Original Desmond

Do you think that compared to even a few years ago, people are choosing to rewatch their favourite shows rather than give the new shows a go ?

There will always be some new shows each individual will choose to check out, but with streaming services making older shows more accessible than over, they are maybe choosing to rewatch these rather than check out their 'second tier' of new shows they would have checked out if they had nothing else to watch.

Think back to several years ago, people had to make the effort to go out and buy a dvd box set of their favourite tv shows if they wanted to rewatch and they would only usually do that for shows they were really into. Now with streaming, it's so much easier.

I know i'm probably not the only one rewatching early seasons of 24 at the moment

Hokeyboy

There are WAY too many great new (and relatively new) shows to ever waste time rewatching most any shows from the past (with some exceptions).

DJariya

I think now in 2014, there is just way too many entertainment options now. With Netflix producing original shows, Hulu, Redbox, going to the theaters, Amazon, cable, DVRs, HBO Go etc.

IMO, it has nothing to do with people wanting to watch repeats. There are just more entertainment options nowadays than ever before and people are choosing to watch shows and movies on their own schedule rather than being dictated by live schedules that determine overnight ratings.

Unless you really don't pay any attention to new shows, there is way too much new and original programming now to say that someone would rather watch repeats from the 80s or 90s.

taffer

Speak for yourself. I rewatch old shows and watch new ones too. I am currently marathoning Buffy/Angel again.

The reason many shows get canceled is simply because there's an overabundance of them. Whenever there is an overabundance of anything, some will get lost in the shuffle.

Double_Oh_7

Because most of them sucked.

Paff

There's so many new shows, they don't even do summer reruns anymore. Anyone remember the days when you could catch up on a "buzz" show you missed earlier by waiting for the reruns?

Easy

Yeah, I remember that.

I do rewatch old shows, especially in the summer when there is not a lot of new product. But there are so many entertainment options today... I'm retired and I can't even keep up with it all. Sometimes I record an entire season and delete them all if the show is canceled.

fujishig

I think for me it's something a little different, though it is related to how much content is out there. The DVR is not that much different from a VHS player, but it makes recording/time shifting so convenient. So now I DVR more shows than I could ever hope to watch unless I had no kids and was suddenly unemployed. I don't watch things to sample them anymore, if I'm interested I'll dvr it, if I'm really interested it'll bubble up, but otherwise it'll sit in a pile, and poof, get deleted if it gets prematurely cancelled.

Also, while I know it's statistically valid, the fact that the ratings don't change one iota even if I watched every episode of my favorite show live every week because I don't have a Nielson box removes any incentive I have to support shows in that way. That hasn't changed in forever, of course.

auto

He mentioned exceptions - which I assumed he was talking about Buffy and Angel.

Xiroteus

I don't do that so much these days. I need to give it some time before I revisit programs I have already seen. There is so much new content with movies, books, comics, You Tube, television etc... that rewatching stuff too soon has lost a lot of it's appeal.

writer106

I remember that too. These days with DVR, I will rewatch a whole season or part of a season of shows during the summer in addition to the summer shows.

JimRochester

I don't think many shows are given enough time. And with the oversupply of crap to take its place they don't seem to worry. I'm still pissed Back In the Game was cancelled. Give it a freakin' chance. Anyone who saw it seemed to give it favorable reviews.

stenix

I agree.

There's been quite a few shows I've watched in the past where the 1st season has been average at best but then evolved to be great shows. If they'd have ran now they'd have probably been pulled/cancelled without even completing hte first season.

RoyalTea

I think new shows get cancelled because networks have a history of quickly cancelling new shows.

I don't want to start watching a new show only to have it yanked a few weeks after it starts. So I often find myself waiting until the show's been on for a month or so before catching up online, or on demand, or on DVR.

If a lot of people don't watch a show because they're waiting for others to watch the show and generate some buzz ... show gets cancelled.

davidh777

Yeah, so many new shows get canceled because... they get canceled. We viewers are gunshy of committing, and that helps fuel the cycle. Last year I bought digital subscriptions during the first seasons of both Arrow and Revolution. That meant (1) I didn't have to keep up with them like the other shows I was currently watching and (2) I could wait and see whether they were good. Now I know I should prioritize Arrow over Revolution, but it's now part of the back-season backlog. I did the same with Agents of SHIELD, and now that I know I want to watch it, I have to make time for it.

There are plenty of older shows I want to watch, never mind the ones that I rewatch, like Game of Thrones currently. Then there are so many recent shows that I want to catch up with, like Breaking Bad. Not enough time in the day.

taffer

Thank you, Mr. Ivan "If he dies, he dies" Drago.

Groucho

I do think more people are waiting to see if the show gets good word of mouth and gets picked up for a second season, then they catch up on Netflix.

Mike86

Yeah I agree with this somewhat. "Binge" watching shows seems to be the trend now days and I think a lot of people will just wait until something is on Netflix or saved up on their DVR or whatever and burn through a show fast, probably after it's been on for a while and has decent word of mouth and whatnot. So the ratings may not be as strong for some shows because people watch them later.

Jonno2006

And another thing is that networks actually produce alot of pilots every year like they WANT or EXPECT for a lot of shows to get cancelled.

Every May at the upfronts the network are showing us all the trailers and shows for the upcoming fall/mid season and these are mostly all shows written and shot a while ago, all the while some tv shows were trying to survive. And yet here are some new shows produced liked they're expecting to have room for them.

Michael Corvin

I miss summer reruns(hell, any reruns at this point). It was a great way to get into a show before season 2 started.

Hokeyboy

No freakin' doy, I'm speaking for myself. But God knows, I would kill or die to speak for you. Sailor.

dan30oly

I'm still pissed Bad Teacher was cancelled.

Michael Corvin

Your original statement reads like a general statement for everyone.

writer106

I noticed that too in the past. I remember watching the E! True Hollywood Story of Cheers and it was pointed out that the show started off with low ratings and some bad critic reviews and evolved in time. In recent years, the one show that I think was give a chance to evolve into a great show was Parks and Rec. The first season wasn't great, but NBC gave it chance and it improved in the second season.

writer106

I am too.