whoa, I'm not used to a post on Chuck that doesn't have a gazillion comments. So let me chime in (especially since a surge of Chuck fans knocked our site out of commission). Josh Bernoff is correct. The fan campaign (and I too bought a $5 foot long) had no impact on the ratings for Chuck's season two finale. There are plenty of shows where the amount of Internet coverage/hype/fan support does not jibe with the TV viewership. Among them, Gossip Girl, Damages, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, it was the same with Battlestar Galactica too.
I think this particular fan campaign was pretty cool in that at least they got a meal out of it! But, while cool, fan campaigns rarely seem effective at saving shows, and after Jericho, I think it will be a while. If Chuck comes back, its because Warner Brothers (studio that produces Chuck) offered it at a price NBC liked, not because of any fan campaign.
Bryan Pick
· 7 months ago
Robert - Hard to say whether it had an effect on the finale. Other shows were mostly sinking from the previous week's numbers, but Chuck stayed steady. There's also some value in showing value to sponsors who are, after all, paying for the show, and showing the network that they have high viewer engagement.
While it's ultimately going to require more viewers to save the show, I think the show can do better if it's not crushed by bad luck (writer's strike, and Obama pre-empting the show right after NBC's heavy Super Bowl promotion) and sharing a time slot with House, Dancing With The Stars, BBT (which has the exact same target audience), HIMYM, and (to some extent) Gossip Girl. Give it a little breathing room and it'll capture the demographic. The fans love it, the critics love it, it just needs exposure.
(sorry for the re-post, meant to hit Reply)
R
· 7 months ago
I bought a $5 footlong last Monday too, but I really had no expectations about the campaign having an effect on the ratings for the finale. All I was hoping for is that it would help get the word out on the street that people actually care about this show. And it definitely did reach that goal. While I know that fan campaigns don't mean much in terms of the bottom line of renewal, I DO think that if no one had even spoken a word about Chuck in the past few weeks, Chuck's chances of renewal would have been a little bit lower. It wouldn't have even been on people's radars at all if the fans and critics hadn't have gotten out there and rallied for it.
I think that the fans and critics making themselves heard at least gives NBC reassurance that SOMEONE out there gives a crap (I know they do listen to critics at least to SOME extent, because they let The Office and 30 Rock stick around back when no one was watching). I do agree with Robert that "if Chuck comes back, it's because Warner Brothers (studio that produces Chuck) offered it at a price NBC liked." However, the fact that NBC now knows that people/critics out there care must at LEAST put one point on the "Pro" side of their Pros and Cons list!! It has to have some sort of positive mental effect on the execs and the advertisers.
Oh well, I am now just incredibly frustrated with NBC for dragging this out even longer for us now. I can't help but think there is something shady going on when they just leave us in the dark like this. Very maddening.
R
· 7 months ago
Oh and sorry one addition to my previous comment - I should say that I think the "positive mental effect on the execs and the advertisers" would hopefully be that at least the show has SOME potential to grow in the ratings over time if the positive buzz gets around after a while. At the very least, it's a steady show for NBC, even if the ratings are not out of this world.
Candice @ Bidmycleaning
· 7 months ago
Firefly is yet another example of a great show that could not be saved by loyal fans who spoke out! The decisions are always based on profit and not sentiment - no matter what the fans do or say. I do hope we do get to see kick-ass Chuck next season after he discovered his new skills in the finale.
Ecocandle
· 7 months ago
I didn't know about the campaign, but had I, I would have gladly bought a foot long sub to save Chuck. There is such a dearth of well written TV shows, that it would be a shame to see them disappear into the black hole that is network 'reality tv' management.
20,000 Nielsen viewers are also not an accurate representative sample of the viewing habits of the entire country, yet the networks are still a slave to those people boxes.
David
· 7 months ago
Oh, and the big difference between Save Chuck and other fan campaigns is rather than sending unnecessary trinkets to the network or just posting loud and often on message boards and writing letters, fans were hitting up the show's advertisors directly. THAT definitely stands out.
Bryan Pick
· 7 months ago
Robert - Hard to say whether it had an effect on the finale. Other shows were mostly sinking from the previous week's numbers, but Chuck stayed steady. There's also some value in showing value to sponsors who are, after all, paying for the show, and showing the network that they have high viewer engagement.
While it's ultimately going to require more viewers to save the show, I think the show can do better if it's not crushed by bad luck (writer's strike, and Obama pre-empting the show right after NBC's heavy Super Bowl promotion) and sharing a time slot with House, Dancing With The Stars, BBT (which has the exact same target audience), HIMYM, and (to some extent) Gossip Girl. Give it a little breathing room and it'll capture the demographic. The fans love it, the critics love it, it just needs exposure.
Dave
· 7 months ago
I don't know why the Chuck decision is so difficult... The only reason it doesn't have better ratings is because of its timeslot. So move it to a new timeslot if necessary, but don't kill Chuck!
