Sitcoms Still Popular on Cable, in Syndication

Sitcoms, it would seem, still work for American audiences - but only when found in syndication or on cable rather than on network television.

A new report from Magna Global shows that TV viewers are watching as many, or more, sitcoms than ever, writes Media Life. The problem stems not from viewers shunning sitcoms, but from the broadcast networks and the unpalatable sitcoms they choose to air.

This season, the average household has spent an average 4.55 hours watching comedies per week. That number is down from 5.26 hours last season, but is up dramatically from the 4.09 hours in the 1999/2000 season and the 3.98 hours in 1993/94.

But in 1993/94, more than 55 percent of the comedies that were watched were seen on the broadcast nets. That has since fallen to less than 10 percent today, while 56 percent of sitcoms are watched on cable TV (up from 21 percent in 1993/94) and 34 percent are watched in syndication (up from 23 percent).

Networks believe that families no longer watch TV together, which has led them to move away from family based sitcoms or sitcoms about family like groups of friends, such as Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond, says Steve Sternberg, executive vp of audience analysis at Magna. But that premise appears to be untrue.

The study shows that 80 percent of homes only have one TV set turned on during prime time. “People have multiple TV sets for convenience, not so everyone can scurry off and watch TV by themselves,” he is quoted as saying.

In spite of that, Sternberg says it is unlikely that networks will go back to airing family-themed sitcoms any time soon.

Next season, it looks as though the networks play to test more single-camera comedies similar to The Office, along with comedy hybrids. The Magna report indicates that dramas are reaching saturation point, and that reality shows may be, as well.