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Let's NOT boycott the CW, OK? | June 08, 2007

OK, I must rant about the CW boycott that Shopkeep and Carrisa said in yesterday's comments that they're joining (sorry, ladies):

Here's my problem with it. First of all, remember when I posted about the final ratings of the season? Well, if you followed the link to the season's ratings, you might have noticed something about Veronica Mars: It ranked 138th out of 142 shows, and every show beneath it is either a comedy (which I believe have different costs/standards) or a canceled show.

Now, Dawn Ostroff? She loves this show. She's been a huge supporter -- as you would realize if you've been paying attention to the fact that the ratings have been this bad EVERY SEASON and she has renewed it twice. She still has yet to close the door on it for good this time (remember, it aired as a "season finale" not "series finale" despite it not being on next season's schedule; I think she has another week to make a decision), AND she's reportedly in talks with Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell about another show they can do together on the CW.

This is a lady who loves Veronica Mars as much as any of you do -- probably more -- but she also has a job that requires her to make tough decisions. She's hung on to this show longer than most networks would have. In fact, at any other network, those numbers would have had it canceled after one or two episodes of season one. At UPN/CW (both under Ostroff), we got THREE SEASONS.

I think it's greedy and a more than a little ridiculous to boycott a network that stuck behind your show for so long even when it made absolutely no financial sense to do so. So ... boycott if you want to, but go into it with the full realization of what Ostroff and the CW have done, which is to stick by this little show when no one else would have. If you must boycott, I would have recommended boycotting the network for canceling Everwood, which had much higher ratings and was canceled to make room for 7th Heaven. I'm still upset about that one -- more than I am about this one, by a long shot -- and I still didn't boycott.

(Also, unless you're a Nielsen household, what's boycotting going to do -- other than keep you from possibly finding your next favorite show? And if you ARE a Nielsen household, you're hurting all of the folks who work on those shows -- regular people like you and me -- and the fans of those new struggling shows more than you're going to hurt the netlet, which will just cancel, cancel, cancel until it finds itself a hit.)

So, think about it. That's all I ask.

Posted by deann in Indifference| Ratings/Scheduling | permalink

6 Comments

Great post. Thanks DeAnn. Yeah, I know that Dawn O loves the show and has tried to keep it going. And come on, those ratings SUCK and will forever confuse me. Why weren't people watching? I don't get it.

I won't boycott.

(I will also forever be confused by the allure of 7th Heaven.)

Posted by: Isabel | June 8, 2007 11:59 AM

Ok so when I say boycott, that might sound harsh. In reality? Veronica Mars is the only show I watch on the CW besides Beauty and the Geek. And that show is only like 6 weeks of the year.

So while it may seem like a boycott, it's not. It's just that I don't watch any other shows on that channel.

And I just find it so hard to believe that the ratings are that low. Maybe if they did more promotions for the show more people would watch. I mean how in the world can they keep bringing out these Malibu Beach rich spoiled brat shows that don't last 6 months over and over again, but drop a show with really good content?

I think VM needs a new network. Like F/X or USA... or HGTV.

Posted by: Carrisa | June 8, 2007 12:15 PM

I just said that there's a group out there that's calling for a CW Boycott. I didn't say I was doing it. Although I find CW incompetent in keeping good shows, I just realized that maybe my viewing demographic has shifted to either the top 3 companies and The Food Network. I currently watch and support Supernatural (w/c is still on the CW lineup) and I might watch Reaper because I am a KS fan but other than that I have no loyalties to the station now that my 3 shows are off (starting off with Everwood). I may give them a chance if there's something better (to watch) but Pussycat Dolls isn't part of my viewing pleasure.

Posted by: Shopkeep | June 8, 2007 06:53 PM

I'm boycotting the CW!!! Of course, my local cable company doesn't offer it, so I really don't have much of a choice.

Posted by: Darcy | June 9, 2007 09:45 PM

I totally agree with DeAnn in so many ways, and I'm a huge fan of Veronica Mars. It was given so many changes to get better ratings, and they did promote the heck out of it, especially during Gilmore Girls this season. And even though I'm going to miss Veronica Mars dearly, I agree with DeAnn, in that, the situation with the canceling of Everwood was way worse, and still makes me mad. But with Veronica Mars, well it's understandable, and hey, if the CW puts together a show with Rob Thomas and Kirsten Bell, are we really all saying that we wouldn't be glued to our tv sets? Because we all would, and you know it.

Posted by: Jen | June 9, 2007 10:06 PM

As suggested, I looked at this season's ratings and noticed that the ten lowest shows are all on The CW, which tells me that it isn't fair to call "Veronica Mars" a ratings failure for being 138 out of 142. Everything on that network scores low because it has comparatively few affiliates. Its highest rating is 112, for "America's Next Top Contest Winner Who'll Soon Fade into Obscurity or Enter a Doomed Marriage with a Former Child Star."

Furthermore, of the four CW shows ranked lower than VM, two ("Girlfriends" and "The Game") have been renewed. And unlike VM, "Girlfriends" lost a significant number of viewers (about 27%) after the UPN/WB merger. "Everybody Hates Chris," rated 137 out of 142, lost roughly 42% of its audience. VM gained over 5%, which makes it one of the network's few successes, relatively speaking.

Anyway, I won't boycott The CW, but I probably won't be watching it. The only situation in which I'll actively refuse to watch a network is if it has a habit of canceling good shows far too quickly (Fox). Or maybe if it eats babies (Fox News).

Posted by: | June 19, 2007 11:57 AM

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