Lead In Programming.

I keep reading about how important it is for a TV show retain the
ratings from it's 'Lead In' show. In this day and age of the remote, is
anyone willing to admit they watch a show just because it followed the
one they previously watched regardless of subject matter? Do TV exec's

David Johnston...

No, but I'll admit that when I'm nattering on the computer like this,
I'm not going to change the channel unless I actively dislike the next
TV show.

really think this is how people view TV? That sounds kind of ignorant to
me.

Zombie Elvis...

You underestimate people's laziness. I watched Grey's Anatomy for
quite a while mostly because it followed Desperate Housewives. Of
course I did eventually get sick of it and stop watching but most
people didn't. Grey's Anatomy is now more popular than Desperate
Housewives and it's hard to believe that it doesn't owe its success to
having followed it during its first season.

Obveeus...

Just because people are so pathetic that they won't admit to being too lazy
to flip the station, doesn't mean it isn't happening. It does happen and
the networks know it happens. Lead-in is a valid thing to look at.

David...

I don't think it's laziness. Many people only have a few must-watch
shows and no significant preference of one over another for the rest.
So if they're watching one channel at 8:00 there's no incentive for
them to switch to another channel at 9:00. Not everyone's like that
but enough people are to make lead-ins important.

Obveeus...

Ok, I'll agree with that...but I still reserve the right to call them
pathetic and lazy.

Barry Margolin...

What does it matter *why* they do it, the point is that they do, so it
makes sense for the networks to care about lead-ins.

And the reason they care so much when lead-ins *don't* work is that it
implies that the second show is so uninteresting that even the pathetic
and lazy viewers won't watch them.

You don't believe lead-in matters? Explain the higher ratings for TV shows
on after football when football has an overrun.

Still don't believe it? Move Brothers and Sister to any other
timeslot/night and watch its ratings plummet.

bklyntv...

ALOT of people bought cars and houses in Hollywood just because their
show was lucky enough to be slotted between "Friends" and "Seinfeld."
It's called a timeslot hit. No one would have watched "The Single
Guy"--or any number of dozens of shows that I and no one else can

Kevrob...

There's a bunch of people in our market who don't watch the networks at
10:00 ET/9:00 CT. They switch to the hour of news broadcast by our
local FOX station, and are asleep by the time the NBC, CBS and ABC
affiliates start their local news. In cities where there's a local
cable or digital newschannel, people don't even have to wait for the
top of the hour to watch the news. If they are bored by a show, just
click over to FNS or CNN for a bit, then check the local provider for
the weather and the sports scores, and hit the rack.

One thing a hot 9pm/8pm show can do is run enticing promos for the
follow-on show that convince a good chunk of the audience to give it a
try. If the viewer takes a bite, then spits it out, what are you going
to do?

recall--except for fortunate placement between those 2 shows.

And the "importance" that you're reading about is a measure of a
viewer's loyalty to the show. If a show maintains its lead-in (or
IMPROVES on it) it's a great sign the show is doing well on its own
merit and might survive the move to another night. An example is "Mad
about you" and "Frasier" did well enough in the Thursday night line up
that NBC felt confident moving them to successfully anchor lineups
other nights of the week.

And sadly, much of America IS too lazy to fish around and find a better
program when program A breaks. I know it's hard to imagine, but it's
true.

karl...

One lead-in situation that makes sense for not making sense is ABC's
Thursday night Grey's Absurdity/Six Degrees pairing.

As much as I dislike what GA became and like 6D I can see why 6D doesn't
'keep' the GA numbers: GA is dramatic [unintentional] farce. While 6D,

Rob Jensen...

Noooo. It's a hybrid of romantic comedy and medical procedural. Farce

karl...

It is absurd.

is what Scrubs and Arrested Development do.

karl...

_In_tentional farce. GA is unintentional and worse for it.

Rob Jensen...

GA isn't farce, intentional OR unintentional. It's romantic comedy.
Get over it.

albeit still just a night time soap, is more sophisticated. I can see why

Rob Jensen...

If it's just a nighttime soap, it by defininition *isn't* more
sophisticated than any genre hybrid, much less a brilliant hybrid like
GA.

karl...

Being merely watchable makes something more sophisticated than GA after the
first half season.

Rob Jensen...

In that case, 6D is totally unsophisticated. Haven't seen anything
other than flat, unmotivated line-readings and slap-dash melodrama.

the one doesn't appeal to the audience of the other.

[Cue for someone to protest that they like both]

Rob Jensen...

Meh. One's good (GA), the other isn't.

karl...

6D

Rob Jensen...

Nope. Grey's is. If 6D is your idea of good, I'd rather see your
idea of bad, as your taste leaves a LOT to be desired.

, the other isn't.

-- Rob

Obveeus...

Can I just offer up what someone else suggested here last week? When GA

Rob Jensen...

6D is the bad one. The low ratings support and reflect the show's
lack of quality.

-- Rob

ends, people are watching their recorded CSI before going to bed. The 10pm
Thursday shows are suffering as the direct result of the success of the 9pm
shows. Viewers want to watch both of those 9pm shows before returning to
the watercooler conversation the next day.