What has changed? Why don't networks air reruns anymore?
 

I remember a time when VCRs were rare and you really could only watch one primetime show in an evening. If you ended up choosing the wrong show or missing an episode, you could always look forward to catching the entire season in repeats over the summer "off-season". While networks are seemingly struggling to find new summer programming, wouldn't they be better served by rerunning shows - especially serialized ones? Even though I caught all of the episodes, I would gladly rewatch the entire last season's episodes of Ugly Betty, Dirty Sexy Money, Desperate Housewives, LOST, Brothers & Sisters, Eli Stone, Heroes and Pushing Daisies. Heck, I'd even encourage friends who missed the boat on Dirty Sexy Money and Pushing Daisies to get hooked from the beginning!

I understand that DVRs and DVD season sets do change things a little, but isn't it a missed opportunity? Certainly I would expect repeats of whole seasons to potentially get better ratings than some crappy, shoddy, hastily produced reality show (American Gladiators?).

Perhaps because the costs to rerun them are prohibitive? Or the producers want to save them for dvd production?

They make more money off cheap summer programming than reruns. No one watches reruns.

This is from a TVGuide blog post I found from September '07

http://community.tvguide.com/blog-en...inal/800022131

I heard the only repeats that do really well are procedurals like CSI.

That's because the old people who watch those shows can't remember whether or not they've seen them before. ;)

I guess no one told SNL.

Many of the shows I watch are re-run... HIMYM, Big Bang Theory, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Numbers, and probably one or two more I'm missing. I'm also liking network family/cross network reruns- A&E just started Criminal Minds S1 on Friday nights, NCIS/House on USA, Bones from S1 on TNT, etc. I missed the first seasons of both CM and Bones and am enjoying watching them from the beginning.

I'm sure there are a lot of reasons:

Summer programming brings in more revenue.
Having people watch the episodes they may have missed online brings in more revenue.
Assuming that people will buy the DVDs if they can't watch reruns which will bring in more revenue.

With that said I think it would be smart for the networks to air a few reruns here and there for shows that have been picked up for the next season so that people that missed it the first go around can watch it this time and catch on to the show. For example: I never watched Pushing Daisies but have heard good things. If the reruns were on this summer I probably would watch it and latch on to next season. Now I know I can get the first seasons from a bunch of other places (legally) but I really do not have the motivation to do so.

Not really the same thing, but I find it baffling that a long running show like The West Wing isn't on in syndication anywhere in my market. Bravo ran it for awhile, but that's it.

There's just too much competition anymore. I think there was a thing stating the average Cable subscriber has 110 channels? There's just too much selection anymore.

Summer programming brings in more revenue? I have to disagree with that statement. I think this is the time were ad dollars are the lowest, hence the networks want to find the cheapest thing to put on TV that can make a quick profit.

Procedurals like CSI, Criminal Minds, House or Bones can re-air during the summer because the episodes are all standalone and all those episodes are already bought and paid. They also seem to get really good ratings.

Serial Dramas on the other hand don't get squat for ratings and summer probably would be worst than a regular season airing. Have you seen ratings for a Lost re-run? Remember when FOX tried to re-air season 5 of 24 during the summer? I heard the ratings were bad and then FOX butchered the rest of the airing skipping episodes. CBS had to skip episodes for Jericho's re-airing last summer because there wasn't enough weeks in the summer to re-air 22 episodes.

But the main reason is there is too much entertainment medium out there including Cable, DVD rentals and going to the theatre. Most people would rather be outside during the summer than being couch potatoes like during the fall and spring.

Yes. Summer programming has replaced reruns. Everything that the networks (and every other business entity) do is about profit. It is more profitable for the networks to run So You Think You Can Dance than to run reruns. Period.

Yup, most questions that begin with "Why don't networks ..." can always be answered with "$$$".

Twenty years from now someone can start a thread and we can all share our fond memories of growing up with summer reruns, and there will be posts from members too young to remember them.

They are afraid if they put on a replacement show during the summer for SNL, people might like the replacement show better.

Reruns only made sense in a pre DVD season set/TIVO world. Back in the day you had to rely on reruns to catch up on shows you missed, or watch shows you wanted to see in first run but missed because it was up against something else you liked. These days you can either record your shows and watch them later, watch them online, download them, wait for DVD...reruns just aren't profitable any more.

Yup. 110 channels of infomercials and the same retread crap over and over again! What to watch, what to watch!

My dad said it best, "I can fall asleep at 9:30 and finish watch the same episode of Law & Order at 6 before I go to work". I think that says it all right there.

USA airs lots of Monk repeats. So yeah, cop procedural.

Another consideration is whether the show relies heavily on continuity. Serial shows like Heroes and LOST have always done poorly in reruns. Meanwhile, a show like House gets rerun constantly. Hell, FOX will cancel a show and opt to show reruns of House instead of the remaining episodes shot of that series. That's largely because most House episodes stand on their own very well.

That said, at the end of the summer, FOX is re-airing the entire first season of Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles as a build up to the season 2 premiere.

Because once an episode has aired once, it becomes available on the ultimate Rerun channel. It's called Channel BT. You can watch anything at your leisure :)

It will be just like Jason Hervey in Back to the Future - "what's a rerun?"

But twenty years from now we will know:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/p...3/26/rerun.jpg

Hour-long dramas have rarely, if ever, been successful in syndication. The growth of cable changed that somewhat (Law and Order seems to be on 24/7), but mostly that's been the rule of thumb.

See now I would understand the DVD argument only if the season sets were released within a reasonable enough timeframe to allow you to GET caught up. It always seems DVD sets like LOST or Desperate Housewives are released like the week before the next season's premiere. What's that all about?!?!? -screwy-

Really? When does that start? Maybe I'll be able to watch it before the Blu-ray comes out.