Tuesday, May 30, 2006

As Honest as the Days of Longform

When you read about the upfronts two weeks ago, did you notice that CBS announced "Cold Case" and "Without a Trace" will replace the "CBS Sunday Movie?"

The made-for-TV movie is mostly dead for the nets. Really, we shouldn't be surprised. Over the last three years, only a handful of these small screen Sunday flicks scored over a 10.0 rating on CBS. None — really, none — of these longforms earned more than a 15.0 rating.

True. Ratings are down across the board; so let's ask two different questions. How many of these CBS Sunday MOWs hit the top ten during the past three TV seasons? Ten. Last season? None.

Now you know why CBS finally threw in the towel.

I expect CBS to present the occasional flick as a special presentation, but if you enjoy these TV movies you should really start watching the Lifetime Movie Network.

Can you name the made-for-TV movies to score better than a 30.0 rating on any network in US TV history?

Don't include TV flicks associated with series, such as Walton Thanksgiving, The Night Stalker and Return to Mayberry. Don't include multi-part movies and miniseries (Fatal Vision).

(+/-)answer

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