Odd Couple" and "Love American Style", with some watching Sonny & Cher on CBS and "Sanford & Son" on NBC. On CBS that same season, Saturdays were big, with "All in the Family", "Bridget Loves Bernie", "Mary Tyler Moore", "The Bob Newhart Show" and "Mission: Impossible", with ABC's "The Streets of San Francisco" and NBC's "Emergency" also doing well. Later in the decade, Saturday became ABC's big night, with "The Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island".

As Fridays and Saturdays were big nights back then, at what point did they become graveyards?

 

[jsu5381m]

Maybe Netflix could sponsor a movie block on Saturday night on one of the networks.

 

[landtuna]

It's about as logical as saying it's too compeitive to have all the department stores open during the day and evening. They should close in the day and open at 3 am just because it's different.

Actually, we have stores doing just that. They are open only those days when statistics show people out shopping and only in those hours where working people are off work and available to stop by.

 

[cowboybud]

And regarding Friday/Saturday evenings.....I remember even as a kid in the 50's it was a night mostly given over to the younger set. It would be easy for the networks to schedule feature films on these nights to attract whatever demo they are shooting for. Maybe that has become too costly, I'm not sure, but it was a big draw in the old days.

In the 1990s, Friday nights meant "TGIF", ABC's family-friendly answer to NBC's "Must-See TV". In the late-1980s, some of NBC's biggest shows were on Saturdays, including "The Golden Girls", its spinoff "Empty Nest" and "Hunter"


And back in the 1970s, Friday nights were big on ABC -- in 1972-1973, it was "The Brady Bunch", "The Partridge Family", "Room 222", "The Odd Couple" and "Love American Style", with some watching Sonny & Cher on CBS and "Sanford & Son" on NBC. On CBS that same season, Saturdays were big, with "All in the Family", "Bridget Loves Bernie", "Mary Tyler Moore", "The Bob Newhart Show" and "Mission: Impossible", with ABC's "The Streets of San Francisco" and NBC's "Emergency" also doing well. Later in the decade, Saturday became ABC's big night, with "The Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island".

As Fridays and Saturdays were big nights back then, at what point did they become graveyards?

When we saw the proliferation of cheap DVDs (and later Netflix), movies-on-demand, video games, the internet, and countless other forms of cheap in-home entertainment.

 

[gregg75]

I'm with azamunga. I remember when there actually was something to watch on Friday and
Saturday nights. When did it become a dustbowl? Just because it is a dustbowl......we should
keep it that way........that's crazy talk.

 

[imhomerjay]

No, it's business talk, something sorely lacking. You aren't going to magically turn back the clock to 1975. If there was serious cash to be made there, they'd be pursuing it. Moreover, they certainly wouldn't let one of their chief rivals keep all the goodies. But there ain't no goodies to keep. Get over it.

 

[gregg75]

So if few people ride the buses on Sunday, we might as well just not have bus service on
Sunday. You don't know what the hell you are talking about!!!!!!!

 

[firepoint525]

As much as my mother complains about football causing everything to "run late" on Sunday nights, maybe they could use Friday and Saturday nights to rerun prime-time programming that was delayed when it aired the previous Sunday night. My parents are "early to bed, early to rise" types, so if programming runs late, they are going to bed at 10:00 p.m. no matter what.

I kinda like those Time-Life infomercials that I have occasionally seen on Saturday nights! 8)

 

[imhomerjay]

So if few people ride the buses on Sunday, we might as well just not have bus service on
Sunday. You don't know what the hell you are talking about!!!!!!!

Guess what--they run on different, less frequent schedules in many major metropolitan systems. Because of...drum roll please...less demand. It's ok if you need time to wrap your head around that concept. We can wait.

And that's generally a quasi-essential service. TV shows? Not so much. But nonetheless, your example certainly provides a parallel that proves the point, even if unintentionally.

As much as my mother complains about football causing everything to "run late" on Sunday nights, maybe they could use Friday and Saturday nights to rerun prime-time programming that was delayed when it aired the previous Sunday night. My parents are "early to bed, early to rise" types, so if programming runs late, they are going to bed at 10:00 p.m. no matter what.

It’s only an issue for one network, in part of the country, and only some weeks with any regularity. FOX fills the hour until 8 with football post-game, and seldom run past that time, even with overtime (you can count on your fingers and have plenty left over). NBC’s Sunday night show is football in the fall, so nothing to re-run. Ditto ABC’s Saturday nights in the fall.

Overall, they make the best of the reality of the reduced audience levels. Make a little extra cash on the reruns that don’t cost any extra dough, put on some low-cost unscripted fare, or dig out second or third-run movies. It may be hard for people who want to keep living in the long-distant past to accept, but those who can read a calendar understand the way things change over time.