Page 224 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

other three time slots. American Idol, on the Fox network, led the
way, drawing 25 million viewers two nights running and became
the most watched nonsports shows in the network’s history.
• In 2003, twelve of the top twenty television series were reality
shows.
• By 2004, every network carried at least two hours’ worth of real-
ity programs, most appearing between 8 and 10 P.M., prime-time
slots.
• In 2004, the four major broadcast networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, and
Fox) introduced at least two dozen reality shows between June and
September, normally a dormant season of summer reruns, more than
doubling the number they broadcast last summer. NBC led the way,
adding ten new reality series during the summer. 32

3. Saturation Stage. By the saturation stage, the overexposure of a
genre leads to what Jeff Robinov, production president of Warner Broth-
33
ers, refers to as “genre fatigue.” As an example, during any given week
in 2005, Law & Order was on the air for forty-four hours (including the
network premiere of original and franchise programs, and reruns of the
four franchise series on NBC, TNT, and USA networks).
As Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of the successful crime
drama franchise Law & Order, observes, “ the natural question is, ‘How
many Law & Orders is too many Law & Orders?’ My response is always
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the same: ‘The audience will tell us.’” At a certain point, the audience
simply loses interest in the programming. Thus, by 2001, the overexposed
game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire lost about half its audience
from the previous year. In 2005, Law & Order (NBC), which has spawned
two successful franchise properties (Special Victims Unit and Criminal
Intent), may finally have reached its saturation point: a third series, Trial
by Jury, was canceled after twelve episodes.

All of these forms of exposure—multiple airings, cross-media pro-
gramming, merchandising, franchising, and pirated programs—acceler-
ate the cycle and shorten the “generations” between the stages. As an
example, during the initial cycle of TV quiz shows, the popular stage
continued for approximately four years (1956–60) and was only inter-
rupted by congressional investigations into the payola scandal. But in its
second go-around, the popular stage of quiz shows lasted only one year
(1999) before the market became oversaturated.

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