Oct 5, 2014 5 min read

More than 20 network series, including the new “Scorpion,” “How to Get Away with Murder” and “The Mysteries of Laura,” have attracted more than 10 million viewers since the 2014-15 season began. That already healthy viewing pattern will likely be strengthened when delayed viewing numbers are released. Yet it’s still not necessarily good news for the networks.

And the fault lies squarely with network programmers.

One would think CBS would be thrilled that “Scorpion” did so well in its first few outings, especially considering that the action series isn’t breaking any new artistic ground. But CBS evidently feels a need to nurture the show to the point where it altered its Monday schedule plans. For the next few weeks, it will be airing double episodes of “Big Bang Theory” to ensure the delivery of a big audience to its new show.

While it may help “Scorpion,” it will undoubtedly hurt “Mom,” which not only has been delayed, but also moved to Thursdays. “The Millers” will now follow “Big Bang” until November, when “Two Broke Girls” will precede “The Millers.” Forget that “Two Broke Girls” is a better match with “Mom.” The resulting confusion over timeslots may just hurt all shows involved.

It’s already clear that moving some older shows to new time slots was a mistake. “The Amazing Race” tanked on Friday as did “NCIS: Los Angeles” in its new Monday home. Sure, that loss was offset some by the nearly 20 million viewers who watched the debut of “NCIS: New Orleans,” but the idea of offering new shows is to build on a successful lineup, not to do an even exchange.

CBS also needs to fix its Sundays – and now. The air time of its two quality shows, “Madam Secretary” and “The Good Wife,” is entirely dependent on football. The varying start times result in potential viewers drifting to other networks.

There are two easy fixes. As “60 Minutes” is a segmented show, its running time can be adjusted so that the dramas begin on time. As an alternative, CBS could start the dramas at 9 and 10 p.m. until the football season ends. (It could air repeats of one of its comedies at 8:30, if necessary.)

It also needs to look for a quick replacement for “Stalker.” If the ratings weren’t horrible, the show was, to the point of embarrassment. One wonders who gave this laughably bad drama the green light.

I have two words for fans of “The Mysteries of Laura”: “Harry’s Law.” Fans were wild about “Harry,” but its fans were too old for advertisers. “Laura” has the same issue. Lots of people are tuning in, but very few are under the age of 50. I suspect NBC is considering sampling “Laura” after “The Voice” to lower its demographic draw; if that doesn’t work, it may be gone.

Here’s a network that should pay more attention to viewers than it does to its programming department. Last season, fans picked up that “The Goldbergs” was a perfect fit between “The Middle” and “Modern Family,” but it took an entire season for ABC to realize it.

And, lo and behold, ABC now seems to have a very successful Wednesday night comedy block, even with “black-ish” thrown in. Make no mistake – “black-ish” has potential, as its second episode confirmed, but the pilot was sporadic, at best, and all of the key jokes were used in preview clips.

ABC still has not fixed Tuesday, where “Selfie” and “Manhattan Love Story” were DOA. “Forever” did better than expected, but ratings last week indicate the “I can’t die” gimmick is already wearing thin. The guess here is that “Forever” will indeed die by midseason.

“How to Get Away with Murder,” a top 10 hit so far, may well succeed in spite of ABC’s continued failure to launch; more will be known once CBS’s “Thursday Night Football” is out of the mix.

There’s not much good news at Fox. Despite favorable reviews, teen hospital drama “Red Band Society” got off to a slow start, and has been hemorrhaging ever since. In addition, “Utopia” couldn’t even attract three million viewers and has already lost its Tuesday berth.

The news was better for “Gotham,” although superhero-themed shows typically fade faster than you can say “Batman.” Oh, and last year’s hit, “Sleepy Hollow,” has not only lost its buzz, but also many of its viewers.

With the exception of “Utopia,” the future of new series depends increasingly on delayed-viewing popularity. Comcast’s Bob Grove offered this sneak peek of what may be in store via Philadelphia’s delayed-viewing numbers for the week of Sept. 14, a week in which just a few network series premiered.

If the results hold nationwide, it may be good news for “Red Band Society” (third) and “Mysteries of Laura” (13th).

Did Fox know something we didn’t know? It didn’t include an image of the Pirates in its post-season promos, even though those promos began long before last Wednesday’s wild-card game.

Also, did ESPN bring in its wild-card game announcers 10 minutes before air time? Neither seemed to know much about the Pirates (or Giants, for that matter), including Kent Tekulve’s health issue, Neil Walker’s birthplace or the fact that there was a continuing commotion with a wandering woman in the Giants dugout. As that commotion was shown on camera, shouldn’t they have commented about it?

And when games get out of hand (as this one sadly did), the announcers failed in their duty to keep viewers tuned in. Here’s one example: The two Josh Harrison rundown escapes this past season were discussed but not shown. Without clips, the comments didn’t mean much.

While that oversight is not on the announcers as much as on ESPN, it’s just more evidence that little thought was put in to the broadcast. Pirates and Giants fans, and the public in general, deserved better.