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For the first three seasons of a series, a network will pay
a certain amount of money as a licensing fee for a production company
to put together episodes of a series.
 
This is why most orders are initially kept low, unless there is a lot
of promise or big names attached to it.
 
Every year, costs go up.
 
>From the fourth year on, generally the networks pay LESS. This is because
the production companies figure they can make money syndicating a
successful show (one which runs more than 4 seasons, and gets 100 eps).
 
This was why "Anything But Love" was cancelled by Paramount, not by ABC.
ABC wanted to pay the same licensing fee per episode, and only
produce 13 episdes for the upcoming season, and Lucille
Salilly [sic] decided that since the syndicated prospects for the show
were bleak (due to limited demographics), she cancelled it rather than
see Paramount incur losses. Now, it looks like a good decision, since
the series is carried in reruns on Lifetime.
 
CHEERS was produced in a deficit for most of its run, because it was making
a mint in syndication.
 
jeff cohen
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