As we've been well reminded, quarterlife in fact began with the TV crowd in mind. When the show didn't get picked up for syndication on any of the broadcast networks, its writers did what any downtrodden writer should do: take the show online. Debuting on MySpace last year, quarterlife did well with its online distribution, although its online traction even began to fail by the 8th episode.
But in the midst of the writers strike, NBC decided to acquire the rights for quarterlife, but are the execs at NBC kicking themselves now? Airing last night at the 10 PM slot, quarterlife found itself up against "Primetime What Would You Do Now?" In fact, quarterlife got one of the lowest ratings of all the programs on broadcast television last night, according to Neilsen ratings via TV by the Numbers.
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WebProNews was even kind enough to point out that quarterlife's ratings, with just 3.86 million viewers, is lower than what "Caveman" brought in. WebProNews also mentioned the fat that at least part of quarterlife's target demographic may have been watching th rekindled Jericho, which was ironically resurrected from a web campaign not too long ago.
I don't know whether to be sad about this, or a little bit glad. Those that fall in love with made-for-web content often enjoy the status of having found some sub-culture secret that loses some of its appeal once it goes mainstream. Perhaps this attitude can attest to quarterlife's low debut rating. Or perhaps a show that's already gained steam on the web would be expected to have a lower debut rating because of its pre-existing distribution.