View source for Engineering:Burning off

{{short description|Airing of a program as filler instead of in a regular way}}
In American [[Engineering:Broadcast programming|broadcast programming]], "'''burning off'''" is the custom of quickly airing the remaining episodes of a television program, usually one that has already been or is planned to be cancelled, without the intent to attract a large number of viewers. In addition to airing episodes two at a time, this process may also include rescheduling the show to [[Engineering:Graveyard slot|a lower-rated time slot]], or transferring the show to a less visible [[Engineering:Sister station|sister network]]. A low-rated show that premiered in the early portion of the regular television season may return during the summer, only to have the final episodes "burned off."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Adalian|first=Josef|date=2007-05-25|title=TV fires up summer burnoff|url=https://variety.com/2007/more/news/tv-fires-up-summer-burnoff-1117965857/|access-date=2021-03-27|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref>

Abandoned programs may be burned off for a number of reasons:
* The program must air to meet contractual or legal requirements.
* The production company needs enough first-run episodes to meet [[Engineering:100 episodes|minimum requirements]] for [[Engineering:Broadcast syndication|broadcast syndication]] (though with the rise of streaming video platforms, this has become less of a concern).
* Their use as "[[Engineering:Filler (media)|filler]]" is perceived as slightly more profitable than reruns or other fillers.

== Burn-off definition ==
Up through the 1990s, contractual obligations often meant the airing of [[Engineering:Television pilot|pilots]] for shows that were not going to be picked up, such as ''The Art of Being Nick'', ''Poochinski'', ''Heart and Soul'', and ''Barney Miller'', usually during the summer months to provide some form of 'new' programming in the technical sense of the word. In a few cases, the pilot may prove popular enough that a series is eventually commissioned; such was the case with ''Barney Miller'' and ''The Seinfeld Chronicles'', the latter of which led to the long-running sitcom ''Seinfeld''. Anthology series such as ''Love, American Style'' were devoted to many such failed pilots, most famously Garry Marshall's failed pilot, "New Family in Town", which was rebranded "Love and the Television Set" when aired as an episode of ''Love American Style''; ABC ultimately changed its mind after all and picked up the series as ''Happy Days'', itself leading to a number of pilots and spin-offs which had varying levels of success, including ''Laverne & Shirley'' and ''Joanie Loves Chachi''.

The term can also apply to programming agreements or network affiliations where the ratings strength and programming quality of a network or [[Engineering:Broadcast syndication|syndicated]] program declines to a point where its existence can harm a station or cable channel's further existence. For instance, MyNetworkTV, which launched in 2006 with the intention of being a broadcast network with the same programming strength of its most direct competitor [[Company:The CW|The CW]], has [[Engineering:Channel drift|declined]] to a programming service merely carrying syndicated crime dramas which themselves are already widely aired otherwise on other cable networks and streaming services. Because of this, many stations have pushed its programming to the [[Engineering:Graveyard slot|graveyard slot]] due to its lack of viability or even another digital subchannel. Thus, the service is being 'burned off' in a timeslot where it cannot cause further harm to the station's schedule, with the network's affiliates merely using the "My" branding to provide overall branding, or not at all.

Burning off shows was more common on the main broadcast networks before reality television, when that format became a cultural phenomenon in the summer of 2000. While new episodes of canceled shows would often earn decent ratings (by summer standards) compared to repeats of established shows, CBS's results in that with a successful reality show in ''Big Brother'' and a massive blockbuster in ''Survivor'' led to a turn towards other less-expensive new reality-TV episodes during the summer and away from bothering to air burn-off products at all. The arc of the last 20 years (since around 2002) has been for canceled shows to have unaired episodes air in one of three locations: an affiliated cable network (the final episodes of ''Freaks and Geeks'' were shown this way), a DVD release of the show (which was not that common for most of these unsuccessful shows but did happen sometimes), and/or on a network or conglomerate's streaming portal.

