海角大神

With 'Pitch' and 'Scream Queens,' is Fox still the network for younger audiences?

At the Television Critics Association winter press tour, Fox executives recently discussed the fate of shows like 'Pitch' and 'Scream Queens.' 

At the Television Critics Association winter press tour, representatives from Fox discussed programs such as the baseball show 鈥淧itch鈥� and the comedy 鈥淪cream Queens鈥� as well as possible plans for another iteration of the cult favorite 鈥淭he X-Files.鈥�

Fox Television Group chief executive officer Gary Newman said that the network had not decided whether to order a new season for "Pitch."

鈥淲e were very proud of 鈥楶itch,'鈥� Mr. Newman said, also saying, 鈥淲e would have loved to have a bigger audience.鈥� He said the network would likely decide what to do about the drama later in 2017 as well as what to do about the comedy 鈥淪cream Queens.鈥澛�

Fox aired the production 鈥淕rease Live鈥� in 2016 and Fox entertainment president David Madden said Fox is 鈥渟o close鈥� to announcing what its next live musical will be.聽

In 2016, Fox also aired new episodes of its 1990s science fiction program 鈥淭he X-Files,鈥� and Mr. Madden said during the TCA winter press tour that more 鈥淴-Files鈥� episodes could be on the way.

鈥淲e hope鈥� the show will come back, Madden said, adding, 鈥淲e hope to be able to announce something very shortly.鈥澛�

For the 2014-2015 TV season, Fox struggled in drawing viewers ages 18 to 49, a demographic that is valued by advertisers, with writing that Fox 鈥渃rashed from second place into fourth鈥� for that demographic.

In the 2015-2016 TV season, however, the network stopped its decline. 鈥淔ox also is flat compared to its previous season鈥檚 1.9 result, which is a big improvement over last season,鈥� Ms. de Moraes wrote. Overall, Fox ranked in third place rather than fourth for the year.

Now, as 2017 begins, Fox may be hurt by the performance of its drama 鈥淓mpire鈥� when it comes to overall performance with viewers ages 18 to 49. For the 2015-2016 TV season, 鈥淓mpire鈥� was the second-most-watched show for that demographic, behind only 鈥淪unday Night Football,鈥� but noted at the end of 2016 that the show was having problems.

鈥淲eek-over-week ratings growth isn鈥檛 sustainable for any series, so it was inevitable that Fox鈥檚 鈥楨mpire鈥� would slow down,鈥� Ms. Schwindt writes. 鈥淐ookie Lyon鈥檚 drama crumbled fast in its third season 鈥� 聽subsequently sinking to series lows that weren鈥檛 made up for even with seven extra days of viewing factored in. 鈥楨mpire鈥� still commands a healthy audience. However, the big drop is felt a more keenly given where it started.鈥�

But every network is now struggling to attract young viewers. noted near the end of 2016, 鈥淟eaving out sports and special events, all five of the major broadcast networks are suffering year-to-year viewership drop-offs among adults under 50.鈥�

And Fox is currently being helped by new show 鈥淟ethal Weapon,鈥� which debuted this past fall. 鈥淲hile not a monster hit, 鈥楲ethal鈥� has already become Fox鈥檚 second-biggest show among adults under 50, drawing more young viewers than any other program on the network save for its Wednesday companion 鈥楨mpire,鈥欌�� Mr. Adalian writes.