Forbes.com
Lacey Rose, 05.15.06, 6:00 AM ET
New York - A single mother turned bounty hunter. A small town facing a natural disaster. A man who loses his memory for an hour every day.
Sound like compelling television? Network executives thought it did--or at least they did five months ago. But there's a good chance viewers will never get to find out for themselves.
This is the week the broadcast networks put on their "upfronts" in New York City--a series of hype-heavy presentations where they parade their wares in front of advertisers in hopes of convincing them to spend billions.
But though the networks commission some 100 pilot episodes of new shows every year, at a cost of more than $300 million, they will only end up adding 30 or so to their 2006-07 schedules. That means shows like Julie Reno, Bounty Hunter, which News Corp.'s (nyse: NWS - news - people ) Fox ordered up this year, Jericho, which CBS (nyse: CBS - news - people ) commissioned, and Sixty Minute Man, which The Walt Disney Company's (nyse: DIS - news - people ) ABC paid for, may never be seen by the viewing public.
Seems like a big waste of money. What if the failed pilots were available for download? How about a cable channel dedicated to failed pilots and short-lived series?