Granted there are fewer timeslots available on NBC due to the Leno thing, but there are many shows on NBC that wish they had the same loyal following that Chuck has. I really hope that if NBC is short-sighted enough to dump Chuck, that some other network picks it up.
David
· 7 months ago
From the sound of things NBC could also be delaying an announcement specifically so another network DOESN'T know it's available and snap it up. I don't put it past the networks to pull some of that childish BS.
gray
· 7 months ago
Going to start up a footlong website, shipping in less than 3 hours.
Hello,
· 7 months ago
Hello,
Greetings to you. My name is Miss Karisa 25 yrs. old beautiful black Sudan lady resident in Dakar,Senegal. I need you as my friend interms of business and advise. I am looking forward to getting an anticipated favourable response from you as soon as possible. Bye for now and stay blessed now and always. Have a blessed day,You can email me in my box(karisaahmad@yahoo.com)
I remain yours
Miss Karisa Ahmad.
stauroula
· 7 months ago
SAVE CHUCK!
stauroula
· 7 months ago
I am from greece and i love thi tv shows....chuckkkk.
Michelle_iMediaWorks
· 7 months ago
I think David's comment on the "big difference between Save Chuck and other fan campaigns is rather than sending unnecessary trinkets to the network or just posting loud and often on message boards and writing letters, fans were hitting up the show's advertisors directly. THAT definitely stands out" should not be missed. I have not watched the show, but am curious to know much effort was put into creating conversation and community with fans BEFORE they were in jeopardy of going off air? Intention is key. If the show's creators and primary advertisers had a joint strategy to cultivate and grow a community that crossed offline and online from the very beginning, perhaps it would have been enough to keep the show OR at least justify its migration into an online comedy series and further extend NBC's content footprint.
Michelle Batten @iMWConnect
JNFerree
· 4 months ago
Then again, if APlusk were to 'nudge' his 2.9M Tweeter followers to give a Thumbs Up for Chuck, and they did so en masse, perhaps THEN the NBC execs would stand up and take notice, then again, Punked isn't an NBC property, so maybe Chuck should be talkin to the MTV people.
All Comments
I think this particular fan campaign was pretty cool in that at least they got a meal out of it! But, while cool, fan campaigns rarely seem effective at saving shows, and after Jericho, I think it will be a while. If Chuck comes back, its because Warner Brothers (studio that produces Chuck) offered it at a price NBC liked, not because of any fan campaign.
There's also some value in showing value to sponsors who are, after all, paying for the show, and showing the network that they have high viewer engagement.
While it's ultimately going to require more viewers to save the show, I think the show can do better if it's not crushed by bad luck (writer's strike, and Obama pre-empting the show right after NBC's heavy Super Bowl promotion) and sharing a time slot with House, Dancing With The Stars, BBT (which has the exact same target audience), HIMYM, and (to some extent) Gossip Girl.
Give it a little breathing room and it'll capture the demographic. The fans love it, the critics love it, it just needs exposure.
(sorry for the re-post, meant to hit Reply)
I think that the fans and critics making themselves heard at least gives NBC reassurance that SOMEONE out there gives a crap (I know they do listen to critics at least to SOME extent, because they let The Office and 30 Rock stick around back when no one was watching). I do agree with Robert that "if Chuck comes back, it's because Warner Brothers (studio that produces Chuck) offered it at a price NBC liked." However, the fact that NBC now knows that people/critics out there care must at LEAST put one point on the "Pro" side of their Pros and Cons list!! It has to have some sort of positive mental effect on the execs and the advertisers.
Oh well, I am now just incredibly frustrated with NBC for dragging this out even longer for us now. I can't help but think there is something shady going on when they just leave us in the dark like this. Very maddening.
What will happen to Jeffster?
chucktv.net
There's also some value in showing value to sponsors who are, after all, paying for the show, and showing the network that they have high viewer engagement.
While it's ultimately going to require more viewers to save the show, I think the show can do better if it's not crushed by bad luck (writer's strike, and Obama pre-empting the show right after NBC's heavy Super Bowl promotion) and sharing a time slot with House, Dancing With The Stars, BBT (which has the exact same target audience), HIMYM, and (to some extent) Gossip Girl.
Give it a little breathing room and it'll capture the demographic. The fans love it, the critics love it, it just needs exposure.
Granted there are fewer timeslots available on NBC due to the Leno thing, but there are many shows on NBC that wish they had the same loyal following that Chuck has. I really hope that if NBC is short-sighted enough to dump Chuck, that some other network picks it up.
Greetings to you. My name is Miss Karisa 25 yrs. old beautiful black Sudan lady resident in Dakar,Senegal. I need you as my friend interms of business and advise. I am looking forward to getting an anticipated favourable response from you as soon as possible. Bye for now and stay blessed now and always. Have a blessed day,You can email me in my box(karisaahmad@yahoo.com)
I remain yours
Miss Karisa Ahmad.
Michelle Batten
@iMWConnect