Sci-Fi Channel finally discusses Farscape’s cancellation

[Mallus]

What I have trouble believing is that they couldn't make the show profittable. A show that seems to be insanely popular with an admittedly small, but highly sought-after demographic.

Is this the way the {media} world ends? Devolving into essentially two kinds of product: shovelware and programming aimed at the broadest possibly audience? Reality shows {or Sci-Fi Channel scinema specials} and Friends?

I'm not asking that the Sci-Fi channel suddenly start operating like a socialist government or a charity. I just can't see how their recent programming choices {based on way-outmoded data collection techniques} constitute a sensible business plan...

 

[Mistwell]

I'm not directly up on TV technologies. However, I find it hard to believe that my digital cable box (which has the ability to carry info to and from my cable company for purposes of buying pay-per-view shows) couldn't also act like a Neilsen box if they so wanted. It'd be a paltry amount of information, and need only be sent when I change channels, or when I turned the thing off.

And, there's no privacy issues with making a TiVo (or any other box) into a neilsen-ratings-counter if you simply allow the user to choose if his data is included. Really, including that sort of thing is a no-brainer.

Apparently just the programming of the software for Tivo to get the data to report properly for Neilsen has taken 2 years, and is still in the experimetal stage even after that. I guess it is harder to do than it would seem.

Oh, and I think Neilsen is claiming they have 30,000 families reporting, not 5000. Pretty big difference. I wonder if the extra 25,000 are the roving one-month-only families, while the 5000 are the permanant ones?

 

[Assenpfeffer]

I liked Farscape. But SciFi is within their rights to cancel a show that's failing to meet their expectations, or to decline to renew it because it'd be too expensive to produce.

Just as it's our right to never watch SciFi again, and to encourage our friends not to do so. Especially friends with Nielsen boxes.

 

[Ranger REG]

Maybe some other production company should step in and invest in the series, and simply allow SCI-FI to air them.

But I guess the Henson company couldn't find a new investor. That sucks.

 

[Umbran]

Apparently just the programming of the software for Tivo to get the data to report properly for Neilsen has taken 2 years, and is still in the experimetal stage even after that. I guess it is harder to do than it would seem.

I doubt it's actually that difficult. Probably it's simply not a high priority. TiVo users are a small, select population. Until TiVo boxes are more ubiquitous, they wouldn't be a valid reporting medium, statistically speaking. Since they can't yet justify using them for this purpose, they can take their time in working out the programming.

 

[Whodat]

It looks like somebody else had the same idea for a direct fan response ratings system. I just pulled this off of one of the Firefly message boards, but I think it applies here, too.

Quote:
Unhappy With Nielsen System, Viewers Take Matter Into Own Hands

Austin, Texas - Television viewers concerned with the Nielsen Rating System's influence over programming have formed The Viewer Consortium, Inc. The mission of The Viewer Consortium (TVC) is to raise the level of audience participation in programming decisions.

TVC's efforts are focused on discussions with networks, cable groups and production companies, about developing alternatives for viewer involvement. One participation method TVC is exploring is "niche public television". The concept is based on viewer financing of networks or of specific shows. Incentives that TVC's members could provide networks include accurate audience demographic information, ratings drives to grow the audience and product drives for advertisers.

The Viewer Consortium's directors believe in the need to balance "inequities" created by the Nielsen system. "Viewers are represented principally by a ratings system that at its best gives an idea of how many people may watch something, but no idea of how much they want it on the air, nor their full capacity to make it profitable," according to TVC Managing Director, Matt Sampsell. "We want to make it easier for the audience to get involved and make their interest and participation count for something that the industry values."

The directors of the non-profit organization formed the viewer advocacy group after much brainstorming and collaboration over the Internet. Although TVC incorporated in Texas, it is an "e-company" spanning the country. The founders were inspired in part by excitement generated over the idea of direct viewer financing of shows; an idea proposed by fans of the recently cancelled space epic, Farscape.

