Goodbye Futurama. FOX schedule for Feb

[on:]

February schedule for FOX Sunday nights:

7 PM - King of the Hill (repeat)
7:30 PM - King of the Hill (new episode)
8 PM - The Simpsons (new episode)
8:30 PM - The Simpsons (repeat)
9 PM - Malcolm in the Middle (new episode)
9:30 PM - Malcolm in the Middle (repeat)

We should expect this schedule to remain the same each week, sadly, due to the fact that every show is conveniently in placed back-to-back fashion. This means Futurama and Andy Richter are off the air (Andy's tuesday airing is replaced by American Idol).

It also means CN will be able to air all the new Futurama episodes before FOX can. Interesting.

[Reply #1 on:]

You've gotta be kidding   

[Reply #2 on:]

So they're not going to be showing it at all?  They're going to show that many repeats rather than a new Futurama?

[Reply #3 on:]

That's an accurate guess, yes. I do expect FOX to keep this same schedule every week. I imagine they're doing this for Sweeps month.

But if I recall, FOX did this last year to Futurama too.. by removing the Sunday night airing and sticking it on Thursday nights so it could be pre-empted by movies. So far, I don't see it scheduled on Thursdays (the TV grids don't go that far, anyway).

[Reply #4 on:]

The only thing FOX can do to make the demise of Futurama more dreadful is to not show the remaining episodes.  To replace it with a re-run of those dumbass hicks is just twisting the knife.  But, we can't draw any conclusion based on just one TV listing.

[Reply #5 on:]

But I do so enjoy drawing conclusions early.

[Reply #6 on:]

I'm honestly serious now when I think that FOX has no intentions ever to finish airing the series. I also seriously doubt that there will ever be a season 3 or season 4 DVD set either.   

[Reply #7 on:]

 

Originally posted by Matt Wilson:
It also means CN will be able to air all the new Futurama episodes before FOX can. Interesting.

Do we know that the contract says that CN can air unaired episodes? That seems strange that FOX would allow CN first-run rights.

CN has currently scheduled through "Bender Gets Made" on February 16 which is way behind FOX. That's 2ACV13. But they could easily catch up. (See http://schedule.cartoonnetwork.com/servlet/ScheduleServlet?action=viewAll&showID=324815&show=Futurama)

FOX's next unshown episode is production code 4ACV04 according to Shadowstar.

Since CN is showing them in production order, let's count:

17 2ACV14
18 2ACV15
19 2ACV16
20 2ACV17
23 2ACV18
24 2ACV19
25 3ACV01
26 3ACV02
27 3ACV03
------MARCH------
2  3ACV04
3  3ACV05
4  3ACV06
5  3ACV07
6  3ACV08
9  3ACV09
10 3ACV10
11 3ACV11
12 3ACV12
13 3ACV13
16 3ACV14
17 3ACV15
18 3ACV16
19 3ACV17
20 3ACV18
23 3ACV19
24 3ACV20
25 3ACV21
26 3ACV22
27 4ACV01
30 4ACV02
31 4ACV03
------APRIL------
1 4ACV04

-----------------------------------------

So we should see "Less than Hero" on April 1. According to TVTome, "Less than Hero" is the next episode on Fox's To-Air list. If FOX doesn't show a new ep of Futurama through February and March, CN could show a first-run!

Check my work.

[Reply #8 on:]

FOX allows CN to air first-run episodes. CN has the rights to ALL of the episodes, not just seasons 1 through 3. ALL 72 EPISODES.

[Reply #9 on:]

Also, if FOX airs Less Than Hero first, that doesn't mean CN won't air other episodes before FOX. Especially considering how FOX keeps separating new episodes by weeks at a time.

[Reply #10 on:]

David Cohen said that Fox wanted to get done by the end of April.  Oliver Bean is still coming down the pipe, and who knows where they will put that (I wonder?).

All they have to do is show 3 more episodes this "season", and they will have aired 1/2 of the 16 they had at the begining of this "season".

[Reply #11 on:]

Am I surprised?  No.
Am I saddened?  Yes.

[Reply #12 on:]

meh don't care at least you have it better than aussies all we are probably expecting is c7 finishing season 3 and stopping thier and Fox 8 hasn't even shown season 4 yet unbelievable!   

[Reply #13 on:]

I sure hope you're wrong.  If the next week's schedule is the same then I can assume you're right.  Love & Rocket managed to air in February last year, so I still remain hopeful...

[Reply #14 on:]

Only because it was a Valentine's Day special. I think FOX realized for once there was a good reason to air an episode on the right date.

