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Saving COWBOYS TV


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As noted on Wolf Bane's thread, Cowboys TV has been put on hiatus for 2011, with some possibility of it coming back for 2012. In the past a few shows have been saved by fan campaigns. Emails and letters do count. So here are the addresses that you can use:

 

Show feedback

 

Vote for COWBOYS TV as best show on the Outdoor Channel

 

It won't hurt to contact their major sponsors, either:

customerservice@midwayusa.com

 

http://www.ruger.com/footer/contact.html

 

Bear St. Paw and Grizzly Dave put these contacts on another thread. I thought they deserve their own thread. If you want to see Cowboys TV continue, then get to work. If you don't care, get to work because your friends DO want to see it continue, and we'll appreciate your help. If you absolutely hate the show, LIE. A lot of us want it to continue, and we know where you live, more importantly, where you shoot. :D

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Once you send your 1st emails and complaints. Remember a squeaky wheel gets fixed. In other words, be a pain in the azz.

 

Shenny

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Does anyone know how they decide to cancel a show? Is there some way they get a measurement of the audience size and interest. Some measurement of return on investment, etc??

 

I have a hard time believing that the shows that didn't get cancelled get as much attention as Cowboys does from all of us. I could be wrong though...

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Does anyone know how they decide to cancel a show? Is there some way they get a measurement of the audience size and interest. Some measurement of return on investment, etc??

 

I have a hard time believing that the shows that didn't get cancelled get as much attention as Cowboys does from all of us. I could be wrong though...

 

Just to set the record strait - I'm not in the T.V. bidness. The following is just my own crazy conspiracy theory:

 

The main reason that T.V. shows get canceled is economics. Production costs (outflow) vs. advertising $$$ (inflow). The T.V. industry is not in the market to entertain us, otherwise they wouldn't subject us to the crapola that they do. It's all about making money. So, while they have all sorts of money to throw out to put shows on the air, its usually the sponsors money that keep them on the air. If nobody watches the show, they don't buy the sponsors product. If the sponsor doesn't make money, they don't have extra $$$ lying around to sponsor a T.V. show. If you want to get an idea of the kind of costs were talking about, just look at what it costs to advertise during the super bowl. Now, that's an extreme case, but you kind of get the idea.

 

Now, here's the twist: we as viewers do watch these shows. And we like them. And we get plenty P.O.'d when the networks cancel them. However, the T.V. industry has this funky system called "The Nielsens". Which is basically a set number of anonymous households in the U.S. that record the shows they watch and then that info is passed on to the network. So, X number of T.V. watching households are determining what's on the tube. Just because you & I may like a certain show, X number of these "Nielsen" families don't watch it. So while a good show may be on, according to the numbers, nobody is watching it. So why spend $$$ on a show nobody is "technically" watching. Your favorite show just became a victim of "fuzzy math".

 

In our case here - Cowboys, it's not as cut & dried. The show is a smaller production, and is on a cable channel. So it becomes more dependent on sponsor $$$. I'll forever tip my hat and salute Midway for sponsoring the shows they did. It could be that in the case with Cowboys for this next year that Midway and the other sponsor just couldn't afford to come up with the money. A couple of years ago, Midway used to be one of the big sponsors of American Rifleman show. Then suddenly the next year it was Cheaper Than Dirt. Economics? Probably. Another point is that it costs a bunch for the Outdoor Channel to get their feeds on the cable & satellite systems. If sat & cable are the only game in town for you to broadcast on, then you gotta pay the man to get it on the air. Again, it's a $$$ issue.

 

Sorry for the diatribe, but a; I'm retired & have that kind of time, and b; I am more than a little off my rocker. Or so I've been told.

 

Up until August, I had DirecTV. I even subscribed to the Outdoor channel at an extra $3.99 a month for it. I loved watching Cowboys, Shooting USA, American Rifleman, Guns & Ammo TV, and even some of the hunting shows. However, in the end I couldn't justify paying $80/month to watch a total of 14 channels out of 200+. Plus, it seems that all of the shooting shows I like to watch were all repeats. Gets kind of old watching the "Shootout at the Jersey Lilly" episode over and over.

