Chico: Welcome back to the show. He's Gordon Pepper, I'm Chico Alexander... over there somewhere is Jason Block. This week, we had a LOT of renewals. And all of these renewals this week tell us a bit of things... things we think you should know. You know how this works by now. One person gives a thing you should know. We all talk about why.  Ready?
Jason: Got it.
Gordon: Ready.
Chico: Starting off with thing #1...

1) The bar has been substantially lowered thanks to the renewal of Crosswords.

Gordon: Money and Power talk. Always.
Jason: That is because it used to be that a 4.0 was a renewal number, then it was 2.0...and now it's 1.0, which is amazing.
Gordon: And now word is coming out that Temptation may ALSO get a renewal. And that show hasn't consistently broken a 0.6.
Chico: Of course, numbers don't mean jack if you produce on a shoestring budget.
Jason: The home shopping element, which we all thought sucked, made Fox a TON of cash.
Gordon: Jason is much closer to the answer than Chico, leading to...

2) It's all about Profit.

Jason: Yes. It is.
Chico: How much can I make versus how much am I willing to spend on it.
Jason: Exactly.
Gordon: The one thing that benefits both Crosswords and Temptation is all of the merchandising that comes out of it.
Chico: Crosswords has been made or is being made into... well, everything.
Gordon: Crosswords will pick up numbers thanks to the electronic game and book completion of their shows. Temptation also has a game coming out, but their online store has made them a tidy profit. The fact that they don't have much in terms of a budget also helps.
Chico: Temptation will pick up profit because stupid people who actually enjoy this show wholeheartedly know how to use the internet.
Gordon: Their internet Shoppers Paradise Website has made millions.
Chico: Oh yeah. You can never have enough Simple Green, I say.
Gordon: Yep.
Jason: This is the same theory why National Bingo Night got a renewal. Ratings don't have to mean everything.
Gordon: Well, National Bingo night gets a renewal for another reason, which we'll talk about later.
Chico: Next...

3) In a world of ever-evolving game play and needless twists... Basic still works.

Chico: Cases in point: Survivor and the Celebrity Apprentice.
Gordon: People like basic.
Jason: People love BASIC.
Gordon: Advertisers also like the fact that you can put their product in the show without changing the 'Basic' part.
Chico: Yep. Of course, delivery has a hand in it as well. There's Donald Trump... and then there's JD Roberto.
Jason: Product placement doesn't have to be so obvious you are hitting them over the head with it. I loved the way the Crocs were used.
Chico: Yeah, especially with the charity aspect thrown in.
Gordon: It does. Mark Burnett knows how to take all these elements and craft them into long-running programming.
Chico: It ties in with the show. So why didn't he take elements and craft them into making a long-running Apprentice that people enjoy instead of a 60-minute commercial for whoever's paying for the challenge?
Jason: I don't feel this time is OVERLY commercial.
Gordon: Agreed. He also can't supercharge the players to make them smarter than how they appeared on screen.
Chico: Point taken. Next?
Gordon: Next one...

4) You can't TIVO the internet.

Jason: Not yet anyway.
Chico: We're working on that. :-)
Gordon: THIS is why National Bingo Night got renewed.
Chico: But yeah. Commercial TV available online pretty much amounts to entrapment.
Jason: How so?
Chico: Watch the ads.... WATCH'EM.
Gordon: The ratings were terrible, but NBN had the third highest internet rate of any web site. Not surprisingly, the sponsors saw demand for their products jump.
Chico: Which can also explain why Bingo America got greenlit for GSN.
Jason: GSN needs some good interactivity. That could be it.
Chico: I don't know. It's in access time. People are watching Wheel and Jeopardy! It could go either way.
Gordon: Keep in mind that GSN doesn't need that much for a hit. That being said, they desperately need one.
Chico: Especially after How Much is Enough.
Jason: Ugh.
Chico: Next...

5) It ain't over until we fail to make some money off of it.

Chico: We can't go by without mentioning this one out of left field... Gladiators 2000.
Gordon: Gladiators 2000, by the way, was an old series hosted by Ryan Seacrest that now has attention because...
Chico: This is one of those things that works in three ways...1) It gives TV more Seacrest time (Residuals FTW!)
Jason: And we can always use MORE Seacrest :)
Chico: 2) It fills in valuable E/I time. The popularity of Ryan Seacrest. 3) The popularity of American Gladiators.
Gordon: This isn't the first time we've seen this. American Idol Rewind is still on the air.
Chico: That said, this may be the highest profile launch of kid-game reruns since Peer Pressure back in 1998.
Gordon: Seasons of Amazing Race and Survivor are currently sitting on my DVD shelf. I don't see people selling The Best of Judge Joe brown anywhere.
Jason: Although Judge Judy has a DVD out.
Gordon: Anyone play judge Judy, the Computer game?
Jason: Uh no.
Chico: I didn't even know such a thing existed.
Gordon: It doesn't. :) But that's my point.
Chico: I should make YOU watch Peer Pressure for even suggesting that.
Gordon: Id rather watch a Stump the Schwab marathon than Peer Pressure.
Chico: Really?
Gordon: Yes. That would be Peer Pressure 2, which needs to be stuffed in a woodchipper.
Chico: Wow.
Gordon: Finally, the one thing about renewals we think you should know...

6) Game shows get the best chance of renewal because they are usually cheap to produce shows that you can tape 5 episodes or more of on a single day.

Chico: They produce for pennies on the prize dollar, really. Well... actually not, but you get our point.
Jason: Put it to you this way... Wheel's Prize Budget is around 10M. The whole year will cost about 20M with salaries et al. How much profit do you think Wheel makes?
Chico: I'm guessing a lot. In ad revenue mostly.
Jason: Pretty much.
Chico: That'll buy a lot of dresses for Vanna, since it's the most
watched syndicated show on TV
Gordon: Lets put this in another perspective
Chico: I like perspectives.
Gordon: That 20 million can get you a whole season of Wheel of Fortune...or 4 episodes of CSI. Which would you prefer to spend your money?
Jason: Bingo
Chico: Wait a second... Miami or Las Vegas? :-P
Gordon: That 20 million can get you a whole season of Wheel of Fortune...or 4 episodes of CSI Las Vegas...or 7 episodes of CSI Miami. Which would you prefer to spend your money?
Chico: I can't split it, can't I? :-)
Gordon: No, you can't split it.
Chico: But chances are you get a return with a season of Wheel. That's why it'll be on the air in 2012.
Gordon: So you would give up a half season of Wheel of Fortune for 2 episodes of CSI Vegas?
Chico: No...3.5 eps of CSI Miami. :-) Kidding. Although I do love some CSI.
Jason: Money is money.
Chico: The point we're trying to make here... Game shows.. Easy turnaround. Cheap to make. More likely to be renewed.
Jason: Bingo.
Gordon: Jorja Fox is gone. I'll order the full season of Wheel.
Jason: Check please.
Chico: Sounds like a break to me.
Gordon: We break, and then we have an order of...plungers? Again, daddy?
Chico: Hopefully, this'll be the last time we have to do this.
Gordon: ...ha ha ha ha ha...
Chico: We officially tie the Star Wars saga... after the break.

(Brought to you by Farmer Gordon's Groundhog Writer's Farm. If a Writer Sees Its Shadow, It Means Six More Weeks of "Moment of Truth")

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