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A SciFi network question

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cheesesteak

· Meh.
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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
On Friday nights, their lineup is:

Odyssey 5 at 8 pm
Flash Gordon at 9 pm
SG: Atlantis at 10 pm

The original version of Odyssey 5 had nudity and foul language. SciFi will cut out the nudity and bleep out the cursing, but based on the first episode, you can tell exactly what curse word was used and a lot of the sexual innuendo was left untouched.

Flash Gordon is just pure fluff.

SG:A has some violence but no sex or cursing.

So, why does SciFi air the edgiest, most adult of the three shows at 8pm? And if SG:A is the flagship show, why is it on at 10, when old fogies like me are guaranteed to fall asleep on it. Thank God for TiVo.
 
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bicker

· bUU
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#2 ·
Sci Fi cycles a whole bunch of series through the 8PM slot, the least valuable of the three. I think it was Level 9 in that slot earlier this year. And I expect we'll continue to see the cable rebroadcasts of failed broadcast series presented there.

Flash Gordon is supposed to appeal to a younger demo, hence it is presented earlier.
 
FilmCritic3000

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#4 ·
There are serious rumors swirling in the business world that General Electric, NBC Universal's parent company, is looking to sell NBC Universal. The rumored sale, however, would not take place until sometime after the 2008 Olympics.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/11/news/companies/ge_nbc/?postversion=2007101117

And then here's a very recent interview with NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2007-10-17-nbc-universal-zucker_N.htm

If this sale occurs, I sincerely hope that, under the new owners, SCI FI becomes The Sci-Fi Channel and the schizophrenia this channel currently displays is extinguished.
 
bicker

· bUU
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#5 ·
I was chatting with my wife about this earlier today, speculating that perhaps Microsoft might be interested in buying NBC should GE decide to sell, as seems to be likely. Might be an interesting turn of events.

If I were you I wouldn't hope for any big change at Sci Fi, because I suspect that if there is any big change (and I expect that there WON'T be) that that change would drive it further from what you seem to be indicating you'd want it to be.
 
FilmCritic3000

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#6 ·
bicker said:
I was chatting with my wife about this earlier today, speculating that perhaps Microsoft might be interested in buying NBC should GE decide to sell, as seems to be likely. Might be an interesting turn of events.

If I were you I wouldn't hope for any big change at Sci Fi, because I suspect that if there is any big change (and I expect that there WON'T be) that that change would drive it further from what you seem to be indicating you'd want it to be.
Click to expand...
On your second point, yes I've entertained that thought. These days it seems like NBC's taken up the mantle, as far as sci-fi TV goes (Heroes, Journeyman, Bionic Woman).

Look, I'm not clamoring for reruns of Manimal and Automan to air incessantly but there's a whole treasure trove of science fiction programming out there. I just wish someone would open their eyes and realize science fiction makes money.

Look at SPACE: The Imagination Station in Canada (fondly, as I always do).


http://www.spacecast.com
 
bicker

· bUU
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#7 ·
FilmCritic3000 said:
Look, I'm not clamoring for reruns of Manimal and Automan to air incessantly but there's a whole treasure trove of science fiction programming out there. I just wish someone would open their eyes and realize science fiction makes money.
Click to expand...
It isn't clear to me even with Space's stable of programming that America is ready for more genre programming. As much as I'm enjoying it, I think there is way too much of it on the major networks this year. And Sci Fi, narrowly defined, is way too small of a niche IMHO to support its own cable channel. It needs Fantasy and Horror to have even a chance of business success AFAIC.
 
DevdogAZ

· Give 'em Hell, Devils
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#9 ·
FilmCritic3000 said:
There are serious rumors swirling in the business world that General Electric, NBC Universal's parent company, is looking to sell NBC Universal. The rumored sale, however, would not take place until sometime after the 2008 Olympics.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/11/news/companies/ge_nbc/?postversion=2007101117

And then here's a very recent interview with NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2007-10-17-nbc-universal-zucker_N.htm

If this sale occurs, I sincerely hope that, under the new owners, SCI FI becomes The Sci-Fi Channel and the schizophrenia this channel currently displays is extinguished.
Click to expand...
I think you're hoping in vain. Regardless of who buys NBC/U, if anyone, it's highly unlikely they'll micromanage it to the point of dictating what airs on one of the lower tier properties. Most likely, the management of the channel would stay intact through such an ownership change, and nothing would change at all.
 
FilmCritic3000

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#11 ·
DevdogAZ said:
I think you're hoping in vain. Regardless of who buys NBC/U, if anyone, it's highly unlikely they'll micromanage it to the point of dictating what airs on one of the lower tier properties. Most likely, the management of the channel would stay intact through such an ownership change, and nothing would change at all.
Click to expand...
Yes, that could happen. My main point - that science fiction is a profitable genre, and one that can have a channel devoted to it, and that said channel can garner immense amount of money for its owner - still stands.

Look at Comedy Central. That's a terrific example of a channel not straying from its founding principles.
 
D

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#12 ·
Why does it seem like a distant memory that Sci-Fi was doing well ?

I recall that not too long ago they expanded from Friday to add new shows on Sunday. Now, it appears that they are running out of quality shows and it's seems like they can't even get two new quality shows on a Friday any longer.

Sunday, what happened to Sunday ?
 
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bicker

· bUU
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#13 ·
I'm not sure that Sci Fi was ever doing well financially, at least not like USA Network (which is likely to be the expectation that its owners would have for it). It did have a great set of original shows once, but I don't remember that specifically translating into acknowledged financial success.
 
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