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The sitcom is alive
and well, in reruns
Older syndicated comedies are outperforming
By Kevin Downey
The sitcom isn’t dead, television viewers are
simply holding out for good ones to watch.
Despite all the talk of the sitcom fading from network
television, TV viewers are still big comedy fans, only they’d
rather watch old greats like “Seinfeld” in syndication than
newer ones on broadcast that pale by comparison.
In fact, sitcoms in syndication this summer are
outperforming network comedies, according to a report released
yesterday by the Syndicated Network Television Association.
Reruns of “Raymond,” “Seinfeld” and “Friends”
ranked among the 20 highest-rated programs on TV in July. And
sitcoms in syndication averaged a 1.6 adult 18-49 rating, compared
to a 1.4 for network sitcoms.
Moreover, the 18-49 audience watching syndicated
sitcoms went up 1.9 percent over last year for the period October
through June.
“These shows are proven properties that people know
will provide laughs,” says Mitch Burg, president of the SNTA. “It
helps syndication that we have the best programs on television.”
It also helps that that syndication has had such a
strong base of supply. In effect, it's riding on the success the
networks enjoyed a few years ago. And without that success,
syndication would not be doing nearly has well, observes Brad Adgate,
senior vice president and corporate research director at Horizon
Media.
Syndication, like network TV, hasn’t been able to
drum up successful original sitcoms in recent years, leaving it to
rely on such carry-over network favorites as “Friends.”
“Syndication in previous years tried to put out
original sitcoms but they were not met with overwhelming popularity,
outside of some teen comedies like ‘Saved by the Bell,’” he
says.
“What you have in syndication are shows like ‘Everybody
Loves Raymond,’ ‘Frasier,’ ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Friends’
that have been on TV for nine, 10, 11 years. There’s nothing new
coming in that will dislodge them from their time periods.”
But just how long that might last is a different
matter.
The lack of fresh content from the broadcast networks
may prove problematic in a few years as viewers grow tired of these
aging shows.
Steve Sternberg, executive vice president and director
of audience analysis at Magna Global, points to a time just over 20
years ago when NBC had not yet premiered “The Cosby Show” when
the networks were facing a similar dearth of sitcoms.
Only this time, he notes, the networks will have a
tougher time finding a hit, ironically because of the competition
from their earlier successes.
“How is today’s situation different? Well, a lot of
the great comedies that have left the broadcast airwaves are
actually still on television, in syndication and on cable, not to
mention full seasons available on DVD,” he explains in a report
issued last week.
“Viewers are still watching 'Seinfeld,' 'Frasier,'
'Friends' and 'Everybody Loves Raymond' in fairly large
numbers, just not on network television, which makes putting
something on broadcast to draw those viewers all the more difficult.”
For sure, the broadcast networks haven’t given up
trying to revive the sitcom. As the broadcast networks gear up for
the fall television season next month, there are 10 fewer comedies
on the air than two years ago but four more than premiered last
fall.
Horizon’s Adgate says the networks are also actively
sticking with low-rated, on-the-bubble shows that in the past would
have been canceled.
“If you look at all the shows that were on the bubble
[last season], a lot of them were brought back, like ‘The Office’
and ‘Arrested Development,’” he says. “The networks have
said they are willing to nurture a comedy, and they’re going to do
everything they can to help these comedies find an audience. They
are bending over backwards to find a breakout comedy.”
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Aug. 23, 2005
©
2005
Media Life
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Kevin Downey is a staff writer for
Media Life.
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