Why is Thursday such a popular TV night?

[tony touch]

Is there any explanation as to why all the networks want their best shows on Thurs night? Is it just a matter of tradition, or is there proof that Thurs night is the most popular night for watching TV (even if quality shows were not on)?

I once read that movie studios pay higher ad rates on Thurs because they want to influence viewers' weekend plans, but that can't be the main reason.

[cheesesteak]

Not for me. I neither TiVo nor watch any Thursday night shows.

[jlb]

Yada Yada Yada......

[DavidS]

Its a matter of recent tradition, resulting, I think, from the once successfull NBC grouping its best comedies into Thursday. Years ago, IIRC, Saturday NIght was the big night. I also think Tuesday was a big night for a while.

[Dmon4u]

After Alias and Night Stalker went, it's my least watched night next to Saturday 'Dump' night.

[Amnesia]

No, it has to do with movies. That's the real reason.

Movies come out on Fridays. That means that the prime night to advertise upcoming movies is the night before they come out, or Thursdays.

So studios want to place ads Thursdays and the networks want to get the most money possible for those ads and so they put their most popular shows on Thursdays to get the maximum advertising dollars.

[Bierboy]

Not for me. I neither TiVo nor watch any Thursday night shows.I agree....it's a wasteland for crap shows.

[Havana Brown]

For me it's Thursday AND Wednesday. Espeically Wednesday, 9 p.m. there's Bones, Veronica Mars, Early Edition, Biggest Loser, Criminal Minds. Luckily VM repeats on Saturdays and then I watch Bones live. I'm SOL on Criminal Minds though. :(

[DreadPirateRob]

I agree....it's a wasteland for crap shows.

O ye of little taste.

Do you have to dump on other shows in every thread? Some of the most-watched shows in history have been and continue to air on Thursday nights. Seinfeld, Cheers, Friends, ER, Survivor, CSI, and the list goes on. You may not like any of them, but if that's the case, good form would require that you keep that to yourself unless the thread is specifically a "piling-on" one.

[jgerry]

Thursdays are traditional heavy TV nights because it's the last night at home before the weekend. A lot of people stay home the night before the weekend starts since most "going out" occurs on Friday and Saturday night.

Or so I remember from my media buying class in journalism school. This was... about 1991.

[smak]

No, it has to do with movies. That's the real reason.

Movies come out on Fridays. That means that the prime night to advertise upcoming movies is the night before they come out, or Thursdays.

So studios want to place ads Thursdays and the networks want to get the most money possible for those ads and so they put their most popular shows on Thursdays to get the maximum advertising dollars.

100% correct!!

-smak-

[DevdogAZ]

In addition to the movies, it's also big for car advertisements and other large purchases. The advertisers want to put the bug in your head before the weekend, when you will be out shopping, and Thursday night is the last time most people will be sitting in front of their TV before the big weekend shopping begins.

[RunnerFL]

For me it's Thursday AND Wednesday. Espeically Wednesday, 9 p.m. there's Bones, Veronica Mars, Early Edition, Biggest Loser, Criminal Minds. Luckily VM repeats on Saturdays and then I watch Bones live. I'm SOL on Criminal Minds though. :(

When they moved Bones to Wed I had to choose between Bones and Criminal Minds in HD and move one of them to a SD TiVo. I kept Criminal Minds on the HD TiVo and boy am I glad. I like Bones, but Criminal Minds is SUCH a better show. If I could only watch one or the other it would be Criminal Minds.


But I agree, Wed my TiVo's don't stop from 8pm until 11. I think all 3 are recording 2 shows that whole time. lol

[Thaed]

I just figured it's because after 4 days of work, a person's brain is mush and that's a perfect night for TV. :)

[Gene S]

I just figured it's because after 4 days of work, a person's brain is mush and that's a perfect night for TV. :)

I would hate to be your customer on Fridays. :p

[nedthelab]

Growing upin the 70s it was Tuesday night, I agree it has to do with some network putting toegther a package and marketing the living crap out of it until it becomes a brand... but I must say with the traditional season of network changeing and as we move closer and closer to true interactive TV all this will change IMHO -- still 3-5 years out

[Langree]

I agree....it's a wasteland for crap shows.

