This is aimed at Theron Fuller, who once again proves that he has
not the vaguest idea what the hell he's talking about. I'm getting tired
of constantly having to do this, and I swore it off for a while, because
it's like trying to teach a snail to tapdance ("Oh, look, dear, isn't that
cute, it's trying to *think*!")...but once more I sally forth in spite of
remaining wisdom.

To your statement that we "sold the national advertising at cut
rates to fill the space"...claptrap. Have you *watched* the show lately?
We've gone to larger sponsors than in our first year, higher prestige
sponsors. Also, ratings for national sponsors are based on the cumulative
national ratings, when you add together the two runs per week. And ever
since we went on the air, we have been increasing our ratings every single
damned quarter, Theron. Okay? Can we be clear on that now? Increasing.
Or in fewer syllables, UP. We went from a 3.2 to a 3.7 to a 4.0 to a
4.3 to a 4.4 and now we're hovering at about the 4.9 area about to break
into a 5.0.

IN ADDITION, you towering mudslide of misinformation, ou
demographics are STELLAR. We have alternately the #2 or #3 ranking in
ALL syndicated dramas in demographics, and just recently outdid DS9 for
the first time. Using the formula that advertisers use to determine ad
rates, this pushes our regular ratings to an ad-rate figure of 6.5. The
ads are being sold at top rate, to major sponsors, who have booked the show
SOLID through the fourth quarter.

PTEN has not asked for ANY changes in looking toward a possible
season three, and right now it looks VERY good for that season; the only
thing that might prevent it would be a cataclysmic drop in the ratings,
and that hasn't happened.

What you do, Theron, is create this crisis that exists only in your
own fevered brain...oh dear the show sucks in the ratings...AHA! that
MUST be why they changed between last season (wrong), and they must be
planning to "dumb down the show even further" for the third season in a
desperate attempt to survive!

I don't know what voices you hear in the middle of the night, Theron,
but their evaluations do not touch reality at any two contiguous points.
And I've grown weary beyond the telling of you sounding off here and
spouting nonsense as though somehow you had the facts and figures in front
of you. You don't. You're making all this crap up.

Please take it somewhere else.

jms

Ratings tell you how many people are watching. Demographics tell
you what *sorts* of people are watching...age, income, sex, that sort of
thing. The advertisers like to reach people who spend money, preferably
on their products. You can have a highly rated show, but if (to indulge
for a moment in the crass-think exercised by ad people) that audience
consists mainly of people in their 70s and above...it's hard to GIVE away
the ads. You can be a lower rated show, but if you can deliver within the
desired demographics, the advertisers will come to you.

The B5 demographics are absolutely dynamite, and that's *very* good
for us. We get a lot of people in the 18-49 range, our largest share of
viewers, mostly educated, good consumers. They die for that kind of
viewership.

Translation: they've seen who YOU guys are...and they like what they
see. Well, maybe except for that one guy in the loud Hawaiian shirt over
there in the third row....

jms