One of TVC's first projects: Work with the fans to ensure a fifth season of Farscape. The critically acclaimed, award-winning show was abruptly cancelled in September after four seasons on the Sci-Fi Channel, despite previous announcements that a fifth season had been picked up.

 

[Storm Raven]

Re: Sci-Fi Channel finally discusses Farscape’s cancellation

TVGO: You mean to tell me that Farscape doesn't have the numbers to merit a fourth season, but Stargate SG-1, which you just renewed, is attracting a big enough audience to deserve a seventh?
Hammer: Yes. Take a look at our numbers on Monday nights just for the Stargate repeats. It's crazy! Before we ended the season on Stargate, we were getting a very high 1 [rating] and peaked at, I think, a 2 or a 2.1. That was for new, original episodes. [Now] our average for Stargate repeats has been unbelievable — 1.7 and 1.8 [ratings]. When Farscape was repeating, we were lucky if we got a .8. So there's a huge difference.

Here is the problem with Bonnie: she lies. Before Farscape and Stargate were flipped in order on Friday nights, Farscape was getting the higher ratings that Stargate. It was only after the netowrk decided to reorder the shows that Farscape started getting worse ratings than Stargate. Plus, she completely fails to point out what is likely a major reason why the early episodes of Stargate get good ratings: a lot of people didn't get them when they were on Showtime and are now seeing these episodes for the first time. It isn't likely that Stargate has some sort of magic staying power, it is more likely that these episodes were in limited circulation before, and have now gotten wider circulation.

She also lies about something else: Stargate has a lot of continuity in its stories. This is one of the things that is good about the show, but to say Farscape has a problem because it has continuity and Stargate doesn't have this problem is just willful ignorance of the facts. For example, this past Monday, they ran a show that centered around the Quantum Mirror (an element from a previous episode), the Asgard (introduced in another episode), and a fluke device created by Colonal O'Neill (from yet another episode), as well as several other elements (the journey to Chulak in the first episode, the villain Apophys who has been killed prior to Monday's episode) and so on. If you had not seen the series, most of these elements would have made no sense in the context of Monday's show.

But according to Bonnie, all Stargate episodes are self-contained. Right.

I like Stargate SG1. I also like Farscape. But basically just about everything Bonnie said about the two shows in this interview was either a lie or a tortured distortion of the truth. I hope the Sci-Fi network goes down in flames under her watch, because she is a really despicable person (but then again, so are many network executives).

 

[Mistwell]

I doubt it's actually that difficult. Probably it's simply not a high priority. TiVo users are a small, select population. Until TiVo boxes are more ubiquitous, they wouldn't be a valid reporting medium, statistically speaking. Since they can't yet justify using them for this purpose, they can take their time in working out the programming.

1) Neilsen announced it as one of their highest priorities;
2) There are 360,000-400,000 Tivo users versus 5000-30,000 Neilsen families, which would be a MASSIVE boost to Nelisen statistics.

Again, they have a team devoted to programming it and working out the bugs, are testing the system, and claim it has taken 2 years and is a very difficult process. All I can tell you is what they have said - it ain't easy.

 

[Whodat]

I think many of us have learned not to underestimate the level of stupidity that network executives seem to be capable of. I mean, at least you can train rats to run through a maze to get the cheese. When something works well, you stick with it. When something doesn’t, you get a tiny electric shock as punishment.

Perhaps someone should turn up the electro-shock on those darned executives.

Take the cheese! {{{ZAP}}} It’s called Firefly! {{{ZAP}}} It’s called Farscape! {{{{ZAP}}}} It’s right there! {{{{{{{{ZAP}}}}}}}}

Mmm. Smells like chicken.

 

[Whodat]

This evening Scifi.com held an online chat with Farscape executive producer David Kemper. Ben Browder (John Crichton) also made an appearance.

David and Ben spoke for over an hour about the cast, crew and fans of Farscape – as well as hyped the upcoming episodes.

The transcript for the chat can be found here:

http://homepage.mac.com/chryse/Guiding Star/DKChat.html