Vocal Ed Fans Back Mouths with Money

By Paige Albiniak
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Fans of NBC’s Ed are banding together to try and save the show by buying a $5,000 ad in the Feb. 20 edition of Broadcasting & Cable sister publication Variety.

Ed finished up early this year with a season, and possibly series, finale in which the show’s title character and his long-time crush, Carol, tie the knot. NBC has not said the show is cancelled, but promoted the wedding as its final episode. Ed’s ratings have not been stellar, averaging a 2.8 rating/8 share in adults 18-49 and 8.25 million viewers this season.Ed started out the year on Wednesdays at 8 p.m., but was moved to Fridays at 9 to share a time period with Miss Match, starring Alicia Silverstone. That show also struggled and is not yet scheduled to return to NBC’s schedule. Production on the show’s full order just wrapped last week and plans remain to air the final episodes, says an NBC spokeswoman.

During February sweeps, NBC is running specials in the time slot.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.