This is my Tivo's most booked night

Survivor
Smallville
The O.C.
CSI
ER

Shows I catch in rerun or torrent:

Everybody Hates Chris
Crumbs

[newsposter]

Thursdays are traditional heavy TV nights because it's the last night at home before the weekend. A lot of people stay home the night before the weekend starts since most "going out" occurs on Friday and Saturday night.

Or so I remember from my media buying class in journalism school. This was... about 1991.

I don't understand the friday/saturday thing. Do people genuinely like going out in all those crowded theaters shoulder to shoulder with cell phones/screaming kids etc? Also it's the busiest time for restaurants, bars etc and you have to wait for a table, the service is slow etc. Supermarkets and other stores are always packed on weekends and wouldnt it be better to go to a car dealer on a dead night so you have his full attention and can bargain better? I could go on but I think i made my point.

Or do those people life such dull lives during the week that they crave the crowds, 'must' see a movie the first day it's out, or are tired of cooking during the week and are happy to get out? Wait, that makes no sense..if you were tired of cooking during the week, you'd all go out during the week right? :)

[DevdogAZ]

I don't understand the friday/saturday thing. Do people genuinely like going out in all those crowded theaters shoulder to shoulder with cell phones/screaming kids etc? Also it's the busiest time for restaurants, bars etc and you have to wait for a table, the service is slow etc. Supermarkets and other stores are always packed on weekends and wouldnt it be better to go to a car dealer on a dead night so you have his full attention and can bargain better? I could go on but I think i made my point.

Or do those people life such dull lives during the week that they crave the crowds, 'must' see a movie the first day it's out, or are tired of cooking during the week and are happy to get out? Wait, that makes no sense..if you were tired of cooking during the week, you'd all go out during the week right? :)
You answered your own question. The reason there are crowds at all those places is because people are "out" doing things and not sitting at home on their couch watching TV. Most people don't have time during the week to go out since they either work late or get up early or just don't feel like going through the hassle after a long day at work. On Friday and Staurday nights, they know they don't have to get up early the next morning so all bets are off. Then, by Sunday night everyone is pooped out again and that's why Sunday has the highest viewership (across the board) of any night of TV.

[EchoBravo]

The older I get, the more I think like newsposter. And no offense meant. It's just that all those annoyances you mention are deterrents to going out. I'd much prefer go see the 2:30 Tuesday afternoon showing of a movie I care about.

I was under the impression The Cosby Show and whatever was paired with it back in the day started the whole thing. Does anyone know if the monster Thursdays (mainly on NBC) started even before that? I was a kid then.

[Drewster]

It was Brandon Tartikoff who started the whole thing. His edict at NBC of putting out *quality* shows and nursing them to success seeded the NBC dynasty that only recently expired. The massive Cosby Show was the anchor, with the later slots filling in and out. Cheers was in its third season before it became a hit, and Hill Street Blues won Emmies galore but was never a big, big hit.

Cosby Show
Cheers
Night Court

...then NBC just swapped in new shows. Friends, Frasier, Will & Grace, etc. But Cosby started the Thursday dominance.

[Langree]

It was Brandon Tartikoff who started the whole thing. His edict at NBC of putting out *quality* shows and nursing them to success seeded the NBC dynasty that only recently expired. The massive Cosby Show was the anchor, with the later slots filling in and out. Cheers was in its third season before it became a hit, and Hill Street Blues won Emmies galore but was never a big, big hit.

Cosby Show
Cheers
Night Court

...then NBC just swapped in new shows. Friends, Frasier, Will & Grace, etc. But Cosby started the Thursday dominance.

Wasn't Hill Street Tuesday and LA Law Thursday? with things like Bay City Blues tried on Wednesday after St. Elsewhere went bye bye.

(yes, for awhile there I never got to bed before 11 on most nights.

