Tuned In

FNL: Half Empty, Half Full

  • Share
  • Read Later

So Friday Night Lights finished the second week of its NBC run as part of season 3’s DirecTV cost-sharing agreement. How’s it doing? 

On the one hand… it’s fallen to fourth place in the ratings. 

On the other hand… Ben Silverman says it’s turning a profit in an hour that used to lose money, and may come back for a fourth season. 

I wouldn’t pop the champagne corks yet. But it’s worth remembering that the DirecTV deal (specific numbers on which we don’t know) significantly lowered the bar for FNL’s success on NBC. And that in the end, ratings don’t make you money; making money makes you money.  

(And another question is: with so many characters in their senior year or departing this season, should it come back for a fourth season?)