Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitch
In fact, I think it's routinely done in shows that have reached the point of syndication--the magic, 100th episode mark.
I read something about...8%? They gain a few minutes of advert time, for each show?
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I watch next to no TV these days, and can't comment on speed ups, but the temptation to fit in an extra commercial or two will be overwhelming.
But syndication is a rather different place these days. Back when it was on, my favorite TV series was Joe Straczynski's Babylon 5 SF effort. It was produced specifically
for the syndication market. It was a planned five season story arc, and as each season ended, there was nail biting about whether it would get renewed. (Straczynski had to move things around to tie up main story lines in season 4, when it appeared season 5 would not occur. It did in fact get bought and aired, but was much weaker than the preceding seasons. I wondered after the fact how it might have looked had episodes been shown where originally planned in the sequence.)
Part of the problem affecting B5 was the shrinking syndication market. The intended customers were independent stations not affiliated with a major network, but new networks were forming, like Fox, and the number of independents was shrinking. Stations affiliated with networks gave preference to network offerings in prime time, and getting those offerings was
why they affiliated.
I'm not sure what the syndication market looks like now, but it's certainly a different place than it was.
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Dennis