It looks like the end of the road has come for Fox's Terra Nova series. After the network cancelled the prehistoric action-drama last month, online streaming movie service Netflix emerged as a possible new home for the show. Now those hopes appear to have been dashed; TV Guide is reporting that Netflix has passed on picking up Terra Nova for its growing source of original TV programming.
According to the Guide's sources, the big reason for Netflix passing on the show's pickup wasn't the big price tag for each episode (reported to be around $4 million) but the show's owners didn't like Netflix having exclusive broadcast rights to their series. I'm theorizing here, but one possible reason for Terra Nova's producers (20th Century Television) being shy is that they couldn't make additional money and sell the new episodes to the international broadcasters. This is how many television shows are able to recoup sizeable production costs, especially if there is a demand for the show outside of North America. Terra Nova did have that kind of appeal, so it made business sense for 20th Century Television to want to retain those international broadcast rights.
While a dark horse savior could still emerge for Terra Nova, the chances of that happening dwindle with every passing day. Interestingly, the Guide's source felt that Terra Nova was going to improve if it had that second chance. "We felt with some changes, the show could live up to potential and be something unique," said the insider.
20th Century Television may have needed more money to make a profit. It's a business; just because the actors and crew get paid doesn't mean that it's profitable for the people that pay their paychecks. The words "non-profit" aren't mentioned with 20th Century Television.
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Quasar
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Posted: 7 years 20 weeks ago
Lessee, we could give up the international rights and make less money, or have the show die and make no money. Let me think about this one...