corycouger

Back in the 70's and 80's you could get shows like the Love Boat and Fantasy Island on Saturdays.


Now if you program anything on Saturday it is virtually ignored and network execs decide to schedule theatrical movies or repeats of shows shown during the weekdays since they assume nobody is home on Saturday to watch them.



I don't think everyone goes out to dinner or someplace every Saturday and there are people that would probably watch network TV on Saturdays.


Any opinions?

Red Dog

Ironically, the most dominant network block of progamming in the history of TV was CBS Saturday night lineup in '73-'74.

All in the Family
M*A*S*H
Mary Tyler Moore Show
Bob Newhart Show
Carol Burnett Show

wendersfan

The greatest lineup of shows in the history of television. I never missed an episode.

At when they moved M*A*S*H they replaced it with The Jeffersons, a pretty good show in its own right...

Tracer Bullet

For as long as I can remember (going back to about 1990 or so) Saturday night has been the "death night".

Wasn't The Golden Girls aired on Saturday night? That was a pretty big show in its first few seasons.

MasterCXtreme

According to it's commentary, Freaks & Geeks was aired on Saturday nights for a short while... look what happened.

Tscott

None of the networks can compete with TLC's Trading Spaces so they don't even bother to try.

slop101

It's pretty obvious why Saturdays don't work now - very few people stay home and watch tv on Saturday nights.

But why was Saturday programing more popular in the '70s? People still went out (Saturday Night Fever). Was it because there was nothing to compete with television like there is now?
Saturday night is very popular now for renting movies - wich obviously never happened in the '70s - could that be the reason?

Jadzia

I like the idea that networks now have of airing repeats on Saturday nights. I think that is one big advantage HBO and cable networks have, if you miss an episode you can catch it later in the week.

Before I had Tivo, if I started to miss a show a few times, I would just stop watching it altogether.

GuessWho

Saturday is DVD rental night if you're not out.. duh!

DRG

Saturday (and to a lesser degree, Friday) have become lackluster tv nights, and I think the movies have a large part to do with this. Studios are stressing (and hyping) the opening weekends more these days, where in the past movies had legs and people felt less like they HAD to see a movie right away. The bulk of moviegoing happens over the weekend.

Also, more and more people are renting movies over the weekend. In the 70s this wasn't even an option and int he 80s it wasn't as prevalent yet.

B.A.

I miss the glory days of Saturday morning cartoons on the networks in the early-to-mid '80s. Hours and hours of nothing but real cartoons, most of which were quite good.

Count Dooku

When did Sat nite programming become irrevelant?

There would have to be a separate answer for each network, and the question isn't necessarily true for some of them.

FOX has had a "real crime" block of "Cops" and "America's Most Wanted" for some time, and FOX is still satisfied with the audience these two long, long, long-running shows attract.

It's just in the last year or two that CBS gave up on Sat nite.
"Walker Texas Ranger" was on during the 90s. After that, they aired "The District" and other like-minded shows.
The CBS shows just attracted a more concentrated version of the typical CBS audience: Older viewers over 50.
They've since decided that having a lock on these viewers, who aren't very desirable to advertisers, isn't worth the effort and expense of putting on original programming.

ABC tried programs recapturing its late-70s early-80s glory days. (Remember "Cupid" and "The New Fantasy Island"?)
They thought there was a Sat nite audience for romance and fantasy, but it wasn't there.

The last show worth mentioning or remembering that NBC put on Sat nite was "Freaks and Geeks", and that was in 1999.

But, in general, the answer is around the year 2000.

All the factors that adversely effect network audience share, reach a critical mass on Sat nite.

The most desirable target demographic for advertisers are 18-34 year olds, and it is assumed and accepted that young adults are not at home watching TV shows on Sat nite. They are out at restaurants, clubs and bars, at the movies, out at parties. They are watching DVDs, or premiere movies on HBO, or playing videogames.

34-49 year olds? It's assumed and accepted that the ones that aren't doing the same stuff as the 20-somehtings, are married couples who (after they put the kids to bed) are having Sat movie night with a rental.

Kids have too many other options targeted directly at them. Sat nite is a big night for Nickelodeon (SNICK). Even ABC has had trouble in the last few years with their Friday nite TGIF programming.

The old people that CBS used to attract are still there, but they are just as likely to sit through a Law and Order rerun as something that cost money to put on.

So, when did Sat nite programming become irrevelant?

For each network there is a different answer, but the why is the same:

They all reached the conclusion that because of the size and "quality" of the available audience on Sat nights, it wasn't worth making the effort to try to attract a portion of it.

Draven

Also, network TV was a bigger deal back then. Fewer choices, not everyone with cable in the 70s, etc.

I'm 28 and I personally would never watch a show on Saturday night. If I'm not out I'm usually doing something.

kenage

I too miss the Sat. morning cartoon blocks. Why did the networks decide not to show them?

wendersfan

It's probably more profitable to show infomercials ("we'll pay you to air something we paid to produce") or stuff like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which is essentially an extended advertisement for a line of toys.

Jadzia

I remember when I was in college and they moved Twin Peaks to Saturday night. My roommates and I used to wait until 11 to go out.

BigDan

The problem is that fewer and fewer people go to the movies each year (especially as a percentage of the population). I would venture to bet that even in the "olden" days, Saturday night was still the biggest movie night even if we weren't all seeing the same movies on the same opening days.

Personally, I think some of it is self-fulfilling prophecy. They don't believe in shows on Saturday, so they don't promote them as heavily and when people then don't know about the show to watch, they say it's because it's a Saturday.

The video rental idea certainly has merit as an explanation, though that would mean that people are home and pointed at the television, making them potentially open to a show that was worth watching.

Friday night should have many of the same problems as Saturday, and networks have managed to program the night and do relatively well (though I've heard Friday mentioned as a death night, too... just not for TGIF stuff).