Not if they used Nigerian actors...and use night-vision cameras.
Dear SyFy
- Thread starter Dannyalcatraz
- Start date
Not if they used Nigerian actors...and use night-vision cameras.
The only obvious scenario I can think of offhand where SyFy's executives truly believe pro-wrestling is their future, is if they have some secret plans to sell the entire SyFy channel to a wrestling/fighting company.
(ie. Basically selling the channel's already existing infrastructure, FCC license, facilities, etc ...).
I'm not saying they view pro wrestling as the be-all, end-all, but rather as the first major tool in stripping away SyFy's unique geek identity (G4 may be the only other truly geeky channel on basic cable)....which could actually cost them as much as it would cost us.
There was a radio station here in Tx that had a hard-rock centered programming schedule (along with related artists in classic rock, C&W and other genres), and was known state-wide...even though it initially only broadcast in San Antonio. It had ridiculous market share.
Then one day, the station was bought out. The new owner didn't care for hard rock, so he fired the DJs and instituted a new format of Classic rock only.
The problem was, there were 3 or 4 other successful classic rock stations in San Antonio, and he market's 800lb gorilla suddenly lost all of it's power. It went from first to worst across the board. As in worst ratings in all of Texas.
MTV did something similar when they switched from showing music videos to a host of reality shows & whatnot.
The difference is that MTV still managed to retain a unique identity with it's programming, carefully tailored to continue to attract it's core audience- not just music lovers in particular, but pop-culture philes in general.
The shows that are drawing people to SyFy are the geeky shows. The wrestling show is interchangeable with so many others on other channels.
There was a radio station here in Tx that had a hard-rock centered programming schedule (along with related artists in classic rock, C&W and other genres), and was known state-wide...even though it initially only broadcast in San Antonio. It had ridiculous market share.
Then one day, the station was bought out. The new owner didn't care for hard rock, so he fired the DJs and instituted a new format of Classic rock only.
The problem was, there were 3 or 4 other successful classic rock stations in San Antonio, and he market's 800lb gorilla suddenly lost all of it's power. It went from first to worst across the board. As in worst ratings in all of Texas.
MTV did something similar when they switched from showing music videos to a host of reality shows & whatnot.
The difference is that MTV still managed to retain a unique identity with it's programming, carefully tailored to continue to attract it's core audience- not just music lovers in particular, but pop-culture philes in general.
The shows that are drawing people to SyFy are the geeky shows. The wrestling show is interchangeable with so many others on other channels.
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Double post
Another option the SyFy executives could pursue in principle, is to sell off the Sci-Fi/SyFy ip (ie. brand names, trademarks, etc ...). Though I have no idea who exactly would be interested in buying it. The brand name "SyFy" seems to be already "tainted" in the eyes of their intended audience (ie. geeks).
If SyFy eventually decides to complete shed itself of anything science fiction, I'm sure there will be somebody else who will move into that vacated market niche. One possible contender could be the "Space" channel from Canada, which seems to serve the same niche as the former Sci-Fi/SyFy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_(TV_channel)
If SyFy eventually decides to complete shed itself of anything science fiction, I'm sure there will be somebody else who will move into that vacated market niche. One possible contender could be the "Space" channel from Canada, which seems to serve the same niche as the former Sci-Fi/SyFy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_(TV_channel)
Vyvyan Basterd
Adventurer
I don't think they're moving away from the "geekiness" or sci-fi at all. I don't like the trend of reality ghost-hunting shows, but it is still a form of sci-fi entertainment. And anyone who thinks that pro-wrestling is a move away from "geekiness" needs to take a hard look at the fan base.
I think it was probably more of a manner of some bigwig stating things as absolutes instead of being honest about creating a unique identity and expanding offerings beyond what they had at the time. I see no indications, thankfully, of SyFy becoming "Spike 2: MORE MAN VOICE!!!!"
Sucks about the radio station Danny. The same happened here in Chicago. Q101 played nothing but Alternative and seemed to have some strong success. It was definitely top, IMO, in Alternative mainly because it was the only station devoted solely to it. They were bought out and the new owners changed to a *gag* all news format. We have a swath of all news on AM, plus two really big names that are all news on FM. Why would you create a brand new all news station with no national affiliate in this market? And it left me with stations that only occasionally play the music I want to hear while having to also deal with classic '70 rock deep cuts. I feel your pain.
I think it was probably more of a manner of some bigwig stating things as absolutes instead of being honest about creating a unique identity and expanding offerings beyond what they had at the time. I see no indications, thankfully, of SyFy becoming "Spike 2: MORE MAN VOICE!!!!"
Sucks about the radio station Danny. The same happened here in Chicago. Q101 played nothing but Alternative and seemed to have some strong success. It was definitely top, IMO, in Alternative mainly because it was the only station devoted solely to it. They were bought out and the new owners changed to a *gag* all news format. We have a swath of all news on AM, plus two really big names that are all news on FM. Why would you create a brand new all news station with no national affiliate in this market? And it left me with stations that only occasionally play the music I want to hear while having to also deal with classic '70 rock deep cuts. I feel your pain.
While they made some arguments about "stretching the idea of the fantastic" and such to justify putting it on SciFi at the time, my understanding is that Universal was contractually obligated to produce the wrestling show. It was going somewhere in their constellation. Period. So, it got shoved into a back corner that was getting lousy ratings anyway, and they didn't have much to lose with the choice, in the short term.
Then, oddly, when wrestling first showed on SciFi, its first 13 episodes were the highest rated show on cable in its time slot. It didn't just do well, it did *the best*.
Now, it is possible that they could have developed a show that would have done even better in the time slot, but that's by no means a sure thing. Less than 50% of all new shows ever make it to a second season, much less take their entire time slot when they debut.
It takes a really strong argument, not just assertions about "network identity", to beat an actual demonstrated flat out win.
Sure, it did that in it's time slot, but it was ranked 13th best on the network in 2008- behind some shows that got cancelled. That speaks less about the quality of the show and more about the dearth of quality programming in that slot.
Heck, it didn't even crack the top 25 all time on SyFy.
Top Rated SyFy TV Shows
- TV.comAnd the Wiki (take grain of salt now) article about the channel notes: 9 of 13 shows "in the works" are reality programs, and that viewership has been slipping sinc it peaked in 2009.
So things are not trending well.
Or, probably more likely, it speaks to the dearth of viewership in that time slot. While there have been a couple of shows that have succeeded in that space, it is still generally a death slot, and is so for a reason. Far fewer folks are parking their butts in front of TVs on Friday nights!
There a notion of cutting your losses that applies - don't fight too hard over the scraps, and instead put some more effort into winning the prime cuts.
My understanding is that things are not trending well for TV overall, so it may not reflect on SyFy specifically.
tuxgeo
Adventurer
"CSI: Mezzo-Sopranzan!" -- all those mezzos "murdering" Mozart.
(They'd never get convicted, though: no corpse to prove that a crime had "actually" been committed.)
How's about "Bewitched -- the sequel?" (Too obvious, right?)