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HRTS Cable Chiefs Panel: Serialized Dramas Face Uncertain Future On Basic Cable

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday February 23, 2011 @ 5:12pm PSTTags: Cable TV, Cable TV Ratings, FX John Landgraf, HRTS Luncheon, TV, USA Network Jeff Wachtel
Nellie Andreeva

No big headlines from today’s HRTS luncheon featuring several cable chiefs: FX’s John Landgraf, Showtime’s David Nevins, USA Network’s Jeff Wachtel and BET’s Loretha Jones.

Landgraf spoke candidly about the difficulty of making serialized dramas work on basic cable. He noted that viewers seem to watch only reality series and sports live and prefer to view serialized shows in blocks of several episodes at a time on their DVRs. That hurts ratings tremendously and puts a lot of pressure on scripted programming, which doesn’t come cheap – Landgraf quoted a $200 million figure for keeping a basic cable drama series on the air for 7 years. Looking back at a show like Damages, while proud of it, Landgraf acknowledged that it didn’t work for FX and he wouldn’t do such serialized series in the future.

Other tidbits from the luncheon: Nevins spoke about broadening Showtime’s audiences, Wachtel called the final season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent a “victory lap” and Jones admitted even she was surprised by the huge success of the BET’s sitcom The Game.

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TCA: FX’s John Landgraf Not Discouraged By ‘Lights Out’, ‘Terriers’ Ratings Woes

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday January 15, 2011 @ 11:26am PSTTags: FX John Landgraf, FX Lights Out, FX Programming, Lights Out, Lights Out Ratings, TCA, Television Critics Association, Terriers, Terriers Cancelled, The League, Wilfred

From Ray Richmond, who is contributing to Deadline Hollywood’s TCA coverage:

In the final executive session of the TCA confab in Pasadena on Saturday morning, FX president and GM John Landgraf acknowledged that he’s disappointed in the ratings for the … Read More »

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It Wasn’t The Marketing: FX Chief John Landgraf On Why ‘Terriers’ Didn’t Work

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday December 6, 2010 @ 12:27pm PSTTags: Cable TV, FX, FX John Landgraf, FX Terriers, John Landgraf, Shawn Ryan, Ted Griffin, Terriers Cancelled, Terriers Ratings, TV
Nellie Andreeva

FX president John Landgraf did something network presidents rarely do – he got on the phone with reporters today to discuss the reasons behind FX’s decision to cancel the Shawn Ryan/Ted Griffin praised but low-rated series Terriers after one … Read More »

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