1) NBC got a truckload of money from DirecTV, who needs a show that fits their viewer demographic (With their sports heavy push it makes sense to go with FNL)

2) FNL is dirt cheap to produce (between handheld cameras etc and Texas tax laws it really gets cheap) so it makes even more sense for DirecTV to add it to their lineup which leads to…….

3) NBC gets a TV-friday graveyard filler for very little money – then comes the DVD sales and the should get their money back easily – and on the plus side the get to keep a critically acclaimed show around that has been nominated to numerous awards (including 3 emmys of which they won one)

It makes total sense from a business point of view to do the deal – IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH CHUCKS RENEWAL – they are never going to put it in a timeslot where Chuck would otherwise have been. If Chuck and Life gets canceled it will be because NO ENOUGH PEOPLE WATCHED to justify the amount it costs to make the show (I don’t get it either gut that is the bottom line).

Much thanks…

Are Hulu numbers going to affect issues surrounding renewal? By the way, I do realise that these numbers have problems (do Hulu numbers reflect those who didn’t watch shows on the days they were broadcast? Do they reflect individuals going and watching over and over again to try to impact the numbers? Do they reflect both and more?

Anyway, this is good news for those like myself (and I do realise that aesthetics in the culture eye of the beholder) who believe FNL is one of the finest shows on US TV.

Unfortunately unlike Nielsen stats, those numbers don’t typically make their way into the wild.

But old or young (no pun intended), there’s always going to be prestige artists. Just like there’s always going to be prestige shows. Sometimes they may not even be all that prestigious. Indeed, Neil has never won a Grammy. “Friday Night Lights” has won exactly one Emmy. For casting.

So, to summarize, “FNL” is cheap, and thanks to DirecTV it’s so cheap it’s feasible, it delivers attractive demos on Fridays, it’s good for the network’s image, and it comes in manageable bites of 13 hours per year.

The only downside is that for one hour a week, for 13 weeks of the year, you lose your “major broadcaster impact” status. But then, that’s what NBC will do with Leno-at-10, for 250 hours per year. So that’s probably not a deal breaker.

-NBC gets a sweet deal for 13 weeks of Friday night programming at 9pm. The cost of programming that hour compared to other dramas is much lower. Compared to say a game show…no but still cheaper than a drama plus they get DVD sales, hits on the website for viewers and sales from sites like ITunes for episode sales. They also can lay claim to one of the only quality shows on the network that may actually get some deserved awards this year and any good pub is great pub for NBC at this point.
-Directv in there current search for good original programming on the 101 gets a show commitment for 2 years. They get subscriber growth for fans of the show and they attract more people to the 101 for other original programming(Q4 of last year was a huge growth for them in subscribers. all related to FNL? No. Some? probably)
-The show is one of the cheaper shows to produce based on the style of filming, the great tax credits by filming in Texas and the hundreds of locals they use as extras for each show minimize and already low cost show to make.
-Fans of the show are happy because they can continue to commit to a show that they know will be on for at least two more seasons.

Since “Studio 60″ has been mentioned, I’ll say that I really loved that show. It was starting to hit its stride, but NBC couldn’t afford to keep it around long enough to get an audience.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/03/31/ap6234477.html?partner=alerts

From Katims’ comments, it looks like they’re planning to wrap up the series in these 26 episodes. Kind of like LOST set a specific end date, only this show is a bit smaller-scale.

I look forward to watching the drama play through until the end.

I don’t know about that. I think the better posters here are able to be glad that a great show is being extended while still trying to figure out the business logic behind doing it.

Not only does FNL make thematic and seasonal sense for Direct given their investment in Sunday Ticket, the audience for the show is hugely upscale, which makes it a decent candidate to drive some subscriptions to DTV. Not many, but enough to justify a relatively paltry investment. I just signed up for Direct this week and while it wasn’t because of FNL I’m definitely psyched to get the first run episodes. It will contribute to my loyalty.

This is how DTV will build original programming long-term, but they won’t just pick up any marginal show that’s on a network chopping block. The shows are going to have to be universally acclaimed and their network viewers are going to have to have money.

Not sure it makes perfect sense for NBC. It’s an awfully weak lead-in for Friday Night Leno (FNL into FNL!) if Friday 9pm is where it ends up. Then again we don’t know the specifics of the deal so who knows?

NBC is basically, saying “We are the number 4 network and we dont care any more”. Its also why Leno is taking over the 10-11pm slots 5 days a week.

Since NBC’s standards are so low these days, Id say Chuck has a better than 50-50 chance of renewal. If it were on any other network, I wouldnt say that.

Friday Night Lights was an “added bonus.” It’s a well-scripted, well-acted drama. These 26 episodes will likely wrap up the series, IMHO. Gives us enough time to see the last key players graduate and it sorts out the redistricting mess.

