Thursday…Will you be watching TV?

Last Thursday, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX and CW all aired new episodes of their Thursday night lineup. You’d think people would tune in, but they didn’t. “Ugly Betty” and “Grey’s” had their lowest rated episodes ever in viewers and the key demos the advertisers covet. “ER” was in the same state of emergency (I try) while “Lost” and "CSI" appear to be searching for their audiences (I'll stop). "Ugly Betty" and "Grey's" were the first new episodes since the strike. I have two reasons I think played a part in the low ratings.

1. I assume a lot of people didn't know the shows were back. I know both were heavily promoted, but if you've already left viewing that network how would you know they were new? My own research proved that point the next day when friends were e-mailing and quite a few said they forgot the shows were on. Here on the east coast, it was one of the first couple of days of really awesome weather. I walked the dog and noticed the amount of people hanging around outside - walking their dogs, playing basketball, a few games of tag. Spring weather already makes people turn off the television which is not going to help brighten up the end of this season. If people turned to cable, the internet, video games....when will they come back to broadcast tv? I do believe that was a problem realized after the strike in '87 ended.

2. What if you were already contemplating giving up a show before the strike hit and the last new episode aired? DVR's weren't even set to catch new episodes; season passes were being removed from once favorite shows. If that last new episode didn't leave you wanting more, the odds of you seeking it out now could very well be slim to none. I've already mentioned my disappointment with “Grey's” towards the end of last season and this season. Most people who felt the way I felt probably would just let it go. By let it go, I mean viewing of the program. I tend to give programs that I've fallen out of love with more chances to win me back.

Do I think viewers will eventually come back to broadcast? Yes, some. Viewership was already down year to year before the new episodes stopped airing. The chunk of viewers who left when the strike was really felt, some of those viewers, I think will come back next season. It will be interesting to look at the dvr playback for April and May. A lot of people are watching shows when they want to watch them. So maybe they haven't actually given up on broadcast tv just yet? I was skeptical of networks waiting until next season to bring back dramas that premiered this season ("Pushing Daises," "Chuck," "Dirty Sexy Money"...). But now I do think it was the right decision and perhaps why the people who made those decisions make a helluva lot more money than I! A main reason I believe they are right is due to the amount of new episodes of the established shows we are going to get before the season officially ends. What if "Grey's" becomes the show it once was, as promised by Shonda, but we don't see that until the season finale which is less than a handful of episodes away? The regular viewers will tune in next year to watch it unfold because of the long history they already have with the show - same with "CSI" "Desperate Housewives" - but if you just get into the final episode of a brand new show and it ends for a few months, how do you find loyalty for that show come the fall? Do you care enough about the characters and stories? Let's face it, no new shows became a hit this year and they had a few months to establish themselves before they had to show repeats or be yanked from the schedule.

Let’s hope next year we get a few hit scripted programs and a reason to turn to the broadcast networks. Maybe just maybe, appointment television isn’t dead yet.