As the networks ready their upfront presentations to media buyers for the coming season, the looming question is what shows on the schedules won’t be returning.

And when it comes to shows on the bubble, at risk of being axed, NBC leads the other broadcast networks handily, in the view of media buyers, according to a survey of Media Life readers that ran earlier this week.

But it also leads in having bubble shows most deserving of renewal, "Parenthood" and "Chuck."

Asked which network had the most shows on the bubble, exactly 50 percent of respondents picked NBC. In second came ABC at 25 percent, with CBS third at 14 percent and Fox fourth at 6 percent. The CW came in last at 5 percent.

Yet when the question was flipped around—Which network has the fewest number of shows on the bubble?—CBS came out ahead at 51 percent. Fox was No. 2 at 17 percent and ABC third at 16 percent, with the CW fourth at 11 percent. NBC came in fifth at 5 percent.

But interestingly, when asked to rank the shows believed to be on the bubble in terms of risk of not being renewed, NBC's three shows, "Parenthood," "Chuck" and “The Marriage Ref,” fared better than shows on other networks.

Buyers were asked to rank degree of risk on a scale of one to five, one being the highest degree of risk of cancellation. All three NBC shows were ranked three.

But two of the three CBS shows were ranked two, "Gary Unmarried" and "Accidentally on Purpose.” Only its third at-risk show, "Rules of Engagement,” earned a three.

Both ABC’s at-risk shows were ranked two, "FlashForward" and “V.” Fox’s two at-risk shows, "Lie to Me" and “Human Target,” both got threes. The CW’s one at-risk show, "Life Unexpected,” got a three as well.

Also, among the veteran shows at risk of cancellation, NBC wasn’t at the bottom. Voted most at risk was CBS’s "Numb3rs" at 48 percent. CW’s "One Tree Hill" was second at 27 percent and third was CBS’s "Cold Case" at 20 percent. Fourth, at a modest 3 percent of the vote, was NBC’s “Law & Order.”

On another note, of the two long-running comedies that were recently canceled, readers were asked which made them mutter "it's about time." The shows were "Scrubs" on ABC and "'Til Death" on Fox. It was close but the latter show won that honor at 53 percent to 47 percent.

Asked to name this season’s MVP show, readers gave CBS’s “NCIS” 36 percent of the vote, well ahead of the top show on broadcast, “American Idol,” which got just 20 percent of the vote. NBC's “Sunday Night Football” was third with 17 percent and ABC's “Dancing with the Stars” finished fourth at 13 percent.

The survey's final question was open-ended, and it got a slew of responses. Readers were asked to comment on which bubble show they were rooting for and why.

The choices and comments were all over the lot, but “Chuck” was a clear favorite.

Here are just a few of the comments:

“Chuck.” He's a quirky protagonist and its angle still hasn't lost its flavor yet. It's close to jumping the shark with him becoming a full blown spy, but it's worth another season.

“Chuck.” It's always entertaining and the end of last season (when Chuck became a super spy by default) changed the whole landscape of the show. I think the 8p EST timeslot is too early for this younger skewing show.

“Life Unexpected. “ Great show.

“Lie to Me.” Interesting and smart...just needs a little more personality.

I think flash forward needs another chance. If they could go back and have it start out like it was the first few episodes that would be better.

“Cold Case.” A personal favorite (admittedly as a Philadelphia resident, I enjoy the local references) that I feel still works from a story line perspective. The premise allows such a range of options as compared to the usual procedurals that, even though as generally formulaic as the others in its category, it's still more enjoyable in most weeks (and not as outlandishly sci-fi-ish as the CSI franchise).

“Chuck.” I like the combination of action and comedy. It's very family-friendly.

“FlashForward.” Finally something DIFFERENT!! Don't cancel this one!!!!!!!!!

“Law & Order.” It's still a great show and has been kicked around this year into ridiculous timeslots

“Parenthood.” it has a great cast and only a few airings behind it.

"Lie to Me" because it's well-written and acted, with a somewhat original premise, and deserves to return.