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Why don't we see certain shows in syndication?

crainbebo said:
A third season? I guess it's like Mr. Box Office, a show that has no viewers and yet still airs in 3AM reruns (but Mr. Box Office is weekends only).
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Mr. Box Office & First Family comes on at 1:30AM & 2:00AM on WXSP was on for a couple of years a full hour of both Mr. Box Office & First Family at 8 to 10PM on WXSP on weekends. I just think it's just filler for late nights hours is the case as well M-F.
 
KIMA/KEPR had The Cosby Show, Cheers, Roseanne and Seinfeld during the 1990s. Cosby ran at various times, 3PM one year and prime access (7PM) the next. KIRO had The Cosby Show at 6:30 weeknights in the early '90s - while KOMO/KING had news. I know why they put it there - push viewers away from newscasts and into laughter during dinner.
KIMA/KEPR is one of a select few Big 3 affiliates who still have sitcom reruns before primetime. They air The Big Bang Theory weeknights at 7, with The Simpsons at 7:30 (which is going on 23 years in the SAME timeslot!)
 
I was thinking of a few examples- WLOS/13 having Night Court or MASH reruns opposite Johnny Carson, WLOS having American Gladiators opposite SNL, almost anything that WYFF/4 had opposite Wheel or Jeopardy, until Inside Editon, anything that WSPA/7 had opposite Johnny, anything that WYFF/4 had opposite Hee Haw up till 1979, or when WSPA had Rollergames opposite SNL in 1989- that would be called counterprogamming in my opinion these days.
 
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TheBigA said:
Interesting question. Typically, for a series to make it to syndication, you need a minimum of five seasons of episodes. You need a certain level of success during its first run. You need a distributor. And you need a plan to market the show to affiliates.

Babylon Five went 5 seasons, and was a moderate success. It was produced by Warner Brothers TV, and they do a ton of syndication. I gather the company felt it was more profitable to sell the series as videos direct to consumers rather than pursue syndication.

Battlestar Galactica didn't get the five seasons minimum. Universal had used the name and franchise for a number of platforms, from the TV series to films to games. They also are available as videos.

The one thing that is becoming a new platform for syndication, and it may be the way for Desperate Housewives, is On Demand through Hulu and Netflix. On Demand TV has potential for being more profitable than local syndication. It has the additional benefit of being low cost, and so not dependent on a certain number of episodes or attracting a large number of affiliated stations. I saw that Babylon Five is available on Hulu now.
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But then how did On Scene: Emergency Response get reran on CBS Eye On People, when it ran for four years in syndication, and China Beach got on Lifetime despite it also airing just for 4 years on ABC? i thought 5 years was the minimum.
 
I was thinking that Hulu would be a good place for shows like American Gladiators, if a deal could be done with MGM for that. China Beach would be another one, if the music rights could be sorted out.
 
American Gladiators comes on Charged sub-channel not aired on any of the local channels subs although would be run on WWMT .4 since Sinclair owns the network which I'm surprise Sinclair hasn't put anything on .4 Charged, TBA, Stadium etc all owned by Sinclair.
 
Cheers seemed to be one of the shows that lasted a long time in syndication. I also remember Married With Children being on a lot.
 
Someone mentioned they couldn’t think of ABC sitcoms that had been successful in syndication outside of Roseanne. What about Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, and Three’s Company? All were monster hits in syndication.

The Waltons and Little House are dated by design. That’s why they are still around in reruns in an environment which isn’t always kind to off-network hours.

I remember WCVB buying Cosby and not even stripping it on weekdays. They just did that because they were dominant in daytime and wanted to keep a potentially game-changing property away from the competition. I’m sure they lost money on it.

I never bought the Fugitive finale as the reason that show didn’t do well in syndication. In actuality, most of the show’s episodes were in B&W at a time when local stations were hungry for color reruns, and it was a heavy drama at a time when local stations were looking for escapist fare. I don’t think it had much to do with the fact that the storyline concluded. I Dream of Jeannie ended with the two leads married, and that didn’t seem to hurt that show’s value in syndication.
 
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