Rants

Lead in programming

By Scott Keith on January 19, 2022


Hi Scott,

Like many US viewers, I got used to watching the last 5 minutes of The Accountant, The Meg, or the Equalizer when Dynamite was on TNT. Now I get to watch the last 5 minutes of Big Bang Theory on TBS.

It made me think about how I discovered wrestling in the first place, I discovered Prime Time Wrestling after watching Cartoon Express on USA, then I found Superstars and Challenge after Saturday morning cartoons. I found NWA/WCW because it frequently aired around baseball on TBS.

I would not have discovered wrestling if it were not for the lead in programming, my question is does that matter anymore? In regards to attracting new viewers, was it more beneficial for Vince to have cartoons leading in and Silk Stalkings after his show than endless episodes of NCIS re-runs? Is one of the reasons viewers are getting older and older due to the fact that the lead in programming around wrestling skews to old people?

Thanks, Brian

Both promotions air on sports channels up here, so I’ve never had any notion of what is leading in or out of either major show. Usually the answer is “poker” on both sides.

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