Outside series with universal negative reception or other external issues, the phenomenon has become rare as of the late 2010s, with networks and services more apt to air the entire series run, or through another venue to ensure the entire work will air as originally intended. It also does not apply to series where a lead actor or writer died suddenly, and the network and the show's personnel agreed to end the series, airing the final produced and completed episodes as a tribute to their departed colleague.

== Examples ==
Individual entertainers who had signed to expensive contracts with a network but experienced [[Finance:Diminishing returns|diminishing returns]] early on in the contract would often have their contracts burnt off by having them appear in guest spots on [[Engineering:Variety show|variety show]]s and other low-priority projects. Milton Berle, known as "Mr. Television" from being one of the medium's first stars, was tied into a deal with NBC which was nearly a lifetime contract (only ending in 1981),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/03/19/archives/30year-contract-is-signed-by-berle-nbc-to-have-first-call-on.html|title=30-YEAR CONTRACT IS SIGNED BY BERLE; N.B.C. to Have First Call on Services as Actor, Director, Writer or Producer|date=March 19, 1951|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 22, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> but by 1960, his star power had faded so dramatically that he had been reduced to hosting a bowling show to burn off the contract.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LBIrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YpwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4633,5663479&dq=goodman+ace&hl=en|title=Berle's 'Jackpot Bowling' Is A Really Striking Series|author=Ashe, Isobel|date=November 27, 1960|newspaper=Reading Eagle|access-date=May 8, 2011}}</ref> This, too, failed, and Berle was released from his contract in 1961. Paul Lynde had signed a similar, shorter-term agreement with ABC, but after the failures of ''The Paul Lynde Show'' and ABC's efforts to shoehorn him into ''Temperatures Rising'', Lynde was reduced to occasional specials (such as ''The Paul Lynde Halloween Special'')<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypz7erevqrI Bruce Vilanch on "The Paul Lynde Halloween Special"]. ''Archive of American Television Interviews'' via [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]] (August 2, 2016). Retrieved February 26, 2020.</ref> and guest spots on other shows such as ''Donny & Marie''; although Lynde found some success with the specials, his uncooperative behavior led to him being fired in 1978.<ref name=2019cw>{{cite web |last1=Gross |first1=Ed |title=Remembering the Life and Career of Paul Lynde, Star of 'Bewitched' and 'Hollywood Squares' (Exclusive) |url=https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/paul-lynde-bewitched/ |website=Closer Weekly |publisher=American Media Entertainment Group |access-date=2019-08-16 |date=2019-02-15}}</ref>  

After Jackie Gleason''<nowiki/>'''s 1961 panel game for CBS, ''You're in the Picture,'' was met with dismal reception, the following week's "episode" famously featured Gleason delivering a [[Philosophy:Self-deprecation|self-deprecating]] monologue as an "apology" for the preceding week's program. The remaining commitment to the timeslot was burned off as the talk show ''The Jackie Gleason Show''.<ref name="postmortem">{{cite magazine |date=February 3, 1961 |title=Television: Inspiring Post-Mortem |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,872060,00.html |url-status=dead |magazine={{wipe|Time (magazine)}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204202338/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,872060,00.html |archive-date=February 4, 2011 |access-date=2009-10-11}}</ref>

In 2005, after facing insurmountable competition from the revival of ''Doctor Who'', British network ITV burned off its professional wrestling-themed game show ''Celebrity Wrestling'' in a Sunday-morning timeslot.<ref name="ratings">{{Cite web |last=Kilkelly |first=Daniel |date=14 May 2005 |title=ITV confirms new 'Celebrity Wrestling' slot |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a21206/itv-confirms-new-celebrity-wrestling-slot.html |work=Digital Spy |accessdate=19 April 2007}}</ref>
 
