My problem with this story is the way Fox has consistently undermined the show, especially with the switch to Friday’s at 9:00 and the long hiatus in S4. I think their most egregious act is limiting online retransmission until 8 days later.

Network beancounters (incorrectly) think advertisers won’t shift dollars to online viewing. That is short-sighted. Meanwhile, advertising agency beancounters (incorrectly) live in a paradigm where they think males age 18-39 still want to watch a serial drama at 9:00 on a Friday night. That is just plain dumb.

Fringe S4 would’ve been the perfect experiment for Fox. They obviously know there is a cult-like fanbase. So, why didn’t Fox say “screw the on-air broadcast,” and shift to online transmission? They could have blanketed the ‘net with all things Fringe. A “First Time Ever” advertising campaign across all media, a further development of the existing Fringe sites (MassiveDynamic.com, etc.), an ARG, an online transmission — with ads unique to the web — streaming concurrent with the on-air broadcast and then available for free for seven days (with iTunes/Amazon/On Demand purchase/DL available on day eight).

I honestly think Fox could say to advertisers, “This is an internet show that we happen to schedule in one of the worst timeslots of the week. And fans watch the show. Maybe not at 9:00 on a Friday night at a TV, but at 1:00 AM or 11:00 AM or 3:00 PM Saturday with their iPad. Within that initial 24 hour window, we regularly have millions of viewers. And because we require them to login with their Twitbook+spacesquarester account, we know that XX% are white males aged 18-39.” (See note below.)

Fox already conceded that DVR, Fox.com, and Hulu viewings helped get S4 greenlighted; why in the name of Sam Weiss didn’t they take advantage of this chance to turn the revenue paradigm on its head?

To be fair, the show-runners hurt themselves, too. This year began with too many tepid episodes that didn’t further the canon or provide backstory to known characters. The increasingly wide gulf between story arcs from S1 to S4 is wince-worthy, as is the elements that disappear, never to be heard from again (Bolivia’s child, Henry the cabbie, Nick Lane and Charlie McGhee, John Scott [!!], the Pattern, Olivia’s sister and niece, Charlie!)

And don’t even get me going on the cheap-ass production values of this season …

::shrugs::

(Note: I’m obviously ignoring the hysterical shrieks Nielson would raise at this model, but forget them. They haven’t come up with a model for internet viewing, so it’s time for someone else to just friggin do it.)

wolfgangsays:

WATCH THIS SHOW. I do not want this season to be the last. 

popculturebrain:

According to TV Line, Fox has put the ball in show producer Warner Bros’ court pressuring them to lower the licensing fees if they’d like to reach a season 5. A fifth season would be desirable for syndication (though I’m skeptical the more serialized aspects would translate to syndication), but producer Jeff Pinker states that if they need to wrap things up this year the season 4 finale can function as a series finale.