TOP 10: Series that Changed Networks
Since the beginning of television, TV series have jumped from one network to another. Most end up as a last ditch effort to squeeze out one more season, while others find prosperity with their new home.
Today, I take a look at the TOP 10 prime-time TV series that changed networks. I have excluded any of the series they moved to The CW, after the UPN/WB merger. Rankings are based on the longevity of the series, as a whole, and how well a series did after its made the change.
#10 - MATLOCK (NBC to ABC)
The Andy Griffith lead crime drama lasted for nine years. It started out as an NBC series for the first six years of its run. It was a top 20 hit for NBC, until season six, when it dropped to #39. NBC cancelled the series in 1992. ABC picked up the series for the next TV season and placed in on Thursday nights, against NBC's "Must See TV" lineup. Seasons seven and eight ranked 29th and 35th, repectively. Good considering the competition of SEINFELD, FRIENDS, CHEERS, FRAISER and so on. Its last season, third on ABC, the series dropped to 61st.
#9 - THE GAME (The CW to BET)
THE GAME was one of the few comedies on The CW and the ratings were regularly low. For its first two seasons, of three, on The CW, it averaged about 2.35 million viewers. In season three, the average dropped to just 1.75 million viewers and the CW cancelled the program.
BET revived the program in January 2011 and it was an instant hit, attracting an average of 4.53 million viewers on the cable network. This is one of the few series to grow its audience after jumping from broadcast TV to cable. Season five, and the second on BET, the average did drop to 2.69 million viewers, but that is still better than it ever did on The CW. It is currently in its fifth season and has been renewed for a sixth, in 2014.
#8 - THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW (ABC to Syndication)
THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW was a music program that debuted on ABC in 1955 and remeained on the network for 16 years. It was a top 30 hit for five years, during the mid-sixties. In 1971, with viewership still high, ABC canclled the series. One reason was the Prime Time Access Rule, in 1971, which cut network programming by 7 hours a week. The other reason was that THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW was mainly watched by viewers over 45. ABC has always positioned itself as the younger network.
With the cancllation by ABC, Welk started his on production company and sold the series in syndication. The show prospered and in some markets, drew better ratings than it did on ABC. The show ran for 11 years, until Welk retired in 1982.
#7 - HEE HAW (CBS to Syndication)
HEE-HAW was a country & western variety series that debuted as a summer series on CBS. Ratings were good enough to renew the series in to the regular season, where it ran for for two more seasons, pulling in good ratings. It was the casualty of CBS' "Rual Purge." where the network cancelled every TV series that had a rural setting. The producers did not care about the cancellation and set the series up for syndication.
HEE-HAW ran in syndication for 21 years, for a total of 25 seasons. It was one of the longest running series in first run syndication and is the fifth longest running series in US Television.
#6 - BAYWATCH (NBC to Syndication)
BAYWATCH premiered in 1989 on NBC, starring David Hasselhoff of KNIGHT RIDER fame. Pulling lukewarm ratings, NBC cancelled the drama after one season. Hasselhoff, believing the series had more to give, put together a production company and took the series to syndication, where it lasted for 10 additional years. The series eventually became an international hit and was one of the most watch TV shows in the world.
#5 - WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY (ABC to NBC to CBS and back)
A WALT DISNEY television series was on and off network television from 1954 to 2008. It has been on three networks, first starting with ABC. In 1961, the program jumped over to NBC for twenty years. In 1981, CBS got its chance to host the "Disney Magic," but it only lasted for two years. After a couple of years off network TV, ABC brought the series back in 1986. Then, just like 1961, NBC took the series in 1988 until it ended in 1990.
During most of the 90's The series was on the company's cable outlet, The Disney Channel. in 1997, After The Walt Disney corporation purchased ABC, the series was revived and ran until 2008 on the broadcast network. Since then it has been running on another company cable outlet, Disney Junior.
#4 - FATHER KNOWS BEST (CBS to NBC to CBS to ABC)
FATHER KNOWS BEST was first a popular radio program that ran from 1949 to 1954, on NBC radio. In the fall of 1954, the TV series premiered on the CBS network but failed to make the top 30 chart. So, in the fall of 1955, FATHER KNOWS BEST jumped over to NBC. On NBC it cracked the top 30, ranking #23 in the 1957-58 season.
