Not only are they having to make their picks from scripts and outlines instead of finished pilots with already approved marketing plans; but in a couple of cases, they'll need to figure out how to fit them into the alloted timeslots -- as well as how to pay for them.
The FOX network has announced it will air two of its new drama series, J.J. Abrams’ “Fringe” and Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse,” with reduced commercial breaks. Both series will only make room for five minutes of commercials per hour, about half the normal dosage.
“It’s a simple concept and potentially revolutionary,” Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori said. “We’re going to have less commercials, less promotional time, and less reason for viewers to use the remote. We’re going to redefine the viewing experience.”
I'll say. And it's going to be particularly interesting to see how the Canadian networks handle this shift. You see, they've been crying poor to the CRTC for so long that last summer the Commission granted them the right to program ADDITIONAL commercial time.
Yes, in one of its particularly anti-consumer moves, the Regulator (who's job it's supposed to be to protect the rights of the viewing audience) allowed Canadian nets the right to insert 12 to 14 minutes of commercials per hour.
And the networks apparently need every second of that time, because they were back in Gatineau last month whining that they were still losing money and needed to start charging for formerly free to air services to stay afloat.
When I was producing "Eerie, Indiana" for FOX KIDS and GLOBAL, the difference in commercial times between the two networks was only a minute, so we had to deliver two different cuts, the FOX version being one minute longer.
In TV terms, a minute is a long time and we had to make sure our minute didn't include any plot points or character beats because they wouldn't be seen by the Canadian audience. But whatever tap-dancing we did also couldn't bog down the story telling.
From a budgetary point of view, we also had to place the additional minute at the top or tail of an act break so we didn't have to endure a costly remix on a significant amount of the show.
Because "Eerie" was a comedy with a couple of goofy kids, it was relatively simple to add a few jokes or a piece of physical humor that wouldn't detract from the viewing experience of any Canadians who'd never see those segments.
But that won't be an option when the difference in program content is 7 to 9 minutes or 15-20% of the episode.
The two series will have to either be edited to fit the Canadian format or allowed to overlap into the next time slot.
The former approach would likely alienate an audience who will know they can purchase the full show the next day on iTunes or stream the unexpurgated version from another source.
The alternative is probably even more terrifying to a Canadian network suit -- because overlapping the hour will create a conflict with whatever American series they've scheduled to simulcast following "Fringe" or "Dollhouse".
Remember, these guys aren't usually buying full nights from one network. They're mixing and matching from all of the Big 4 (and elsewhere).
Therefore that overlap could allow viewers a few minutes to sample the American feed from its original source before its usurped by the simulcasting Canadian channel -- and most remotes go searching if the first five minutes of a show haven't grabbed the viewer.
To additionally compound the problem for Canadian broadcasters, FOX is placing a premium on the ads for "Fringe" and "Dollhouse" feeling they are two of their "must see" shows of the season -- and of course to pay for the additional content of the programs and the fewer commercial slots.
That'll likely mean a certain amount of branding, like Ford has done with the season openers of "24".
I'm not sure those same sponsors (or a Canadian equivalent) will be willing to lay out larger ad fees to reach the much smaller Canadian audience.
Boy oh boy -- wouldn't it just be easier to make Canadian shows instead?