Recent examples of summer burn-offs include Fox's ''Sons of Tucson'' (2010), the NBC medical/fantasy drama ''Do No Harm'' (2013),<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017270.html |title=Fox axes 'Sons of Tucson'|magazine=Variety|access-date=April 6, 2010|date=April 6, 2010|first=Michael|last=Schneider}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/03/human-target-lie-to-me-sons-of-tucson-keep-em-or-kill-em.html|title='Human Target', 'Lie to Me', 'Sons of Tucson': Keep 'em or kill 'em?|access-date=January 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402194048/http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/03/human-target-lie-to-me-sons-of-tucson-keep-em-or-kill-em.html|archive-date=April 2, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> the NBC sitcom ''Save Me'' (2013),<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thomas|first=June|date=2013-05-21|title=Save Me Was NBC's Big Comedy Hope. Now They're Dumping It. Why?|url=https://slate.com/culture/2013/05/why-is-nbc-burning-off-its-anne-heche-comedy-save-me-in-the-summer.html|access-date=2021-03-27|website=Slate Magazine|language=en}}</ref> and the ABC sitcom ''United We Fall'' (2020; it had originally been slated for a midseason premiere that was delayed to fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before ultimately being pushed ahead to July and being cancelled after a single season).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=2020-09-16 |title='United We Fall' Canceled By ABC After One Season |url=https://deadline.com/2020/09/united-we-fall-canceled-abc-one-season-1234577758/ |access-date=2021-03-27 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>

During the 2009–10 season, Fox aired 37 first-run episodes of the sitcom '''Til Death''—22 season four episodes and 15 unaired episodes from season three. The series had been renewed for a fourth season only after Sony Pictures Television offered Fox a discount on the licensing fee in order to get enough episodes aired to compile a saleable [[Engineering:Broadcast syndication|syndication]] package. Several episodes of the series were burned off in unusual time slots, including: four episodes in a Christmas Day "marathon", two episodes being aired against Super Bowl XLIV, and three unaired third-season episodes being broadcast in June after the fourth season (and series) finale had already aired in May. The series' continuity also shifted throughout the season, as episodes were often aired out of order, leading to a situation where Allison Stark (the daughter of the main characters) was re-cast four times throughout its history and would have a different actress playing the character from episode to episode, eventually becoming a fourth wall-breaking running gag.<ref>Fox Broadcasting. [http://foxflash.com/div.php/main/page?aID=1z2z2z2z5z2 "'' 'Til Death'' Fact Sheet"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722071144/http://foxflash.com/div.php/main/page?aID=1z2z2z2z5z2 |date=July 22, 2012}}. FoxFlash.com. Press release. Retrieved March 8, 2010.</ref><ref>Longsdorf, Amy (January 24, 2010) [http://articles.mcall.com/2010-01-24/entertainment/all-online14cqcg10t.7152024jan24_1_fox-sitcom-rome-fourth-season "Kate Micucci: 'Really exciting things are starting to happen'"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323055445/http://articles.mcall.com/2010-01-24/entertainment/all-online14cqcg10t.7152024jan24_1_fox-sitcom-rome-fourth-season |date=March 23, 2010}} ''The Morning Call''. Retrieved March 8, 2010.</ref>

In March 2014, the A&E series ''Those Who Kill'' was moved to Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) after A&E canceled the show following two low-rated episodes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Benched A&E Drama Series 'Those Who Kill' To Air On Sibling LMN|url=https://www.deadline.com/2014/03/ae-drama-series-those-who-kill-to-air-on-lmn/|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=March 25, 2014|access-date=March 26, 2014}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Engineering:Graveyard slot|Graveyard slot]] and [[Finance:Friday night death slot|Friday night death slot]] – time periods with low television viewership
* Ashcan copy – comic books created to secure trademarks to titles rather than for popular distribution
* [[Engineering:Filler (media)|Filler (media)]] – material of lower cost or quality that is used to fill a certain television time slot or physical medium, such as a musical album

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Television terminology]]

{{Sourceattribution|Burning off}}