----------------------------Original message---------------------------- > On Fri, 17 Feb 1995, Matt McAllister wrote: > > My understanding is that when a new prime TV sitcom is picked up for a full > > season the network typically orders 20 episodes for the year. How many > > episodes does the network order for a mondo-hit show, like Roseanne or > > Seinfeld? Is it the same number, a higher number or a lesser number? In article <[log in to unmask]>, d leconte <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > if the show is picked up for a full > season then the required number is 22 or 24. Yes, that's the standard number for a full season on the broadcast networks (though Fox does a few more per season on a few of its programs). However, it's equally common these days for a network to place only a 13 episode order at a time, and commit to the full season order more towards mid-season. In the case of new programs, there may often an initial order of only 6-7 episodes. > Big hits get renewels on multiple season basis. This is a new phenomenom and is still rare, though you are right that this has now occurred on several programs. I think two full seasons is still the longest commitment that's been made (there may be one case of a 3 year renewal, with escape clauses). > Reasoning being if it was a big hit one season, > it's most likely to be a big hit for several more seasons. I can't think of a show that has gotten a multi year renewal after just one season; the shows on which this has been done were very established hits of several years standing. There has been a case or two of a network committing to a show for two years even before it went on the air, to their regret. > The network > would want to secure that hit to be on their, and not on a competing > network. Because, what could happen, is that the next season the studio > that produced the show might want to renegotiate a price for its hit show, >and take it up for bidding against other networks. This is basically accurate also, with the proviso that all contracts standardly guarantee the network exclusive rights to a show for the first 4 years of its run. After those four years, the producers might be free to take a show elsewhere and set up competitive bidding. If a network drops a show within the first 4 years, the producers can then try to shop it elsewhere, as has happened in a few cases also. Steven _________________________________________ Steven M. Blacher / Wellfleet Productions 13910 Old Harbor Lane, Suite 209 Marina Del Rey, California 90292 Tel: 310.821.8867 Fax: 310.827.7878 Email: [log in to unmask]