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Cable TV & Broadcast (through the air) TV

StarStuff

Regular
I believe I recently read the word "little" when referring to the Sci Fi Channel.

Does anyone know the actual number of subscribers to Sci Fi Cable Channel and the possible audience available for the Broadcast Channel on which B5 was originally shown?

Just wondering, with all the talk about promoting RANGERS, what numbers are needed for the show to be considered viable?

Also, since B5 originally appeared on Broadcast TV and moved to Cable - is it possible that RANGERS (and JEREMIAH) will eventually find their way from Cable to Broadcast TV?



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God be between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk.
 
I'm not an expert, but I think it's possible. The Invisible Man airs on the Sci-Fi channel, but a week or two after it shows an episode, that same episode ends up on syndication. Outer Limits and Stargate SG-1 are the same way, but I think there might be a season or two lag time between Cable and syndication with those shows.

They're doing a lot more cable/syndication crossovers like that lately. Law & Order episodes show on NBC first, then on cable--on the USA Network I think. If I remember correctly, another broadcast drama (I think Once and Again on ABC) shows their episodes on Lifetime Network.

I wouldn't be surprised if those of us without Showtime, still end up seeing Jeremiah eventually. However, I get the feeling Sci-Fi may keep tighter reigns on B5LR. There again, they do release I-Man to syndication. Who knows?

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Not many fishes left in the sea. Not many fishes, just Londo and me.
 
Shucks, I can't remember where I read this, but I'm almost sure JMS's reply to this very question was "yes, it probably will, but not for a long time". I don't get Showtime or any of the premium channels, and don't particularly want to. I wonder how long we'll have to wait!
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"I do not believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense,
reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."-- Galileo
 
As always, thanks Joe. 2 years isn't so bad. If ALL goes REALLY WELL, then Rangers will still be a series, Crusade will be back as a series, and the syndicated Jerimiah will be out there, too. 3 JMS shows would be like heaven. I'd have to forgo watching everything else just to keep up!
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"I do not believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense,
reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."-- Galileo
 
Still trying to figure out whether I'll ever get to see the Rangers movie... or Jeremiah, for that matter, which actually sounds interesting...
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Perhaps I should just pack my things and move to the States.
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Oh and Hypatia... congrats!
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"It's animal magnetism. What can I say?"
- G'Kar, A Tragedy of Telepaths
 
Hey, another Ambassador! Congratulations hype. It IS getting crowded on ambassador row these days.
laugh.gif


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Sheridan: Are you trying to cheer me up?
Ivanova: No sir, wouldn't dream of it.
Sheridan: Good, I hate being cheered up. It's depressing.
Ivanova: So in that case we're all going to die horrible, painful, lingering deaths.
Sheridan: Thank you, I feel so much better now.
 
JMS said that Jeremiah should be available for syndication in about two years.
smile.gif


Re: Audience size.

Not every American town is even wired for cable TV, and not every home in the ones that are wired subscribes to cable. And the Sci-Fi Channel isn't even carried on every cable service that does reach this already limited number of homes. So it is available to a much smaller number of households than any broadcast network show and most syndicated shows, and doesn't even reach as many households as other cable networks like TNT.

This is mostly because most analog cable systems have a very limited number of available channel positions, and older, better established networks tend to already occupy them. Sci-Fi is gaining ground as cable operators slowly convert to higher-bandwidth digital delivery systems, and as consumers opt out of cable altogether and go for digital satellite services, which can carry hundreds of channels in contrast to the 50 or 60 offered by most analog cable systems. But it is still not in a huge number of American homes.

For this reason, published ratings reports for cable channels like Sci-Fi and TNT are "adjusted" to show what the rating would have been had they been available in are larger number of homes. (I think the formula is based on 90% coverage.) So an absolute rating of .66 on Sci-Fi (representing "X" number of households) is reported as a .85, perhaps. (Numbers are for purposes of illustration only. Any resemblance between the numbers I've used here and the actual numbers is purely coincidental, since I have no idea what the real formula is.
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)

On broadcast television B5 was not on a "real" network either, so it didn't air at the same time on the same day across the country, and there were many cities where no local station carried the show. While PTEN was a "pseudo-network", as a practical matter B5 was sold the same way a first-run syndicated series is, station-by-station in each city, and with similar results.

I think for most of its run B5 was on the air in something like 90% of U.S. television markets, and most or all of the top 30 markets, but it never acheived the 100% penetration that some broadcast networks enjoy. (And in many areas it was on hard-to-get UHF stations.) But even with all of those problems B5 was available to far more viewers on broadcast television than could ever watch it on either of its cable/satellite TV homes.

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division

joseph-demartino@att.net
 
Yeah, go ahead and brag about "Ambassador Row".
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I'd be happy to finally make it to "4th Street".
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Gee whiz, I post something every day; how long does it take?
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And, yes, I said "Gee whiz".
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Not many fishes left in the sea. Not many fishes, just Londo and me.
 
Depends how many posts a day you make, Ninja_Squirrel... I can tell you though that you need about

<table bgcolor=black><tr><td bgcolor=black><font size=1 color=white>Spoiler:</font></td></tr><tr><td><font size=2 color=black>25 more posts</font></td></tr></table>

to make it to WarCaptain... and after that, a nice round 430 to make it to Ambassador.
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BTW - trying to steer the conversation back on topic - does anyone know, do we get cable or just broadcast TV on Embassy Row?
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tongue.gif


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"It's animal magnetism. What can I say?"
- G'Kar, A Tragedy of Telepaths
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by StarStuff:
Does anyone know the actual number of subscribers to Sci Fi Cable Channel<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I don't have any hard numbers, but I know there was recent news story about the channel growing explosively the last few years and becoming one of the top ten US cable networks.