[Reply #15 on:]

I seriously doubt that there is no limitation in the contract with CN to stop them from airing episodes before FOX did (unless FOX decided to stop airing Futurama all together). Otherwise CN would surely have started their new adult swim block with "all new episodes" or a back to back airing of Futurama (old)/(new) and got all the ratings they wanted.

[Reply #16 on:]

Unfortunetly I gotta agree with Marc on this one, If CN had the chance to air new eps before FOX it would be stupid not to do it.

What was this about CN saying there is new episodes in production?
Was that a mistake or do CN plan on order new eps or were they stupid enough to be tricked by FOX

[Reply #17 on:]

So we have to wait after Feb till fox showed a new episode? Fox is so Stupid.

Now we don't have Futurama running all night on the UK version of Cartoon Network but I like what they doing in the U.A.S

If they show new episodes before Fox, wonder if the people who downloads the episodes from the internet will get the chance to download the new eps?

[Reply #18 on:]

I hope they still realease the other seasons on DVD

[Reply #19 on:]

Damn FOX  , even I cannot watch the episodes when they are airing I hope for all US Futurama Fans that they'll watch new episodes soon.
And that I can download 'em 

[Reply #20 on:]

At least I can go about New York without worring about missing a chance to see a Futurama I haven't seen yet. Then again, I may be better off just waiting a couple of months anyway and have Sky One actually treat it infinitely better.

I would just like to add that atleast Futurama isn't usually in the slot Andy Richter takes up. Being replaced by American Idol...that's low...

[Reply #21 on:]

 

I seriously doubt that there is no limitation in the contract with CN to stop them from airing episodes before FOX did (unless FOX decided to stop airing Futurama all together). Otherwise CN would surely have started their new adult swim block with "all new episodes" or a back to back airing of Futurama (old)/(new) and got all the ratings they wanted.

No, CN wanted to start from the beginning. Every show that premieres on CN, especially third-party material, starts from the first episode.

The main reason is because people aren't going to tune into Adult Swim all at once. Right now, the first week of January was just a decent improvement. But in a couple of months, the 18-34 ratings will definitely skyrocket. And that's when CN will be airing the newer episodes.

If they aired the new episodes first, it wouldn't reach CN's maximum potential of an audience. So you start small and work your way up. That's how network television works.

 

What was this about CN saying there is new episodes in production?

They never said that. Ooooh, if only.

[Reply #22 on:]

Actually, they did say there were new ones, which takes away a bit of credibility from them: 

FUTURAMA was created by Matt Groening, who also created The Simpsons.  Groening and David X. Cohen developed the series, which debuted on FOX in 1999.  New episodes are currently in production.

I still say that with all the advertising they did, they could've gotten a really huge response if they made it "with all new never before seen episodes" - if they were allowed to. They didn't though.

We haven't heard either way yet, so I guess we'll just have to wait some.

[Reply #23 on:]

I agree with [-marc-]. If CN had rights to show unaired episodes they would have done so already. As much as Fox dislikes the show there is no way they would just give CN the right to air episodes that have not been shown yet. I had actually thought that because of this Fox would really try and burn through the remaining episodes which would have really screwed the people on the East coast.
As far as CN saying there are episodes in production you could read it in a different way. Since there are episodes still to be aired it could be viewed as being in 'production'. It is a bit of a play on words and is all in how you read it.
RM

[Reply #24 on:]

 

Originally posted by clampybot:
meh don't care at least you have it better than aussies all we are probably expecting is c7 finishing season 3 and stopping thier and Fox 8 hasn't even shown season 4 yet unbelievable!     

Please stop moaning! We know Australia don't like Futurama but nor to C4 in the UK. There are no plans to show 'I Dated A Robot' even though it was meant to air a few weeks ago. Anyway, shows are always behind abroad.

 

Originally posted by Juliet
If they show new episodes before Fox, wonder if the people who downloads the episodes from the internet will get the chance to download the new eps?

The way the internet episodes work at the moment is that FOX send the Futurama's out to their affiliates via satelite, some people use their dishes to intercept this and then encode it. That means we get good quality episodes without a FOX symbol.
They used to be done by recording off the TV/direct TV input and then encoding, thus we get ok quality with a FOX symbol.
Depending on how CN distribute their programs people will do one method or the other. Either way the episodes will reach the internet.

[Reply #25 on:]

But in order to receive those affiliate signals you need either a c-band dish, or a gigantic antenna.

Cartoon Network is a cable station and doesn't need to send out a feed twice. So the quality on Cartoon Network looks the same as when FOX beams out a show to its affiliates.

[Reply #26 on:]

MAkes you wonder how the hell FOX became a rich and powerful TV company, when they constantly kill the geese laying their golden eggs.

