Verne Gay of Newsday.com wrote a column called How iTunes saved ‘The Office’ that I’ve been meaning to point out. Kathleen has fallen in love with The Office in the past few months, but if there’s truth to what Verne Gay is saying, the program wouldn’t have lasted on NBC’s schedule without strong sell-through on iTunes.
The column quotes Angela Bromstead, President of NBC Universal Television Studio as saying:
I’m not sure that we’d still have the show on the air. The network had only ordered so many episodes, but when it went on iTunes and really started taking off, that gave us another way to see the true potential other than just Nielsen. It just kind of happened at a great time.
The article goes on to point out that expected iTunes success is probably going to save 30 Rock for oblivion.
I guess this indicates that the most effective way to support a niche show that you love is to get an iPod and buy episodes, not to write letters to network management.
Technorati Tags: The Office, 30 Rock, NBC, iTunes