The Castoff Channel

An intriguing idea for saving those shows that have a following, but not the ratings to stay in production, like Firefly, Pushing Daisies, Life, etc. [Link]

Beyond the desire to save shows, I truly believe that when you have 7 million people who like something (or really even 6 million, 5 million and yes, even four million) you have something that has a huge value. It may not be of value to, or make sense for, the broadcast networks, but there is still value.

The underlying premise (which is possibly wrong) is that there is a lot of value in brands with that kind of scale. Not enough value for the broadcast nets though and not necessarily because those shows can’t be profitable, but because of the squandered opportunity costs. Keeping a show that draws 5 or 6 million takes a slot away from a show that could draw 12 million. I’m working from the premise that just because it doesn’t make sense for the broadcast networks, doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t make sense anywhere.

While there is no doubt in my mind that a show with 7 million viewers has value, it’s not lost on me that if you move that show off the broadcast networks to another network, it will lose a good chunk of the viewers, and the trick becomes how to get value once that happens.

So you grab shows that have a passionate community, but not the rating for the broader market of the broadcast networks and have them move to this channel where they can still be profitable for the studio.

I would definitely consider subscribing if at least one of the shows I like but have been canceled moved there.