[SnakeEyes]

It started in Fall of 84, when NBC went with

Cosby Show
Family Ties
Cheers
Night Court
Hill Street Blues

The above lasted through Spring of 87. That Fall they moved Family Ties to Sundays and went:

Cosby Show
Different World
Cheers
Night Court
Hill Street Blues

In the fall of 88, Night Court was moved to Wednesdays to boost that night and Hill Street Blues ended it's run. Replacing them were:

Cosby Show
Different World
Cheers
Dear John
L.A. Law

In the Fall of 90, Dear John was moved to Wednesdays to replace Night Court that was moving to Fridays. Thursday's looked like this:

Cosby Show
Different World
Cheers
Grand
L.A. Law

Grand failed halfway through so, in January of 91, Wings was moved to Thursdays. Then in the Fall of 1992 w/o Cosby, NBC went with:

Different World
Rhythm and Blues
Cheers
Wings
L.A. Law

R&B lasted till the end of October. I am not sure what they did between October and February, but on 2/4/93 some show called Seinfeld moved over to Thursday. Cheers and A Different World ended that Spring and in the Fall of 93 NBC Thursdays looked like this:

Mad About You
Wings
Seinfeld
Fraiser
L.A. Law

Fall of 94 saw Wings and Fraiser move to boost Tuesdays, L.A. Law ended, and in moved a group of soon to be familiar faces:

Mad About You
Friends
Seinfeld
Madman of the People
ER

Madman of the People lasted until the end of January. Unsure what replaced it (Only the 2nd week in February had Wings). Fall of 95, Mad About You moved to Sundays and NBC had this:

Friends
Single Guy
Seinfeld
Caroline in the City
ER

The following year Caroline moved to Tuesdays and Fall of 96 was:

Friends
Single Guy
Seinfeld
Suddenly Susan
ER

Single Guy made it through middle of Feb before being moved to Wednesdays (not sure what replaced it). Suddenly Susan went to Mondays and the Fall of 97, Thursdays was:

Friends
Union Square
Seinfeld
Veronica's Closet
ER

Union Square was cancelled in Jan 98 and replaced by Just Shoot Me that moved from Tuesdays. However in the Fall of 98 it moved back to Tuesdays and NBC Thursdays looked like this:

Friends
Jesse
Frasier
Veronica's Closet
ER

In the Fall of 99, Veronica's Closet moved to Mondays to pair with Suddenly Susan. Replaced by:

Friends
Jesse
Frasier
Stark Raving Mad
ER

Stark Raving Mad made it the entire series but was not renewed. Jesse wasn't either. Friends moved to Tuesdays. Just Shoot Me came back and a very different schedule began in the Fall of 2000:

Friends
Cursed (renamed The Weber Show after ep 1)
Will and Grace
Just Shoot Me
ER

The Weber Show did not get renewed. It was replaced in Fall of 01 by:

Friends
Inside Schwartz
Will and Grace
Just Shoot Me
ER

Inside Schwartz made it to the beginning of Jan (not sure what replaced it). Just Shoot Me again returned to Tuesdays for the Fall of 02:

Friends
Scrubs
Will and Grace
Good Morning, Miami
ER

Good Morning, Miami moved to Tuesdays to be replaced by Coupling (which of course died after episode 4) and was replaced by Whoopi, which was not renewed. So the 03 season looked like this:

Friends
Scrubs
Will and Grace
Coupling/Whoopi
ER

So Friends is over and comedy pilots are sparse so NBC adds reality to Thursday in the Fall of 04 and it looks like this:

Joey
Will and Grace
Apprentice 2
ER

The lineup is repeated to start off Fall of 05 but after The Apprentice 3 is over a lackluster Joey, combined with a desire to revive Must See TV Thursday comedy, NBC decided that in January they would put Joey on a hiatus, move Will and Grace up to it's timeslot, freshman comedy Four Kings would take it's spot, and Tuesday night rising stars My Name is Earl and The Office would take The Apprentice block. And thus we have the current lineup:

Will and Grace
Four Kings
My Name is Earl
The Office
ER

[lordargent]

O ye of little taste.

Do you have to dump on other shows in every thread? Some of the most-watched shows in history have been and continue to air on Thursday nights. Seinfeld, Cheers, Friends, ER, Survivor, CSI, and the list goes on. You may not like any of them, but if that's the case, good form would require that you keep that to yourself unless the thread is specifically a "piling-on" one.

Cheers, Seinfeld and Friends are old shows, are they even making any new ones? I used to watch them back in the days.

As for the rest of those shows, I never acquired a taste for them. So I have to agree that these days, Thursday night is a wasteland for me. Hopefully I'll have something around from netflix, otherwise, it's xbox live time.