Turnaround Time? (1 Viewer)

[Lynda-Marie]

Does anyone know how long it takes, after a show is released, for the numbers to get back to whatever powers that be, that a show has sold well enough, and is making enough of a profit to release further seasons of it?

Maybe it's just the different studios and their particular preference for releases, but it seems that some shows are getting out faster than others. I know shows that had big ratings recently, Friends, for example, is probably a higher priority for the studio to release as quickly as possible, since they want the show to still be fresh in everyone's minds and be able to make a buck off of it.

But what about something older, like a 50s era show, like Dick Van Dyke? How long did it take for the numbers to get back to the powers that be that this was going to be a moneymaker, and thus, get more than season 1 released? I know that the fans of The Mary Tyler Moore Show were quite disappointed that no further seasons have been released, and I am certainly an upset Mad About You fan, that I get two seasons and a "best of" set.

In short, is there a standard amount of time for the studios to get the numbers, or does each studio have its own criteria, and thus, its own release schedule?

 

[Joshua Lane]

It really depends on how well a title sells. If it sells really well in the first two weeks, then greenlighting the next set is a pretty simple decision. However, if after week 4 or 5 sales are almost-good, then they may wait a few more weeks to see how it's still doing.

All in all, I'd say it takes about 4-6 of sales data to accurately determine how many copies a title will sell. That would give the studio enough info to properly map the sales curve without much room for error.

 

[David Lambert]

Something else to consider, too, is that if a title doesn't sell well right off the bat, the studio will wait a few months to see if it's an "evergreen" title: one that doesn't sell like hotcakes right away, but yet steadily continues to sell regularly as time goes on.

If convenient to the decision-making process, the winter holidays are a good indication of that kind of effect ("does the title get bought for Christmas?").

But they consider long-term sales to be a good indication of a property's worth when deciding on future seasons. "Hey, look: 'The Jamie Foxx Show - S1' didn't sell much at all compared to the other five S1 releases we put out on Feb 8, but just a few weeks later suddenly everyone was buying it! It was just as if folks discovered Jamie Foxx all at the same time, like he won a big award or something!"

Maybe not the best example; I've been told by studio execs that they'll look at a property months down the road in many cases, working the numbers to see if additional seasons can make sense from a revenue standpoint. If they can make it work, they announce additional seasons.