Eric Shanks noted once, in a magazine interview, that FNL received this treatment in part because its premise (high school football) fits on some level with the DirecTV push on sports-themed packages. There are a few DirecTV exclusive game shows and low-budget comedies, but FNL is a good advertising tool that blends in somewhat with the exclusive sports packages.

Chuck and Life are both great shows, well written and fun and I can’t fathom why people aren’t watching or? Life is on opposite American Idol and Lost and Chuck is losing to House and Dancing with the Stars.

Why they would put Life opposite Idol I don’t know unless maybe they already made the decision to unload it. Seriously they should simply make their own reality crap for that timeslot and move the two shows.

Honestly this last tv season hasn’t been that great and the new pilots seem to indicate another season just like it, I still can’t believe they brought back Knight Rider and 90210 – next up Melrose Place and then I suppose the powers that be will ask us to watch Dollars or Dallas, maybe Charlie’s Angels with the originality the Networks are displaying it’s only a matter of time – thank god for cable Tv.

Me – I have found the cure – Turn off the *TV and read a book – if enough viewers do that they will listen but as long as we eat the cr*p they are serving – they will keep piling it up.

I hope they keep both Life and Chuck – but I’m pretty sure Life is lifeless and Chuck – time will tell but I predict it will be replaced by “Models Inc. – New York”, “law an Order SVU – Miami” or hey they might bring back “Silk Stalkings”

And before you ask, yeah, he’s like that all the time. I’m starting to feel the same way about Chuck too due to the belligerent fans that come here.

I can’t speak for Invasion, I just vaguely remember watching half the premiere and witnessing yet another mediocre show trying to seem more intelligent and unique than it really was.

(Note: I think NBC has made a horrible move and should never have done this. But not because I think they should be picking up poorly rated shows that were never on NBC that were canceled years ago.)

Also, I think you should only be giving shows that NBC has a contract with and shows that have come out within the past few years since TV viewership has decreased significantly. Mentioning shows like Dark Angel and Freaks and Geeks is hilarious. They are from another time. TV advertising, $$, and viewing has changed waaaay too much since something like Dark Angel was cancelled (Wiki says 02).

The list I gave was mostly based on ratings/demo ratings.

Jesse, why are you being condescending? Are you a fan of FNL? Are you a Zuker/Silverman lover?

Here’s the list (many of these shows had far more potential & better demo ratings than Friday Nights Lights ever did): Where was the rolling of the red carpet for: The Unit (peak 19 mil), The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire, Whoopi, Popular, A Minute With Stan Hooper, Homefront, Working, Miss Match, Sports Night, Boomtown, Kingpin, Wonderfalls, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Hidden Hills, Brooklyn South, Fired Up!, Fastlane, Happy Family, American Gothic, The Guardian, The Ellen Show, Cracking Up, Crumbs, Farscape, Arrested Development, 10-8, Cupid, Once And Again, Eyes, Citizen Baines, Father of the Pride, Andy Barker, P.I., Andy Richter Controls The Universe, Bette, Now And Again, Freaks And Geeks, The Wedding Bells, Swingtown, Deadline, K-Ville, Grosse Pointe, The Nine, Big Shots, Miss Guided, The Ex List, Pushing Daisies, Ed, Felicity, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, Dark Angel, Journeyman, Dirty Sexy Money, The Education Of Max Bickford, That’s Life, Boston Public, Family Law, Robbery Homicide Division, Everwood, Pasadena, Invasion (peak: 18 mil), Veronica Mars, Rosie Live, George Lopez, Kate Brasher, and The Bernie Mac Show

Incredibly outraged, venomous feminists who were convinced it was all a patriarchal conspiracy. They turned up on the Matt Yglesias political blog all the time.

No matter how often you ran through the numbers and demonstrated that there was no way Clinton could get enough Democratic Party votes to win, they had an excuse or they beat on you like the nun beat on Jake and Elwood in “The Blues Brothers”!

Very much like canceled show fans.

There was a show on CBS called “Moonlight.” In addition to low ratings, it was also panned by critics. No award wins or nominations – at least credible ones. It won a People’s Choice award using a process where people on the Internet could vote once per day per email address.

When “Moonlight” got canceled, about 500-1,000 people across the U.S. made their annoying presence felt by sending postcards with weird fan art and making phone calls. The postcards looked like something kids made with Photoshop. A lot of us were surprised that they were all middle-aged women.

Those “Moonlight” women were nuts. Even reports of its definite demise at James Hibberd’s blog were met with disbelief and venom – http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/06/moonlight-is-de.html

Considering Moonlight’s fans, good riddance to it. Easily the worst fans in recent memory.