If you haven’t heard the great news: Damages is coming back for another season (and then another one after that). Yes, DirecTV swooped in and saved the Glenn Close led mystery drama from FX and renewed it for two seasons of ten episodes each. It’s a situation very similar to what happened with Friday Night Lights and NBC. However, unlike the FNL scenario, Damages is only going to be airing on DirecTV. And therein lies the catch.
For those of you out there who subscribe to DirecTV (and like Damages), there will be no issue. For the rest of us who are perfectly happy with our cable (or fiber optic service), we are pretty much out of luck. Sure, there are going to be DVD releases, I’m sure, but there will probably be no free way of watching the show. I’m just hoping that Damages will be available through a service like iTunes. The first three seasons are available through there now, but I have no idea if DirecTV will continue that trend. Here’s hoping, because I would be more than willing to pay 3 or 4 dollars per episode, especially in a brief ten episode season. I certainly am not willing, however, to switch over my TV service just to watch one show.
It seems like a smart move for DirecTV, though I don’t know how many subscribers the service will gain just because of a show like Damages which had trouble finding viewers on basic cable. I consider myself a loyal fan of the show, but the thought of switching to satellite didn’t even enter my mind when I heard the news. However, as the satellite provider continues to build up its stock of original programming that is not available on cable, there will definitely be people jumping ship. Who knows, maybe someday DirecTV’s 101 Network will be available on cable. Okay, It’s never going to happen, but it would be nice for me. Sure, it would drive away subscribers from the satellite provider, but it could end up making them a good amount of money. I know if it were a pay station, I would most likely be ordering it so that I could get my Damages fix.
What do you think about the news? Happy that Damages is back, even if you most likely will have to pay for it?
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Jul 21, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
Someone out there will have a torrent going within a few hours of it airing so no biggie. /shrug
All I can say is that as a current DirecTV subscriber, this will at least KEEP me with them for another two years. Just as FNL has kept me with them the past two.
I don’t understand the logic of not having a secondary run on a cable network. I’m DirecTV, and I want “Damages” to attract new subscribers. So I run the 4th season, 10 episodes, on my network. Now I have one of two options: I use my small advertising budget to tout “Damages” as an exclusive, and hope that works.
Or, I sell secondary distribution rights to a cable channel (not FX, of course, but practically anywhere else besides the TV Guide Network). Now, after the 4th season but before the 5th, millions more viewers are exposed to the DirectTV-sponsored episodes of “Damages”. Some portion of those may decide “Gee, this show is great–I want to get DirecTV so I can watch the 5th season unedited, and in real time”. Don’t tell me that Showtime didn’t get more subscriptions after CBS ran the first season of “Dexter”, even edited for broadcast TV, a few years ago during the writers’ strike.
There must be some legal reason why they’re not doing a secondary run deal. I can’t believe it’s part of a strategy–it just doesn’t seem logical to me.
On the other hand, maybe the problem here is that DirecTV isn’t a content distribution channel like another cable network. They’re a service, and you have to leave your current provider to get it. So they’re not going to get many “switchers” because of one show. (Then why bother?)
Personally, I’ll just have to wait for the DVDs. Oddly enough, it’s a show that’s so dense, I’d prefer to watch one a week. I don’t think I could watch episodes back-to-back.
I don’t get why they aren’t licencing out the show to a network. The show had such low ratings on FX already and cutting that audience to only Direct TV subscribers is probably going to cut away like 3/4 of that audience. And with the cast this show usually hires they need all the revenue return they get to pay those salaries. Glenn Close can’t be cheap.
Also my old apartment used to have Direct TV only. I hated it. TV was out whenever there was a heavy rain and there was like 2 months where ABC and Fox was blocked whenever LOST and 24 was on. So I think I can wait till they are posted by someone on MegaVideo the next day.
I am VERY disappointed that Damages is not available to cable tv subscribers! I absolutely LOVE this show!!!! I will be looking
for the DVD…
I’m shattered it won’t be back on FX! It was one of my favorites! I too will look for the DVD. The show was probably too smart to attract the masses the mob to reality shows.