Who Do Hiatuses Serve?
When television was still new, you know, when most of us lived our lives away from the glowing screen, the hiatuses for major holidays and summer vacation made sense.
Advertisers were not served when families didn’t watch the television shows because they were busy outside during the glorious summer weather or visiting family over Christmas. And families had no access to online or DVR viewing to catch up if they missed an episode.
But now, we are subjected to oddly placed hiatuses on our favorite shows. Just when Supernatural came back from its winter hiatus, it is going back into a month-long hiatus. Ratings dropped after the winter hiatus (and the last-minute delay of its return), and I can only imagine they will drop again when the show returns on April 15. (Now, other than Vampire Diaries, the Smallville/Supernatural duo is the CW’s biggest ratings hit, so I’m not worried about the show. If they renew it, I will watch. If not, I will be happy for my six years.) Not only do ratings suffer, but story progess is slowed and fan engagement drops.
Wouldn’t the viewers, advertisers, and networks be better served by running a season in its entirety, with no breaks, like Lost did in its later years? Yes, the networks would need to bring out more shows to fill the timeslot when one show ends, but they would likely gain in viewer engagement that makes advertisers happy. And they would save money on rerun fees. Show seasons could be staggered so that there is always something anchoring the night and bringing viewers in to the newer shows.
Other than the fact that it is different, I don’t see the flaws in my programming plan. What do you think?
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Tags: supernatural, television
Uncategorized | Jennifer Roland | 
March 7, 2011 6:36 am
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By katie71483, March 7, 2011 @ 12:15 pm
Amen, sister. Amen. I’ve thought this for a long time. I’ve also often wondered if the quality of American television in general would benefit from a shorter 13-episode season so there would be fewer “filler” episodes.
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Jennifer C. Rodland Reply:
March 7th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
I agree on the shorter seasons. That was part of the allure of Friday Night Lights–no crap filler episodes.
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By Rachel, March 9, 2011 @ 5:51 am
I agree! My husband and I find ourselves watching a show and then it goes on hiatus and we lose interest. I am sure we’re not the only ones and I think television networks would benefit from a higher viewership if they ran shorter seasons without breaks.
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Jennifer C. Rodland Reply:
March 9th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Why don’t they let us make all the decisions?
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