What if NBC doesn't cancel shows in 1980?

[danderson]

what if NBC and Fred Sliverman decide that "You know, Letterman is really good, but we can't put him in the morning. He's better for late night instead." and decides not to cancel Hollywood Squares, Chain Reaction and High Rollers. Does Squares last a few more years, into the Brandon Tartikoff era, before SOTC comes along?

[TLEberle]

Hm. If only we were in the midst of a historian who has written about this sort of thing. Maybe he could elucidate upon this topic. I'm certainly not going to guess, but I recall Hollywood Squares being achingly close to being the longest running game show in daytime when it was pulled.

[PYLdude]

what if NBC and Fred Sliverman decide that "You know, Letterman is really good, but we can't put him in the morning. He's better for late night instead." and decides not to cancel Hollywood Squares, Chain Reaction and High Rollers. Does Squares last a few more years, into the Brandon Tartikoff era, before SOTC comes along?

Assuming a lot of stuff not happening in the interim.

[chris319]

HS was somewhat expensive to produce, with nine celebrities each show, some of whom were under contract.

[Jimmy Owen]

what if NBC and Fred Sliverman decide that "You know, Letterman is really good, but we can't put him in the morning. He's better for late night instead." and decides not to cancel Hollywood Squares, Chain Reaction and High Rollers. Does Squares last a few more years, into the Brandon Tartikoff era, before SOTC comes along?

If Squares had stayed on NBC, there would have been no "Battlestars,"  so no.  The failure of "Battlestars" proved the "agree/disagree" motif needed a rest.