The network television upfront season is almost upon is. This is when the major networks announce their schedule for the Fall, along with new shows. Unfortunately, it’s also a time when we find out which of our favorite shows aren’t coming back. It can be very bittersweet. For me, the two shows that I’m worrying about are “Chuck” on NBC and “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” on FOX. Both NBC and FOX tend to bring down the hammer a bit too early. Hey Fox, remember when you canceled “Family Guy” and then put it back on the air because you made a dumb mistake? Oh, and “Arrested Development”? There’s enough fans to warrant a movie. Yea, don’t do things like that again. Sometimes, shows need time to grow. Just because it doesn’t happen overnight, why does it deserve to be yanked? You’re just going to put some other crap on the air anyway. Think of your shows as an investment. And please don’t just look at pure numbers here, either. The accuracy of Nielsen numbers can easily be questioned.

For those who are unaware, when you hear that such and such show was watched by X million people, that’s just an estimated number. To briefly sum it up, certain households are Nielsen households. They have a box hooked up to their televisions that send their viewing statistics out to Nielsen. Each of those households represent a large chunk of the US population. So in other words, one of these households is representing YOU. What you watch in your non-Nielsen equipped house is irrelevant. Hopefully one day, networks can get a much more accurate picture, but until then, that’s the way it works. Of course these days, you can also watch much programming online. The networks do pay attention to online views, but somehow I can’t help but feel like it doesn’t hold quite as much value as the Nielsen numbers.

When it comes down to it, the networks are looking for money. The more viewers a show has, the more advertisers want to pay for their spots to be in that show. Yes, this is a business so I understand that. But come on, can we take into consideration the content and quality in some of these shows a little bit? A show like “Chuck” can appeal to a wide variety of people. Why don’t more people watch? Maybe it isn’t advertised enough, maybe the time slot is wrong, who knows? I think it’s safe to say that it is a high quality show. I just hope that the networks take the dollar signs off their eyes and take a look at things other than pure numbers. Look at fan communities, look at podcasts even. Those are the types of things that can more accurately predict the fanbase or the growth of a show. Here’s to hoping that some rational decisions are made. I don’t want to have to say I told you so to the networks.

That’s my three cents.

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