Query: Why do some networks spend money creating animated programs?

E

Emina H

New member
…and then choose not to show certain episodes on their network?

I believe Nickelodeon has done this the most, such as with “All Grown Up” and “Invader ZIM”, though I believe they also did it with “My Life As A Teenage Robot”. It seems entirely impractical to me. If they actually aired these episodes, they could at least cut their losses and get something for the money they spent, but nothing good comes from keeping the episodes in the dark.

Does anybody know the reason for this practice?
 
Three theories:

1. The executives in charge might not be satisfied with the final result with any of the episodes.

2. If the show is on the brink on cancellation, the network won't bother to show the episodes.

3. The episodes might prove to be un-airable so retakes will take place and the episodes' airdates would be delayed as a result.
 
But they already spent money to get the episodes created. When they choose not to show the episodes, the work that they paid for is doing them absolutely no good. If they at least aired the episodes, they could cut their losses and gain some advertisement revenue from it.
 
Well, executives might as well take a risk of not showing them despite all the money they spent on.

Another possible theory I thought of is that if the show doesn't gain its target audience, the network won't bother to air the remaining episodes.
 
It's actually quite a big mystery to me. But a few of the reasons may be that it could be greatly insulting the network ("The Boondocks" have two episodes unaired because of insulting BET, and "The Angry Beavers" never had their final episode aired due to the episode insulting its policy on canceling/ending series). Another reason may because it hits what is sometimes considered a touchy issue ("The Powerpuff Girls" finale had something to do with cults). There may be other reasons, but I'm not completely sure what those may be.


"Invader ZIM" had all it's episodes shown, even though the final episodes never aired until August 2006 on Nicktoons Network. The case with "Invader ZIM" is the fact Nickelodeon pulled the plug on the series while the crew was producing season two, leaving several episodes unfinished. And I think the third season of "MLaaTR" is legally online. :shrug:
 
Liability and PR concerns are other reasons.

For example, the benefits of having one extra episode of Pokemon in "Electric Soldier Porygon" to air, put on DVD, adapt into 'film comics', etc. pales in comparison to the harm it would do to the franchise as a whole. Even with technology that allows for it to be made safer, its airing would produce headlines like "Seizure Episode of Pokemon to air this weekend".

Likewise, Disney is withholding SOTS because the potential revenues pale in comparison to the PR blow-up of releasing it mass market. The best bet is either to wait for a digital "Vault Disney" subscription program or a Treasures DVD around the time Princess and the Frog comes out.
 
Yep..Nick is the biggest culprit of this practice. I know most (but not all) of the All Grown Up episodes have aired (albeit at 6 am) but not the third season of MLaaTR--really annoying considering they are constantly showing the other eps on Nicktoons. Another show still occasionally airing on both Nickelodeon and Nicktoons (early morning again) that still has unaired episodes is As Told By Ginger.

This has been a real pet peeve for me for a long time. I do understand some of the reasons people have given for this practice but, bottom line, it shows no respect or consideration for their viewers by suddenly pulling a show without airing all its episodes, especially if the show had been seen regularly for a good while.

If it's not against forum policy, could you reveal where? I don't think TurboNick has a selection for MLaaTR anymore. Is it a non-Nick related site?
 
Aye, that's a debateable one all right.

If the shows in re-runs then there really is no good reason why the new episodes aren't broadcast, especially if they've been shown in other countries. The only logical reason I can think of is scheduling; i.e. whoever is making the schedule is either unaware of or does not want to air new episodes; either due to management or the potential marketing costs involved.
 
Well,the Angry Beavers finale didn't show because they pretty much plainingly announced their cancellation and then there's crack downs by the FCC about certain content that may be featured.

Also,there are other incidents.Like certain shows airing eps that people were depicted as 911-related were banned.:shrug: Or maybe when a voice acter dies.

There could be numerous reasons.
 
Which falls under liability and PR concerns, trying to anticipate what might turn off potential consumers. Public companies are particularly cautious in this regard.
 
Looking at how episodes of the Disney Afternoon have been withheld from airing or edited on Toon Disney shows how standards have changed. Culture changes and no one's going to play it safer than a company with stockholders.

But there is the ocassional salvage job as well, which really should have been resolved in storyboarding.
 
Cartoon Network has pretty much suspended Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes in the US. The complete series is coming out on DVD soon, with the final episodes nowhere in sight.

Networks don't just do this for animated shows -- it can happen to live-action shows as well. Firefly had quite a few unaired episodes when it was canceled, and it seems that every season at least one show gets cut off before all its episodes are aired. My guess why is that some bean counter did the math and figured out that airing the episodes is a money-losing proposition no matter how you cut it, and that they will either lose less or actually turn a profit if they axe the show entirely and replace it with something else.

There may be other reasons as well, but it's a pretty good rule of thumb that the answer to "why does Hollywood do X?" is "money," somehow.

-- Ed
 
I'd still like to know what Comedy Central was thinking by not airing the last three Dr. Katz episodes in America. They had the perfect window with which to air it: A Christmas Eve marathon with twelve slots. Nine of those were for brand new episodes, and three of them were... repeats? What? Why not use those remaining three for, gee, I don't know, the last three episodes?

Instead these three aired in other countries for years and we didn't get them in the U.S. until the complete series in 2007. So strange.
 
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