 

I think Cowboys will be back. However they do need to make some changes to the show. I don't think that Tequila & Tupelo Flash were bad hosts. Each had their own strengths/weaknesses. But if they do bring it back, I think Wolfe Bane would be the best choice for a host. Frankly it's a shame that more hollywood types weren't into our sport. Imagine Tom Selleck guest hosting in his Quigley outfit. Plus, they really need to spread out the show to include other club shoots across the U.S. I'm sure there are great shoots up in Alaska. Or Wyoming, or Indiana. But it seems that all the matches you'd see on the show were either in California, Winter Range or at Founders Ranch. I realize that has more to do with production costs, but you can shoot a show on a shoestring and have it come out good. I had the privilege to watch some of the filming for the pilot episode of Lock & Load with R. Lee Ermey. That was done with 4 people - the Gunny, the cameraman, sound guy & director. Or even have the clubs themselves tape a match and send that in - a Home Movies segment.

 

I'm sure more learned people than I have given this a lot of thought. Cowboys is a show that deserves to be saved. But part of saving it has to come from within. It would take a might great show for me to shell out & get satellite again. Or, they could do like other networks & put the show online, i.e. Hulu. I'd subscribe to that, I now have high speed internet. Frankly, I'd have rather them show this on the Western channel. I would have kept DirecTV for that.

 

I now return you to your regularly scheduled internet......

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God bless all those that made Cowboys happen. You all deserve a medal and our thanks.

 

Having said that, I was a TV producer for thirty years and there is only one motivation in TV.....money.

 

They way they make money is to have the most viewers watch the program so they can charge

 

advertisers the maximum amount per spot. They don't care squat about emails or phone calls..never have, never will.

 

The reason Cowboys is gone is simple. I quit watching it two years ago for the same reason everyone did. It had become

 

stagnant in terms of content. There are only so many interviews with the same exact people in the same exact

 

situations that people will watch. It has little to do with the host (most times).

 

The creative juices that developed the original plan failed to keep up with demand. Again, the is not a shot at the good people

 

who made Cowboys happen. This happens in many businesses and walks of life. Reality is blinded by pride.

 

It's not going to come back unless somebody re-tools and re-invents the entire concept. I hope someone steps up.

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as i said in the other thread:

maybe sass need to sponsor and pay for the show.

sass members can send in video from there shoots and use.

i'm sure there is enough video out there to do a show.

there are people in the video production industry to do a episode on better video making

the girls can do dress making tips.

the list can go on, all run by sass

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Would a sponsorship by SASS save this program?

 

If so, I think it would be a good investment for SASS.

 

 

If not I think SASS should come up with their own weekly program focusing on Cowboy Shooting, there are other cable networks out there who would air a cowboy action shooting program.

 

 

I also pay an extra $3.00 a month on direct tv for the the OLN, I originally added this channel just for cowboys. Now I am hooked on shooting USA, Swat, ect.... It is a shame that there will be no new cowboys since cowboy action shooting is still the most popular and biggest growing shooting sport in america.

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Does anyone know how they decide to cancel a show? Is there some way they get a measurement of the audience size and interest. Some measurement of return on investment, etc??

 

I have a hard time believing that the shows that didn't get cancelled get as much attention as Cowboys does from all of us. I could be wrong though...

 

We are but a speck on a gnat's behind in terms of the grand scheme of things. They want big numbers. Ya want it back, get Guy Fieri to dream up a segment on "cooking old west style" they can weave CAS into on the food network. THAT is where the big numbers are. Maybe 30,000 people actually shoot CAS, 150,000,000 burn something they call chili.......

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Completed the Outdoor channel feedback highlighting my comments about Midway's Cowboys.

 

Hope more of us do the same.

 

TB

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