Burning off

In broadcast programming, burning off is the airing of otherwise-abandoned television programs, usually by scheduling in far less important time slots, moving shows to lower-rated sister networks, or taking long hiatuses.

Abandoned programs may be burned off for a number of reasons:

• They have to air to meet contractual or legal requirements.
• The production company needs enough first-run episodes to meet minimum requirements for syndication.
• Their use as "filler" is perceived as slightly more profitable than reruns or other fillers.
• Series fans' desire to see the conclusion to unresolved story arcs.

The term can also apply to programming agreements or network affiliations where the ratings strength and programming quality of a network or syndicated program declines to a point where its existence can harm a station or cable channel's further existence. For instance, MyNetworkTV, which launched in 2006 with the intention of being a broadcast network with the same programming strength of its most direct competitor The CW, has declined to a programming service merely carrying syndicated crime dramas which themselves are already widely aired otherwise on other cable networks and streaming services. Because of this, many stations have pushed its programming to the graveyard slot due to its lack of viability. Thus, the service is being 'burned off' in a timeslot where it cannot cause further harm to the station's schedule.

Up through the 1990s, contractual obligations often meant the airing of pilots for shows that were not going to be picked up, such as The Art of Being Nick, Poochinski, Heart and Soul, and Barney Miller, usually during the summer months to provide some form of new programming in the technical sense of the word. In a few cases, the pilot may prove popular enough that a series is eventually commissioned; such was the case with Barney Miller and The Seinfeld Chronicles, the latter of which led to the long-running sitcom Seinfeld. Anthology series such as Love, American Style were devoted to many such failed pilots, most famously Garry Marshall's failed pilot, "New Family in Town", which was rebranded "Love and the Happy Day" when aired as an episode of Love American Style; ABC ultimately changed its mind after all and picked up the series as Happy Days.

Recent examples of summer burn-offs include Fox's Sons of Tucson (2010) and the NBC medical/fantasy drama Do No Harm (2013).[1][2]

During the 2009–10 season, Fox aired 37 first-run episodes of the sitcom 'Til Death: 22 season four episodes and 15 unaired episodes from season three. The series had been renewed for a fourth season only after Sony Pictures Television offered Fox a discount on the licensing fee in order to get enough episodes aired to compile a saleable syndication package. Several episodes of the series were burned off in unusual time slots, including: four episodes in a Christmas Day "marathon", two episodes being aired against Super Bowl XLIV, and three unaired third season episodes being broadcast in June after the fourth season (and series) finale had already aired in May. The series' continuity also shifted throughout the season, as episodes were often aired out of order, leading to a situation where Allison Stark (the daughter of the main characters) was re-cast four times throughout its history and would have a different actress playing the character from episode to episode, eventually becoming a fourth wall-breaking running gag.[3][4]

In March 2014, the A&E series Those Who Kill was moved to Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) after A&E canceled the show following two low-rated episodes.[5]