In these days when networks are owned by studios that sell shows to other networks, sometimes what's going on behind the scenes is more interesting than the shows they're selling to each other. Take, for example, the strange saga of "Dharma & Greg."
The show, which is produced by Fox, has been a Tuesday-night mainstay for Disney-owned ABC for the past four years. But this past season wasn't a real good one for "Dharma" in the ratings because NBC moved "Frasier" back to Tuesday nights, where it proceeded to beat up on "Dharma" in the ratings.
("Frasier" is owned by Paramount, which, like CBS and UPN, is owned by Viacom.)
Given the decline in "Dharma's" ratings, ABC wasn't all that hot to renew the show — particularly because Fox was looking for a boost in the license fee the network paid. So ABC let its exclusive negotiation period with Fox expire without making a deal for a fifth season of the show.
At which point Fox started shopping the show around. And, lo and behold, the folks at NBC — the same folks who had done so much damage to "Dharma & Greg" by moving "Frasier" opposite it — were interested. And they worked out a rather unusual deal that tied the license fee they'd pay and the length of the contract to the time period in which the show would air.
According to the New York Times, NBC agreed to pay $2.4 million per episode if it scheduled the show at 8 p.m. Mountain Time (9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time). And it would order two seasons of the series.
But if NBC decided to schedule "Dharma & Greg" at 7 p.m. Mountain (8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific), it would pay only about $2 million per episode. And only for one season.
The reasoning there is that an 8 p.m. show is more valuable than a 7 p.m. show, everything else being equal, because there are more viewers in front of their TV sets at the later hour and, thus, a show's ratings are higher.
But that wasn't quite the end of the story. ABC had indeed let its exclusive negotiation period with Fox expire, but the network still had the contractual right to match any other offers. (Sort of like those big-money deals you always hear about in the world of professional sports.) And ABC decided that it could live with the terms of the deal that NBC negotiated.
Not surprisingly, when ABC announced its fall schedule last month, not only was "Dharma & Greg" on it, but the show had been moved up an hour, from 8 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday nights. Which not only got it out from under the competition with "Frasier" but cost the network $400,000 less per episode than it would have at the later hour.
Over a full season's worth of episodes — 22 — that's a considerable chunk of change. ABC saves $8.8 million with that scheduling.
That's not altogether the end of the story, but we won't know how this one will play out for a few more months. ABC may indeed have gotten itself a bargain for the fifth season of "Dharma & Greg," but if the show turns out to be a success in its new time slot, the deal could come back to bite the network. Fox could come back next year and demand a lot more money for a sixth season of the sitcom and bring with it the threat that another network is interested.
Which, of course, NBC may or may not be in 2002.
(Ironically, NBC moved "Frasier" to Tuesdays figuring the show was on its last legs going into its seventh season. But "Frasier" surprised everyone with its strong showing, and NBC had to outbid other networks and commit to the show for three more years.)
So if "Dharma" rebounds in the ratings, that's both good and bad news for ABC. And if it doesn't, well, that's both bad and good news for ABC.
How weird is that?
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com