I have to admit that, when the Yankees are in the playoffs, most of my regular TV watching gets obliterated. Thankfully, DVRs and online TV sites (and, in the mid-'90s, VCRs) help me catch up. For instance, even though I have to review Cougar Town, I'll likely won't watch it until tomorrow morning, on either ABC.com or Hulu. Why? World Series game one, of course. Nothing, not even the Yankees being behind 22-0, is going to tear me away from FOX at 9:30, when I should be watching Cougar Town on ABC.
Which leads me to something that I've been wondering lately: Didn't networks used to program more reruns against the World Series? Tonight, NBC has a lineup of new episodes, as does ABC (except for Charlie Brown in Hank's slot, for understandable reasons). Tomorrow, all three of FOX's competitors have new episodes.
Look, there are good reasons why ABC, NBC and CBS have been unafraid of the Fall Classic in recent years. Some of these networks' lineups (especially ABC on Thursday) have audiences that likely won't be watching the Yanks and Phillies, and the last few WS matchups haven't exactly been full of marquee potential (heck, I'm sure more people in Tampa watched Grey's Anatomy last year than saw their Rays play in the '08 Series).
But this year's high-profile match-up, combined with the fact that the playoffs have been getting good ratings so far, might counter the bravado that FOX's competitors have been displaying over the last few years. It's always a roll of the dice because of who's in the Series from year to year, but I wonder if the networks will find it worth burning new episodes of their shows next year if the Series games wipe them off the map.
Are you happy that there are new shows against the Yankees-Phillies? Unhappy? Don't care? Let me know in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-28-2009 @ 5:26PM
Kirpaul said...
meh... baseball is no longer America's sport and the ratings suck compared to some of the good shows on other networks. I'm glad new shows are on.
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10-28-2009 @ 5:56PM
TomK said...
go PHILLIES!!!!!! Everyone hates the Yankees.
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10-28-2009 @ 5:52PM
Chris said...
It's good to have options out there. I would watch the world series if with a group that wanted to, but on my own I am not enough of a baseball fan to sit through multiple games of the same teams playing. If it were one game--winner takes all--I would be there.
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10-28-2009 @ 6:11PM
Red Sox fan said...
I remember when networks would usually air reruns against the World Series too. Of course, they had decent programming to watch back then.
Unless the Red Sox are playing in it, I really don't watch the World Series.
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10-28-2009 @ 6:25PM
ac said...
I'm sure people who hate baseball are glad for alternatives, but I'm not. Thursday is my TV day and its already complicated enough with Community/FlashForward and The Office/Fringe conflicts. Now I have to add the Yankees to it all. I guess Community will be watched online and everything else gets sent to the DVR.
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10-28-2009 @ 7:50PM
nick said...
Not everyone is interested in baseball. For me, it's not something I'd make a point of watching. So I'm glad there's alternatives.
I only wish the networks didn't give up Saturday nights.
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10-28-2009 @ 9:12PM
Michael said...
Yawn... freaking baseball...
Don't care, don't watch. This week and last have just SUCKED without any new programming worth watching. I've spent my time catching up on my DVDs rather than wasting time on crap I've got no interest in watching (or have already seen the first time it was on).
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10-28-2009 @ 10:22PM
CC said...
Remember when baseball used to be over before November? Yeah, that's changed.
I'm glad to have alternatives to watch. Not everyone likes either the Phillies or the Yankees, and unless you are a diehard fan of the sport, you probably won't be watching.
Especially Game 1... if it was the Game 7 or a potential championship-winning game, then maybe I'd watch some of it.
CBS has reruns. Just not ABC. And I say good for them, because that's what I'll be watching (even though for a LONG time, I didn't like anything ABC was showing - but Modern Family is great!).
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10-28-2009 @ 11:37PM
mb said...
I am glad for new shows, the TV season really just started.
Twenty years ago, when they showed reruns, the shows would have been on for 6 to 8 weeks with no DVRs, Tivo, Hulu or an internet. Thirty years ago, no VCRs. People who had missed the beginning of the season, could catch up while others watched baseball.
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10-29-2009 @ 1:30PM
Rhomboid said...
Move to the west coast. Sports are live while primetime is 3 hours delayed. That means you can watch your baseball from 5pm - 8:30-ish and then catch your primetime shows in their normal time slots.
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