[This message has been edited by drakh (edited August 01, 2001).]
 
Kribu and crazybillyo thanks, but notice I'm already petitioning for more ranks. I don’t want to be at the top rank, I’m going back to work soon and won’t be posting as much anymore.

Besides, if we have this many ambassadors already, 6 months BEFORE “Rangers” the movie is broadcast, what will this place be like by then? We’ll scare off any newcomers with everyone else being an ambassador.


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"I do not believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense,
reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."-- Galileo
 
Once enough people get to Ambassador rank, maybe a 6th one could be added. For instance, the Centauri ranks could go from Ambassador to Prime Minister, since the 4th rank is just plain Minister. Earth could have senator of president, Minbari could have Grey Council Member, Narn could have Kha'Ri Member, etc.

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Not many fishes left in the sea. Not many fishes, just Londo and me.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> Besides, if we have this many ambassadors already, 6 months BEFORE “Rangers” the movie is broadcast, what will this place be like by then? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Last I counted, there are only 7 ambassadors so far. Not a whole lot, considering hundreds have registered. Still, I can see your problem, that there aren't enough ranks. But whatever is done, there will always be that where a few will surpass the highest mark and this may all start again, unless it's just super high where only people who devote their entire lives to the board have any chance of reaching it.

I'm happy with the way things are now, but yes, eventually something may need to be done.

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Sheridan: Are you trying to cheer me up?
Ivanova: No sir, wouldn't dream of it.
Sheridan: Good, I hate being cheered up. It's depressing.
Ivanova: So in that case we're all going to die horrible, painful, lingering deaths.
Sheridan: Thank you, I feel so much better now.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> do we get cable or just broadcast TV on Embassy Row?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Kribu, you will get only what you Need.
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Yes, I like cats too.
Shall we exchange Recipes?
 
And here I was hoping that I'd get what I want instead.
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"It's animal magnetism. What can I say?"
- G'Kar, A Tragedy of Telepaths
 
Starstuff, According to the SciFi Weekly on-line it has 217,000 subscribers. I'm sure that not all who watch the SciFi channel are subscribers.

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The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine. J.B.S. Haldane, British Geneticist & Philosopher

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Starstuff, According to the SciFi Weekly on-line it has 217,000 subscribers. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That refers to how many people subscribe to the Sci-Fi Weekly e-mail edition and has nothing to do with how many people subscribe to the Sci-Fi Channel. A TV network only being received by 217,000 people would be out of business the day the first ratings report came in. That isn't even a very high number for an e-mail newsletter, it is probably a fraction of the number of people who view the website.

[Added 8/2 12:05 PDT]:

According to a June 28th news story in the Los Angeles times, The Sci-Fi Channel reaches 70 million "subscribers", up from 10 million when the network was launched in the early 80s. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the word "subscribers" means in this context. Unlike pay cable services (HBO, Showtime) people do not specifically subscribe to the Sci-Fi Channel. They take a package of channels that includes it, and it may not be the reason they went for that package. In any case, I don't know if "subscribers" represents the number of households that get the channel, or the number of viewers in those households. So it is hard to know what this means, exactly. [End edit]

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division

joseph-demartino@att.net

[This message has been edited by Joseph DeMartino (edited August 02, 2001).]
 
So, the SciFi Channel is in 70 million households. Do you know what percentage of the 70 million households needs to be tuned in for a program to be considered a success? For instance, what are the ratings for the continuing series Farscape?

Does the Sci Fi Channel have an official Message Board? And, should we begin friendly postings promoting enthusiaum for the upcoming Ranger project? These are some of the most likely viewers and perhaps we might actually help to increase the audience size.

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God be between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk.

[This message has been edited by StarStuff (edited August 02, 2001).]
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> So, the SciFi Channel is in 70 million households. Do you know what percentage of the 70 million households needs to be tuned in for a program to be considered a success? For instance, what are the ratings for the continuing series Farscape?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

SHOW HHR
The Chronicle 1.6
Farscape 1.2 <-----Farscape Rating
Lexx 1.1
It, Part I 1.1
Invisible Man 1.0 Fury Within 1.0
Snow White 1.0
It, Part II 1.0
Tales from the Crypt 0.9
John Edward 0.8


Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 7/9/01 - 7/15/01

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> Does the Sci Fi Channel have an official Message Board? And, should we begin friendly postings promoting enthusiaum for the upcoming Ranger project? These are some of the most likely viewers and perhaps we might actually help to increase the audience size. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes indeed, right here http://www.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/1957

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"I didn't think so, but if I was wrong, I was wrong. I'd rather do something, and make a mistake than be frightened and be doing nothing. That's the problem back home. Folks have been conned to thinking they can't change the world, have to accept what is. I'll tell you something my friends. The world is changing every day, the only question is who's doing it."
-- Rev. Dexter in Babylon 5:"And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place"
 
Thanks, Chai for the info on the Sci Fi messageboard. I checked it out and found that it was a B5 messageboard. I had hoped they had a general Sci Fi messageboard where we might convert Sci Fi fans to B5LR fans.

Well it was a thought.

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God be between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk.
 

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