Comments on: Serialized Dramas Overwhelmingly Top TV Show DVD Sales in 2009

By: Please Renew ‘One Tree Hill’ | I Blog Again

Please Renew ‘One Tree Hill’ | I Blog Again — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:33:14 +0000

[...] America’s Next Top Model and The Vampire Diaries. The show’s season eight DVD sales ranked 9th earning $16 million. True Blood earned $61 million for season one [...]

By: june c

june c — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:27:15 +0000

Wow at HEROES.

By: Anne

Anne — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:51:30 +0000

GO SMALLVILLE!!!!!! Still strong after 9 SEASONS!!!!!

By: David

David — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:27:56 +0000

Smallville is on the list. WHOOT!

By: SMALLVILLE # 1 FAN

SMALLVILLE # 1 FAN — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:14:24 +0000

HAHA.. SMALLVILLE IS THE ONLY CW SHOW IN THE LIST ^^..

TAKE THAT SUPERNATURAL, aka, STUPIDNATURAL!

Haha.. We Smallville fan’s be ownin the CW!!!

By: William Hughes

William Hughes — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:48:25 +0000

One HUGE ADVANTAGE of waiting for a Series to come out on DVD…

NO COMMERCIALS TO CONTEND WITH!

By: PFELIX

PFELIX — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:18:46 +0000

It’s pretty simple for me, I love many of the serialized shows but I get fed up with repeats and interruptions and changes that cause me to miss a show etc. I want to see every episode, in order, and don’t want to waste time and space on my dvr with multiple repeats from weeks without new shows. Worst are the ones I watch with my husband because we might not be able to watch at air time, or that night.

For us, it is more convenient and enjoyable to watch an entire season with no mess ups. no searching, no repeats, no weather messing up an episode, no pre-emptions etc. Also, many of them are shows my parents like but miss episodes, so we pass the dvd’s on to them after.

Some shows if you miss an episode you are lost, others, they are just too good to miss – if I miss a Smallville or Supernatural or Damages,24, saving Grace, It’s over, for the season, I have to buy the dvd set and watch them from start to finish.

There are just too many local pre-emptions here, weather issues that mess up episodes, and the truly ridiculous half-season, followed by 90 repeats, followed by 4 new episodes, 6 more repeats, and the rest of the episodes for the new season is just dreadful lately. The only shows that get full, straight seasons, no interruptions, are reality shows – Idol, Dance, Bachelor, survivor, Race…that’s sad. I could live without 99% of these ever being aired again, or losing a night but not my serialized shows – Those I want every episode. The fact that serialized shows are pre-taped makes it absurd that they can’t find a way to air the season straight through like reality shows.

As long as serialized shows are treated like step-children that need to live like millionaires on a middle class budget, they will get lower and lower ratings. Nobody has time to constantly try and figure out when their favorite shows will air again, and when or if there will be a new episode anytime soon.

By: Heroes Season 4 - Page 20 - Fires of Heaven Guild Message Board

Heroes Season 4 - Page 20 - Fires of Heaven Guild Message Board — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:46:26 +0000

[...] under the assumption that there was a chance they'd get another season. Speaking of which, this might give you an idea of why NBC might bring the show back: [...]

By: Ventura

Ventura — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:56:11 +0000

WOW props to Smallville! still going strong!

By: Heroes en top 10 de ventas en DVD | Heroes MX - Heroes en español

Heroes en top 10 de ventas en DVD | Heroes MX - Heroes en español — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:38:06 +0000

[...] Tvbythenumbers publico un top 10 de ventas de DVD en cuanto a ingresos se refieren, y Heroes figura en el cuarto puesto con $25 millones de dolares de ingresos en DVD en el 2009 con la tercera temporada de Heroes. [...]

By: Un vestido de novia, Lois, Clark, Chloe… y Smallville en el top 10 de ventas en DVD

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:30:49 +0000

[...] el 2009 smallville se ubico en el top 10 de ventas en cuanto a ingresos de DVD se refiere, así que el DVD de la Octava Temporada de smallville tuvo ingresos de $16 millones de [...]

By: Top 10 TV Show DVDs: Smallville Season 8 « Devoted to Smallville.com

Top 10 TV Show DVDs: Smallville Season 8 « Devoted to Smallville.com — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:58:23 +0000

[...] the full report HERE or you can go to HERE SHOW [...]

By: Fire Dawn

Fire Dawn — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:21:52 +0000

I wonder if the DVD sales might be enough for some other cable network to pick up heroes(assuming the NBC gets rid of it). I am guessing if the company that produces the show can cover costs other ways and cut the budget a bit(ie get rid of unneeded actors) the show can stay on someway

By: Tyson

Tyson — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:54:18 +0000

Go Smallville!!!

By: Mike11

Mike11 — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:23:35 +0000

Don’t DVD sales only matter for renewal if the show is produced by the networks production company? I mean what does Fox care how good 24 sells on DVD?

By: sbmke

sbmke — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:20:09 +0000

It costs somewhere in the range of $2-4 million per hour to produce scripted tv dramas. Lost is on the high side due to its location shoots in Hawaii.

Low side guess is Heroes season 3 cost in the neighborhood of $50 million – 25 episodes.

DVD sales don’t come close to recouping investment.

