I'd be curious to see the alternative to pilot season--in the UK the seasons are shorter, so the investment risk is different.

And I don't think that there are really "seasons" at all, at least the way we think of them. the shows come on for a while, do a certain number of episodes, then go off for a while. Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't. I think thats why british shows are classified as "Series 1" instead of "season 1".

But "Quarterlife" is bad. It wouldn't have lasted 3 eps if it was shown on tv first. I wonder how long it will last on NBC. It might last only because NBC doesn't have anything else to show, but I don't find anything about it making me want to watch ep after ep.

Like a bad TV show has never been succesful before. Except for, like, most TV shows. Let's face it, a good chunk of succesful television is horrible.

But that's all beside the point -- the important thing about "Quarterlife" isn't the show itself, it's the business model. It's going to be a lot easier and more time efficient to throw a pilot or even a few "Webisodes" up on the net and see if they catch on than it is to eat up valuable airtime with a pilot for a show that might only last three episodes.

victor, but I'm not talking bad sitcoms, which magically seem to stay on forever. I'm talking bad Fox dramas.

Since the show doesn't have crime and each ep is difficult to view without having the background of previous eps, I just couldn't see this lasting on network tv traditionally.

Now, even with respect to the business model. I think they should keep this on the internet. I think NBC may very well be disappointed with the ratings when it starts airing on tv.

6% gain is in no way impressive or could have possibly been their target and I would love to see what the revenue was to create that profit.

In my world a 6% gain is impressive - we operate on such tight profit margins at my work our bonus is dependent on something like 0.1%. Still, the 'striked' quarter came out with 10% and overall higher audience figures from what I can gather - it's hardly as if NBC are having a viewer crisis at the minute.

Any revamp of the pilot process to save networks money translates to much less work for actors, writers, crew etc. That's the problem I see with this direction.

Kevin, NBC is the network in 4th place. Compare that to ten years ago when it was always in 1st. 10% higher than really shitty is still really shitty.

Single digit annual growth for an entertainment conglom is not good.

And I need to see your sources because I thought all networks were down year over year in the 4th quarter except for Fox. That was certainly true for November sweeps.

Ok, I went and found a source:

NBC Universal's TV network NBC has seen viewership decline by 8% when looking at commercial ratings plus three days of DVR usage--but almost double that when looking at live program ratings.

The NBC network is doing horribly. NBCU is being saved by double digit growth at the cable networks and film.

Oh. Well, thanks - I am amusingly happy at their corporate misfortune!

My company turns over $1bn and struggles to make a 7 figure profit yearly. Buy our tuna, Polter-Cow!

Sorry if I was sounding all cranky. I am cranky, but it has nothing to do with NBC. Not today anyway.

Didn't sound cranky at all, T. I'm actually serious - I'm happy to know things aren't quite as rosy at NBC as they say it is.

Although the whole thing is still weird to me. Any time I've followed a strike before in the UK it's been with companies who struggle to make a profit, so every penny counts. Just give the writers their money already, AMPTP eejits.

[link]

In order to make absolutely clear our commitment to bringing a speedy conclusion to negotiations we have decided to withdraw our proposals on reality and animation. Our organizing efforts to achieve Guild representation in these genres for writers will continue.

O'Connell does Cruise [link]