Why was 'CSI: Miami' canceled over 'CSI: NY': CBS's Nina Tassler discusses 'tough choice'

After 10 seasons, CBS finally said goodbye to "CSI: Miami" and David Caruso's Horatio Caine. Fans of the show were somewhat surprised. Though ratings had slipped considerably for the one-time juggernaut, we still didn't expect such a lackluster send-off, or an April season finale without any of the glory of a series-ender.

So why did CBS choose to cancel "CSI: Miami" over, say, "CSI: New York," which still has a position on the Friday night line-up?

"It was a very tough choice," Nina Tassler, President of CBS Entertainment, told press in New York on Wednesday morning. "It was almost a jump ball. It was just about where, and what fit on the schedule."

In fact, when the slightly different budgets and ratings concerns for the "CSI" spin-offs were factored in, Tassler says there was no distinction -- at least in terms of numbers. "They were very close, looking at them forensically, they were very close. It was an indiscernible difference... it was just a matter of looking at the schedule and what looked better," she says.

In the end, "CSI: NY" won that particular duel simply because it features New York City, which helped CBS create a Friday night NYC-fest. "CSI: NY" will run at 8 p.m. EST on Fridays, followed by "Made in Jersey," about a young lawyer who lands a job at a high-powered Manhattan law firm -- "but she is Jersey, born and bred," Tassler says. That will lead into NYC cop family drama "Blue Bloods" at 10 p.m. EST.

Had the network picked up a few more Florida-based shows, perhaps Horatio Caine would have lived to drop a few more one-liners.