In the fall of 1958, the series moved back to CBSand jumped up to #13 on the Nielsen chart, grabbing a 28.3 rating. In its final original season, 1959-60, the series ranked all the way up to #6, drawing a 29.7 rating.
Repeats of the series continued in primetime for the next three seasons. CBS ran the series encores from 1960 to 1962, and ABC ran them in the 1962-63 season.
#3 - JAG (NBC to CBS)
JAG premiered onSeptember 23, 1995, on the NBC television network. After just one season on NBC, the series was cancelled, but CBS picked up the series for the following fall season. JAG received nine more seasons while on CBS. Its best season in the ratings was season seven (2001-02) when it drew 14.8 million viewers and ranked #15 for the season. For the first seven seasons on CBS, JAG drew more viewers than it did for the one season on NBC.
JAG will be most remembered as the series that launched the long running, popular series NCIS, for CBS.
#2 - LEAVE IT TO BEAVER (CBS to ABC)
Most people, including myself, do not realize that the classic series began as a CBS property. It premiered on October 4, 1957 and after one season, CBS dumped the series. For the fall of 1958, the series found a new home, on ABC.
The series never charted in the top 30, like most ABC programs, but it is on ABC that the series became a classic. Had it not made the jump to ABC, we would have lost out of one of the all-time classic sitcoms.
#1 - MY THREE SONS
MY THREE SONS premiered on the ABC network on September 29, 1960. it was an instant hit, grabbing a 25.8 rating and ranking 13th in its freshman season. The series was in the top 30 each of the five seasons it was on ABC and ranked 13th in its final ABC season, 1964-65. The move to CBS in the fall of 1965 was mainly because ABC did not want to commit to the expense of moving the series into color. ABC's lost was CBS' gain.
The series continued on CBS from 1965 to 1972, running longer on that network, than on ABC. Ratings remained about the same on CBS, but it did have two seasons outside the top 30 rankings. in total, the series produced 378 episodes with a little over half while with CBS.
Today, I take a look at the TOP 10 prime-time TV series that changed networks. I have excluded any of the series they moved to The CW, after the UPN/WB merger. Rankings are based on the longevity of the series, as a whole, and how well a series did after its made the change.
#10 - MATLOCK (NBC to ABC)
The Andy Griffith lead crime drama lasted for nine years. It started out as an NBC series for the first six years of its run. It was a top 20 hit for NBC, until season six, when it dropped to #39. NBC cancelled the series in 1992. ABC picked up the series for the next TV season and placed in on Thursday nights, against NBC's "Must See TV" lineup. Seasons seven and eight ranked 29th and 35th, repectively. Good considering the competition of SEINFELD, FRIENDS, CHEERS, FRAISER and so on. Its last season, third on ABC, the series dropped to 61st.#9 - THE GAME (The CW to BET)
THE GAME was one of the few comedies on The CW and the ratings were regularly low. For its first two seasons, of three, on The CW, it averaged about 2.35 million viewers. In season three, the average dropped to just 1.75 million viewers and the CW cancelled the program.BET revived the program in January 2011 and it was an instant hit, attracting an average of 4.53 million viewers on the cable network. This is one of the few series to grow its audience after jumping from broadcast TV to cable. Season five, and the second on BET, the average did drop to 2.69 million viewers, but that is still better than it ever did on The CW. It is currently in its fifth season and has been renewed for a sixth, in 2014.
#8 - THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW (ABC to Syndication)
THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW was a music program that debuted on ABC in 1955 and remeained on the network for 16 years. It was a top 30 hit for five years, during the mid-sixties. In 1971, with viewership still high, ABC canclled the series. One reason was the Prime Time Access Rule, in 1971, which cut network programming by 7 hours a week. The other reason was that THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW was mainly watched by viewers over 45. ABC has always positioned itself as the younger network.With the cancllation by ABC, Welk started his on production company and sold the series in syndication. The show prospered and in some markets, drew better ratings than it did on ABC. The show ran for 11 years, until Welk retired in 1982.
