Why ABC's 'Ugly Betty' move makes sense
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In announcing the move of "Ugly Betty" to Friday nights next season, ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson talked about the "great opportunity" the network has to launch the new series "Flash Forward" on Thursdays.
Left unspoken in the discussion is one simple fact: The opportunity to launch a new show is there because "Ugly Betty" isn't a hit anymore.
That's not to say the show isn't good anymore; it still pulls off a deft mix of comedy and soap opera more often than not. But its audience, which was in the neighborhood of 15 million people when it premiered three years ago, has been steadily tailing off ever since. It's averaging a little over 8 million viewers this season; last week's episode drew only 6.8 million people in the overnight numbers.
The 8 p.m. Thursday time period as a whole -- once among the most-watched and most competitive in all of TV -- has also gone soft. "Survivor" still does pretty well for CBS, but it's averaged about 13.3 million viewers for its two cycles this season, a far cry from the 20 million-plus it used to draw routinely. NBC's comedy block is also a shadow of its former ratings self, and even though fans of "Bones" follow it wherever FOX puts it, it's not a massive hit either.
In other words, it's not a bad environment in which to place a potential breakout new show like "Flash Forward."
"It's the most buzzworthy show we have right now," McPherson said Tuesday. "And we really wanted to build on the success of 'Private Practice' and 'Grey's' being kind of a perfect pair and bolster our Thursday night, which has been incredibly successful for us. ... 'Lost' launched at 8 [on Wednesdays, in 2004], and I think there's a great opportunity for 'Flash Forward' as well."
Meanwhile, if "Ugly Betty" can keep most of the audience it draws now when it moves to Fridays, that will be a pretty good upgrade for ABC. McPherson says he hopes the show can establish itself as a destination on Fridays the way "Ghost Whisperer" has for CBS.
"America [Ferrera] is one of our biggest stars. We love the show," McPherson says. "I just think when you look at what it's done on Thursday night, we think we have a big opportunity with 'Flash Forward.' You have to make bold moves sometimes. I'd love to see it have a great run on Friday nights."
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I have to disagree, Rick. While I don't watch 'Betty', I fault its lack in ratings due to ABC putting it on hiatus a lot. I say this because in the world of TV, we (TV fans, critics, bloggers, etc) tend to forget the "average" viewer, those who aren't on blogs like this and don't keep up with premiere dates and the like. I think this is why "Life on Mars" tanked when it came back in the spring. A new show that stays off the schedule for that long is like suicide. And if I were the writers of "Ugly Betty", I would plan this season as if it were the last because that Friday night time slot reminds me of how "Dynasty" was killed off back in the 80's.
Even though it's had its problems, I still like "Ugly Betty" and would love to see it thrive for at least a couple more seasons. And I agree with the previous poster that putting it on hiatus -- especially to make room for that godawful "Motherhood" sitcom that replaced it -- was not a smart move by ABC and only did more damage to the show. Hopefully, though, it will be able to eek out a run on Friday nights.
I don't watch Ugly Betty anymore, and I can see why ABC would want to move it off Thursdays, but the show's tone seems more appropriate to be paired with DWTS on Monday or Tuesday, rather than air on Fridays. Maybe it'll work for them though.
Putting it opposite Friday Night Lights wasn't a smart move.
This is great, frees up my DVR on thursday nights. They should move more shows to fridays and sa****ays!
I still watch Ugly Betty and although it is not what it once was, it is still a viable and funny show. I think a better time slot might be on Sunday nights instead of AFV or Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Its campy and soapy vibe would fit well with Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters.
I love Ugly Betty and to be honest, it's the only scripted show that I still watch. The writing and the acting is phenomenal. I hope it does well on Friday at least I'll be watching or at least Tivo it.
I totally agree with comment from the person before me who said that it would be great on Sundays since there's nothing that I really like that night.
Every show goes on hiatus, so that's not really a strong argument.
I agree that the Samantha Who/In the Motherhood didn't help, but you can't always blame a ratings dip on "hiatus".
At least they got rid of According to Jim once and for all.
I will still watch Ugly Betty even with the move to Friday nights. If I'm busy on Friday's, I'll just DVR the show and watch it at a later time. With all the ways to view a show nowadays, the day of the week it is on doesn't matter to me at all, although I know there are still some who only want to watch a show during it's "real" time. I have enjoyed the majority of season 3 more than last year. I hope ABC won't give up on the show because it still has wonderful characters on the show.