I mean I mentioned Buffy due to it's relative success and spin off on culture. But in reality it's viewing figures sucked in comparison to the big networks. It average 4-5.5M which wasn't even the biggest show on the WB, never mind in comparison to big shows on the main networks. Whedon has actually never really had much of an audience volume wise.

Yes that audience is stupidly loyal and will create revenue via related sales. And it can also be an attractive audience for advertisers if they are sure they are hitting the key 18-35 demographic. But for a big network to limp along with those kind of viewing figures...just ain't gonna happen. The WB could carry those kind of numbers, but Fox can't, it expects nay demands more.

And yet they keep trying because they know Whedon has a rabidly loyal audience out there, and they must be scratching their heads as to why that cannot be turned into mainstream viewing. Also whilst DVD sales etc are all well and nice, it's risky pumping multi-millions into a TV series when you don't know that is going to happen, and even if it does it's not going to arrive for a while which cripples your cashflow. Adverts are a much safer bet and they come via numbers and demographic.