[Reply #27 on:]

 

Originally posted by [-mArc-]:
I seriously doubt that there is no limitation in the contract with CN to stop them from airing episodes before FOX did (unless FOX decided to stop airing Futurama all together). Otherwise CN would surely have started their new adult swim block with "all new episodes" or a back to back airing of Futurama (old)/(new) and got all the ratings they wanted.

   Could be that Cartoon Network wants to show them in order...  there WILL be some new fans picked up because of the CN airings you know... people who haven't seen FUTURAMA before...

[Reply #28 on:]

Cartoon Network does not want anything but good ratings(=money). Any ideology assumption would be seriously misplaced. The question is if airing previously unaired episodes before FOX would give them better ratings. I sure think so.

[Reply #29 on:]

Considering they haven't even bought airtime on FOX yet, no. They wouldn't.

They do want good ratings, but Adult Swim increases its viewers VERY GRADUALLY, regardless of how much it's advertised.

Think about it for a minute. Right now, Adult Swim gets an 0.8 rating from 18-34 year olds. If they air Futurama for a few months, the rating will grow to an estimated 1.2 or 1.3 rating for 18-34 year olds.

Now which will gather a greater audience: advertising and airing new episodes to the 0.8 crowd or the 1.3 crowd? If there's more watching, that means more word-of-mouth, more recognition, more loyalty.

Right now, Adult Swim is not recognized, nor does it have faithful viewers. It's still struggling. Airing new episodes of Futurama now, while it's still trying to find an audience, would be foolish.

[Reply #30 on:]

Sorry, but I think the 0.8 would have gotten a subsistantial increase if they advertised new never aired episodes and would probably have resulted in a higher audience even after the new ones were over (slowly decreasing, of course). It's not really realistic to assume that new episodes would've not lured more people in than repeats. I know I'd watch "never seen before episodes" on german TV here if they got them - even though I hate the german version and never watched anything past S01E03 on there.

One other possible contract however could be that CN is allowed to just air them, but not before a set date (with FOX thinking they got the time to air them by then).

[Reply #31 on:]

 

Originally posted by aslate:
Depending on how CN distribute their programs people will do one method or the other. Either way the episodes will reach the internet.

But how did the episodes get from FOX to CN? By an SVHS tape, I'd imagine. If someone could intercept the SVHS tapes...

Anyone work for Turner Broadcasting?

[Reply #32 on:]

Hmm, I have to agree with mArc on this one. If CN had the right to show the never-before-aired episodes ahead of FOX, they would've done so, and advertized it in big capital letters on Empire State Building.

Maybe it's a mix of both. A clause in the contract limiting CN to only show the new episodes after the already aired ones, on the first run. If FOX haven't aired the new episodes by then, though luck for FOX, but they've at least reserved the chance to do so first.

[Reply #33 on:]

 

Originally posted by Teral:
If FOX haven't aired the new episodes by then, though luck for FOX, but they've at least reserved the chance to do so first.

Which would explain why FOX cleared out production season 3 so quickly in airing season 5 ("Route of All Evil" ), which should air on CN on March 12.

[Reply #34 on:]

Look, if the official press release for Cartoon Network said they've got all 72 episodes, they've got all 72 episodes. I think its likely that SQFreak hit the nail on the head -- That's why FOX aired Route of All Evil, finally. CN probably will be airing the final episodes first, then FOX, if they indeed air the remaining episodes at all.

[Reply #35 on:]

 

Originally posted by BNLbum:
CN probably will be airing the final episodes first

I think that FOX would have been smart enough to put something in the contract about airing first-runs.

Seriously, does anyone work for Turner Broadcasting?

[Reply #36 on:]

 

Originally posted by SQFreak:
 I think that FOX would have been smart enough to put something in the contract about airing first-runs.

You're giving FOX too much intelligence credit. ^_^

 

Seriously, does anyone work for Turner Broadcasting?

i wish. ::cries::

[Reply #37 on:]

Actually, i might start eating my words now. Check out the Futurama episode guide on AdultSwim.com.
 http://www.adultswim.com/shows/futurama/index.html

Not only is "Route of All Evil" omitted from the guide, but "Leela's Homeworld," "Love and Rocket," and "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" and any of the other 4ACV episodes are not present either.

[Reply #38 on:]

Then FOX is just being retarded.

Perhaps if they had an airdate for these episodes, I'd understand their reasoning, but they seem to have no plan whatsoever, having just screwed over February.

[Reply #39 on:]

I really didn't think FOX would be that smart, to allow CN to show this season's episodes. I do remember reading something how FOX won't let CN show anything from this season. I also seriously doubt that CN would run all 72 episodes of Futurama in a row, without any repeats at all.