Dan said:
Different costs and profit margins? The consideration of other revenue sources, like syndication, home video, licensed products, etc.
I'm not saying Malcolm is necessarily more profitable, but there is more to it than just ratings.
exactly. Malcolm only has 6 principle actors, is already syndicated, and even if the ratings are worse, if fox can sell ad space equal to malcolm's costs (with only 6 principle actors), fox wins.
AD on the other hand has 9 principle actors, isn't anywhere near syndication (less than 2 full seasons. guaranteed syndication is 100 episodes), and because king of the hill and malcolm these days probably couldn't stand a chance in after 8pm, they are left with having to have it either at 8:30pm (against Home Edition) or in the 9pm area against Desperate Housewives.
There are a few options left for fox though, that I'm sure if I am looking at they have looked at also. First advertise more heavily. second, they could stick it on a different night, especially even a night following or preceding American Idol. third, and most drastic but possibly the best thing, is to move it to FX. Cable shows in many instances these days are garnering as high, if not higher, ratings than many broadcast shows. This would allow the show to continue to be accessible, maybe even allow it to be a little more risque, and aty the same time keep it on and allow it to keep winning emmys.
