Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24163511-20140606061447

Well, I think its about time somebody coughed up some answers on the incredibly erratic scheduling of this show. Quite frankly its the oddest and most confusing (not to mention frustrating) release schedule I've ever seen. I've done a little bit of research and am attempting to find out more answers. For now I'd like everyone to know exactly what I know concerning scheduling.

Q: Are these hiatuses the result of them making them as they go and just taking breaks?

A: No, All shows are made by the Season like batches of Cookies. Cartoon Network has slated and paid for a full Season, 26 episodes, and these are pre-made and released as CN sees fit for their programming schedule. Now, if ratings are poor enough, a network will yank a show from its line up and send in a back up show rather than waste precious prime air time.

Q: Are these hiatuses the result of poor ratings and low viewership?

A: To the best of all my knowledge, No. Reviews and ratings have been strong consistently since its start and in fact was CN's most popular show by the end of the 2013 season. Even as recent as early May when viewership was down due to already irregular releases, it ranked 11th out of 166 airings.

Q: Is Steven Universe in danger of getting yanked from CN's line up?

A: Frankly, that would be viewer suicide, if ratings were poor than there'd be reason for concern. But they have not been and they still show several re-runs throughout the week alongside continued praise from both critics and viewers.

Q: So what the hell IS the problem?

A: That's a beautiful question, I wish I knew. I have contacted CN via their Feedback section and requested information on the scheduling. An interesting tidbit I picked up while researching was an article that stated that CN was attempting a different kind of non-traditional scheduling strategy in which they refused an "up front" schedule release (meaning they did not give their advertisers a full list of all airings so that they could bid for times to show ads) and is apparently taking advantage of its recent growth in popularity. Pretty ballsy, but it seems to be jacking with regular scheduling as they shift shows around as they please to maximize their viewership as they see fit, why this then, does not include one of their prime time recent hits may be due to its infancy as a show. I'll keep you guys posted as information rotates in.

In case you were wondering, I sent this in as feedback:

"Scheduling Debacle: Steven Universe

Hello, I'm not entirely sure who will be reading this, if at all. But I assure you this is no lengthy complaint from some offended house wife wishing to bag on one of your shows for its "offensive" material, to which you "reply" (copy and paste) the same old ameliorating message to assuage the paranoid parent.

No, I merely ask for simple answers to which I can not find elsewhere. As it is, I have found myself to become a fan of Steven Universe, however, this show has the most complex episode release schedule I have ever seen. It's remarkably inconsistent, sometimes episodes are released weeks and weeks apart. This is its 1st season and as I've researched, its been getting quite positive reviews. So I can not figure out WHY its been so erratic.

In short: I want to know how you schedule your shows, and why the gaps are so large for this particular show. Perhaps a victim of irregular scheduling strategy? I have no clue.

Thank you for your time, I'm sure this job must get tedious at times and I appreciate you and would VERY much appreciate a reply.

Sincerely, W. T."

The best thing we can do for now is ask for answers. According to wikipedia, the finale is slated for July but I highly doubt another 7 episodes can be crammed within some 8 odd weeks, they'd have to literally break their weird hiatus streak by next week at the latest. 