Sunday, Sep 7, 2008
When TV fans want to save a favorite show from cancellation, they organize online. But do the networks care?
Aug 24, 1998 | When a TV series gets canceled today, it's practically guaranteed that fans will organize a campaign online to save the show. Such campaigns are often Exhibit A in support of the argument that the Internet empowers the little guy and transforms passive audiences into an engaged public. But do these Net-based, grass-roots campaigns actually work? If every cancellation leads to another protest movement, how effective can the protest be?
The 1997-98 season for the major and minor broadcast TV networks saw notable campaigns on the Net for six canceled series. (For some reason, one-hour dramas tend to inspire the most support online.) Of those six, two were brought back by their respective networks, apparently thanks to the fervent protests of fans on the Net.
Pat Kleckner, who works as a marketing and technical support representative for a computer company, sums up her and her online colleagues' efforts: "We wanted 'The Magnificent Seven' back on CBS. And we had the tools to make that happen. Our secret weapon: the Internet."
Premiering in January of this year as a midseason series, "The Magnificent Seven," based on the movie of the same name, won decent reviews and strong early ratings. When word spread that it was unlikely to be renewed after the initial batch of nine episodes had aired, Kleckner and other like-minded fans on the Net felt the network hadn't given the new show a fair shot at building an audience. Determined to save it, they sent e-mail, letters and faxes to CBS and pooled $5,000 of their own money to buy a prominent ad in the May 5 Daily Variety to voice their support.
CBS went ahead and canceled "The Magnificent Seven" on May 20, so Kleckner and the other campaigners switched into second gear, writing and faxing executives at CBS affiliate stations. And they bought another ad, this time in USA Today, and timed its publication with the CBS affiliates' meeting in Los Angeles. This time, their efforts succeeded. On June 8, less than a month after the series' official cancellation, CBS granted "The Magnificent Seven" a midseason renewal -- and credited the fans on the Internet for influencing the network's decision.
The Net's immediacy and instant feedback enabled Kleckner and her colleagues to change their strategy quickly when it became necessary to convince affiliates to side with them. "The renewal campaign probably would not have worked without the Internet," she says. "We were working against the clock most of the time."
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