#7 - HEE HAW (CBS to Syndication)
HEE-HAW was a country & western variety series that debuted as a summer series on CBS. Ratings were good enough to renew the series in to the regular season, where it ran for for two more seasons, pulling in good ratings. It was the casualty of CBS' "Rual Purge." where the network cancelled every TV series that had a rural setting. The producers did not care about the cancellation and set the series up for syndication.HEE-HAW ran in syndication for 21 years, for a total of 25 seasons. It was one of the longest running series in first run syndication and is the fifth longest running series in US Television.
#6 - BAYWATCH (NBC to Syndication)
BAYWATCH premiered in 1989 on NBC, starring David Hasselhoff of KNIGHT RIDER fame. Pulling lukewarm ratings, NBC cancelled the drama after one season. Hasselhoff, believing the series had more to give, put together a production company and took the series to syndication, where it lasted for 10 additional years. The series eventually became an international hit and was one of the most watch TV shows in the world.#5 - WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY (ABC to NBC to CBS and back)
A WALT DISNEY television series was on and off network television from 1954 to 2008. It has been on three networks, first starting with ABC. In 1961, the program jumped over to NBC for twenty years. In 1981, CBS got its chance to host the "Disney Magic," but it only lasted for two years. After a couple of years off network TV, ABC brought the series back in 1986. Then, just like 1961, NBC took the series in 1988 until it ended in 1990.During most of the 90's The series was on the company's cable outlet, The Disney Channel. in 1997, After The Walt Disney corporation purchased ABC, the series was revived and ran until 2008 on the broadcast network. Since then it has been running on another company cable outlet, Disney Junior.
#4 - FATHER KNOWS BEST (CBS to NBC to CBS to ABC)
FATHER KNOWS BEST was first a popular radio program that ran from 1949 to 1954, on NBC radio. In the fall of 1954, the TV series premiered on the CBS network but failed to make the top 30 chart. So, in the fall of 1955, FATHER KNOWS BEST jumped over to NBC. On NBC it cracked the top 30, ranking #23 in the 1957-58 season.In the fall of 1958, the series moved back to CBSand jumped up to #13 on the Nielsen chart, grabbing a 28.3 rating. In its final original season, 1959-60, the series ranked all the way up to #6, drawing a 29.7 rating.
Repeats of the series continued in primetime for the next three seasons. CBS ran the series encores from 1960 to 1962, and ABC ran them in the 1962-63 season.
#3 - JAG (NBC to CBS)
JAG premiered onSeptember 23, 1995, on the NBC television network. After just one season on NBC, the series was cancelled, but CBS picked up the series for the following fall season. JAG received nine more seasons while on CBS. Its best season in the ratings was season seven (2001-02) when it drew 14.8 million viewers and ranked #15 for the season. For the first seven seasons on CBS, JAG drew more viewers than it did for the one season on NBC. JAG will be most remembered as the series that launched the long running, popular series NCIS, for CBS.
#2 - LEAVE IT TO BEAVER (CBS to ABC)
Most people, including myself, do not realize that the classic series began as a CBS property. It premiered on October 4, 1957 and after one season, CBS dumped the series. For the fall of 1958, the series found a new home, on ABC.The series never charted in the top 30, like most ABC programs, but it is on ABC that the series became a classic. Had it not made the jump to ABC, we would have lost out of one of the all-time classic sitcoms.
#1 - MY THREE SONS
MY THREE SONS premiered on the ABC network on September 29, 1960. it was an instant hit, grabbing a 25.8 rating and ranking 13th in its freshman season. The series was in the top 30 each of the five seasons it was on ABC and ranked 13th in its final ABC season, 1964-65. The move to CBS in the fall of 1965 was mainly because ABC did not want to commit to the expense of moving the series into color. ABC's lost was CBS' gain. The series continued on CBS from 1965 to 1972, running longer on that network, than on ABC. Ratings remained about the same on CBS, but it did have two seasons outside the top 30 rankings. in total, the series produced 378 episodes with a little over half while with CBS.
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