What is SciFi Channel Waiting For?

[GaribaldiHairs]

GaribaldisHair:

Damn ! I just realized that we are two "Garibaldi's Hairs".

Me (the french guy): GaribaldiHairs
The other: GaribaldisHair

Slightly different, but still ... troubling...

Joe:

Thanks for all those "behind-the-TV-scenes" lessons, I learned a lot since I'm on this forum !



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"You are all in violation of security ordinance 22V3A. That means get the hell out of here!
"
- Zack

 

[Mondo Londo]

I think it comes down to money and power.

SciFi has other original programming options which are more profitable to them on an immediate and/or long term basis than any deal they can reach with Warner Brothers on a B5 project.

For Instance:

SciFi: Hey, the B5 reruns and movies have done pretty well for us! Even Crusade!
WB: Yeah, well, they've been doing well for
us since what 1993? 1994? You want a new B5 show?
SciFi: Sure, if we could get the same kinda deal we get for the rest of our exclusive original SciFi programming....
WB: But it's not your original programming. It's a franchise that's been out-of-the-gate profitable for years! We're happy to work with you; but if you want a piece of our action here's the deal...
SciFi: Well, if nothing better comes along, maybe we'll get back to you...

Compare this with scenario 2:
Producer X: Oh, SciFi, I'd do anything to put a show on your network. I'll sign away whatever rights you're willing to take, I'll change my show to take place in the current time so you don't have to pay for exotic sets -- in fact, let me know what sets you have, and I'll write my sets using them! Roman Empire, King Arthur, Wild West, WW I, Outer Space, Old Folks Home -- I'll work with it... Oh please let me have a show on TV!
SciFi: We appreciate your worship, though you needn't have drooled on the carpet. But don't worry, we'll send you a cleaning bill. Now, peasant, here are our terms. First, let's talk ownership of eternal domestic and international rerun rights; foreign and domestic VHS, DVD, etc. rights; film options; merchandise tie-ins; etc.


Which do you think is more appealing to SciFi?

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"What's up, Drakh?"

Michael Garibaldi

 

[GaribaldisHair]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Damn ! I just realized that we are two "Garibaldi's Hairs".

Me (the french guy): GaribaldiHairs
The other: GaribaldisHair

Slightly different, but still ... troubling<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

As my wife would say ... "You can never have too much Garibaldi ...

Now that's troubling!!

Being a Brit myself, I guess this obsession with Garibaldi's Hair is a strictly European thing !!

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DaveC
"Let me be the first to say that this is the nuttiest idea you've ever had."

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dave Thomer:
If Hammer hadn't had the car wrap, no one would be saying 'Hey, why isn't the president of the network driving a car advertising this particular show?' On the other hand, if the show bombed, it would be perfectly reasonable to expect people to ask 'why did the president drive a car advertising that show?'
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's not my professional experience. Can you provide me with an example of where you've seen this happening on a significant basis (not just one person; remember there will always be a small number of people who will believe anything--even that the world is flat).




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[PillowRock]

Let's ask this from the other direction.

How many other times have you seen or heard of a network president having their own personal car wrapped for a matter of weeks for any single show? Not using wrapped company car to go to a preview, or maybe having their car wrapped for a day so they could arrive in it for a press conference. We're talking about having your personal car in that state for several weeks worth of errands and going to kid's functions and everything else.

It is putting some of your personal credibility on the line with neighbors, your kid's schoolmate's parents, etc. Unless you do it as a matter of course for all of your network's shows, and I just haven't seen any evidence of that (but I suppose I could have missed some).

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[GaribaldiHairs]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by GaribaldisHair:
Being a Brit myself, I guess this obsession with Garibaldi's Hair is a strictly European thing !!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


In fact I'm a french canadian. Which make me a kind of weird fix between officially an ex-brit, officiously an ex-french, with a temptative of american naturalization.

But the naturalization didn't worked well. I still eat my french fries with lot of mayonese.

(I know I know ! Totally off-topic, but I can't resist)



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"You are all in violation of security ordinance 22V3A. That means get the hell out of here!
"
- Zack

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PillowRock:
Let's ask this from the other direction.

How many other times have you seen or heard of a network president having their own personal car wrapped for a matter of weeks for any single show?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think that's the wrong question to ask because most folks rarely hear about any media campaign explicitly. They may see a wrapped car or they may see an article based on a press release or a TV commercial. Beyond that kind of sighting, most folks have no awareness and really don't care.

In some ways what is odd here is that SCIFI and JMS shared some of the components of the SCIFI media plan with B5 fans. Additionally, some of the other portions of the plan have been derived by folks because you are interested in the topic.

The explicit details of the media plan are the odd bit not a President wrapping her car.


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[PillowRock]

But SciFi (not JMS) put the blurb and photos of Ms. Hammer's car wrapping on their web site. Their (SciFi's) web pages and content for their various shows seems to be fairly consistent (allowing for the dichotomy between original shows and bought reruns). Therefore, I would expect to have seen some evidence of it if the president of SciFi was in the habit of doing that for all of their shows.

I haven't seen that.

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[uskobus]

I know many people that taped the show and watched it later. I watched all the B5 shows and would do the same with BSLR.

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[bakana]

To answer the Original question:

Sci Fi would be waiting for the Right Moment to announce.

Making such announcements is an "Ego" related thing.
After they get through squabbleing over the Minor stuff like Money, they get to the Important questions of:
Who Gets Their Name(s) in the Paper?
Who gets to take Credit?


This is what JMS posted Last February 28 when we were all waiting for info about Jeremiah and LOTR Then:

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> Here's my dilemma: there are two definite go projects that I can announce.
But I can't announce either of them because it's not within my purview to do so.
The studios have to make those announcements.

The problem is that one deal has only recently been concluded, and the other -- a done deal since January -- has been awaiting the studio PR department to put out a press release. They haven't been in any particular hurry to do so since (information deleted) won't start until the Fall.

So I've basically been going insane since January, with Big News to announce, but not being able to say *anything* because it would be a serious breach of studio protocol. If I so much as eep they'll beat the crap out of me (and rightly so, to be fair about it).

So I'm waiting as much as you are... with the exception that as a result of both these projects going ahead, I'm drowning in work and can't spend that much time thinking about how I'm going nuts.

jms <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


So, last year there were Two "done deals" (at least one of them from mid January), and the studios still hadn't made the announcements by the end of February.



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Do not ascribe your own motivations to others:
At best, it will break your heart.
At worst, it will get you dead."