By: Fin

Fin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:29:23 +0000

Hurray for Heroes!!!, still selling strong

By: forg

forg — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:36:26 +0000

The Office season 5 definitely had a very engrossing storyline with the Michael Scott Paper company aside from the Jim/Pam romance. Great to see huge sales for that show.

And impressive sales for True Blood

By: Mumbo

Mumbo — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:27:44 +0000

Yeah, people aren’t just watching The Office for comedy, it’s to see what happens next. It has pretty well-defined story arcs. But it’s written in a way that it doesn’t bog itself down with all the continuity – it’s still easy to jump in at any point.

But The Office is definitely a show where you would pick up the DVD and watch it in order from start to finish, because there’s definitely a continuing story there.

On another note, Heroes continues to do well in every medium except TV. Makes sense, since the sluggish storytelling makes it pretty weak to watch on a weekly basis, but renting the DVDs and watching them steadily (as I have been doing) fixes some of the show’s problems, definitely.

By: J

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:56:06 +0000

The “Dexter” DVD sales numbers are really impressive, especially when you consider that each season only has 12 episodes and thus you can typically buy each season for about $20 (as opposed to a more expensive set like “Heroes”). Of course, I’m sure the strong sales of the show also have to do with the fact that not that many people have a subscription to Showtime, so they just watch the show on DVD.

By: Schmoker

Schmoker — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:46:27 +0000

Thanks, Robert. I’ll look into it when I get some time on the weekend. Let you know if I find anything interesting. And I will try and get my decimal places right this time.

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:58:16 +0000

way too much work for my little bit of interest. But you can comb the weekly data at the-numbers.com if you’re interested. some do pretty well, just not well enough to make the top 100 DVDs of the year list (most of which are movie DVDs).

By: schmoker@neo.rr

schmoker@neo.rr — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:48:56 +0000

Robert, it would be really interesting to find out (if you have the numbers) what the procedurals do on DVD. How much are NCIS and Law Order SVU making via DVD? The answer to that question right there might tell us why studios keep trying to make serial dramas.

By: Rodney J.

Rodney J. — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:12:16 +0000

That futoncritic link is very informative from an industry perspective, but not all that helpful when looking at an individual show. Serialized dramas represent a very small portion of the overall broadcast/cable schedule. The ad revenue noted in that link represents the entire schedule including live sports broadcasts. There aren’t many people purchasing sports-related DVDs. Foreign and DVD sales absolutely are a major factor when evaluating shows like Heroes. LOST could tank in the ratings but still stay profitable with its DVD sales.

By: BFan

BFan — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:26:29 +0000

Anyone know how TSCC did?

By: peter

peter — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:05:38 +0000

yay for heroes!!!!!!!!!

By: thedemonhog

thedemonhog — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:47:56 +0000

Rich, your answer is at http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20091006_10things.

By: nkinsey

nkinsey — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:39:04 +0000

I would argue that all but Family Guy & South Park are serialized. The Office is FOR SURE serialized (but in a way that welcomes newcomers).

By: Rich

Rich — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:01:19 +0000

I don’t know if you’ve done a post on this in the past, but part of my problem with understanding the economics of television shows is being unclear on the breakdown between the different revenue streams–advertising from original telecasts, syndication, DVD sales, foreign sales. When guessing on the chances of Heroes being renewed, for instance, many point to DVD and foreign sales, but how substantial are those pieces really–large enough to keep a relative failure going? It would also help us understand the economics of a show like House, the largest international hit, with Grey’s Anatomy, not so much of one.

Just my request for the day.

By: ChasyChase

ChasyChase — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:34:41 +0000

I own three of the top sets and all off these I while in the air that is cool means there is greater chance of my favorite shows not to get cancelled! The shows were 24, Smallville and True Blood

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:00:13 +0000

Altair, about the same, $28.2 million. A tiny bit less, but Lost had benefit of being available for more than two weeks during peak Christmas shopping season.

Both = awesome

By: Altair

Altair — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:55:38 +0000

Lost S5 DVD has truly awesome revenue!
How much did True Blood S1 DVD earn in the firt 3 weeks?

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:49:52 +0000

if NBC were a normal network not in a state of escalating ratings carnage I’d say “signs point to no.” But because it is on NBC, I’ll just say “Reply Hazy, Ask Again Later”

By: Draftpick2009

Draftpick2009 — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:45:06 +0000

Robert is heroes coming back next season !!!!!!!!

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:43:57 +0000

Roland,

Some of our ad deals pay us the same regardless of whether you click or not, and some of them pay more if you click. In the end, a higher click through rate is better for us, though, so please click.

Tell your friends!

By: Roland

Roland — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:38:36 +0000

Robert I’m way off topic here—but can you give me a number in regard to the ad sales you do here? This after all is a site thats based on ratings and what it corresponds with revenue. I have a hard time knowing if the ads i see are not paying you unless I click them.

By: Draftpick2009

Draftpick2009 — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:24:34 +0000

He’ll ya Heroes!!!!!! A show that can’t get 4 million live viewers gets over 25 millon in DVD sales = people r watchin Heroes !!!!!!!!

By: dunk

dunk — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:23:56 +0000

its great to see that although serialized shows are failing in the tv ratings, DVD sales are an alternative way for this show to bounce back