The world of TV syndication is tough, kids.
Nick Cannon’s talk show began last fall and never garnered more than 500,000 viewers. On most weeks it was 400,000. And now the show has been cancelled by Debmar Mercury Productions in March,. They clearly see that no one else is coming to the audience.
Cannon’s show was postponed for a whole season after his anti-Semitism scandal got him temporarily fired by Viacom and MTV. Cannon went on a big PR campaign to win back Hollywood executives, dragging in a rabbi and so on to his podcast. But he never really disavowed Louis Farrakhan.
Why did Debmar Mercury go through with it? Maybe they had to contractually. But there was no promotion and little interest when the talk show debuted. Cannon himself made headlines when he announced his 2 month old son had died. Then came the announcement that he was expecting an 9th child with another woman. The first part was tragic, the second part was, uh, something else. But this is not what draws in an afternoon audience.
Debmar Mercury has had other issues this season with “The Wendy Williams Show.” The host disappeared, guest hosts had to come in, and now it will be retitled “The Sherri Shepherd Show.” So how much mishegos can you deal with in one season? Especially when you have new heavy hitters like Jennifer Hudson coming in September.
Also cancelled is Jerry Springer’s “Judge Jerry” show which made a mockery of the already questionable court shows. That Jerry Springer and his ilk are still on TV is a sad comment on feeding the public piles of garbage. It’s beneath McDonald’s, and that’s saying something.
More cancellations are going to come as the syndie world is not sustainable at low audience levels. “Drew Barrymore” may be next to go. She hasn’t risen above 500,000 viewers in almost two seasons. CBS has tried everything since they own the show, but even putting Drew on “60 Minutes” wouldn’t save her from competition with Kelly and Ryan at 9am.
