A recent announcement by the CBS television network that it ordered on a “straight to series” basis 13 primetime episodes based on the book Under the Dome by Stephen King (the story of a New England town that finds itself sealed off from the world by a transparent force field) helps illustrate programming cycles in the television industry as well as its current state. A bit of television history supplies a backdrop to where the business is today and why the CBS announcement indicates a notable departure from the way most free television network deals have been made.
Background
In the early years of television, network programming was determined to a large extent by sponsors and their advertising agencies (e.g., Texaco Star Theatre with Milton Berle). After the quiz-rigging scandal in the 1950s, however, the networks assumed greater control over selecting and producing the programs they broadcast.
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