Or it was the networks, which were showing too many commercials.
KEN AULETTA: The morning shows are the only hours programmed by the networks which are gaining rather than losing viewers.
Series were developed jointly by advertisers and agencies and brought to the networks, which frequently named them after the sponsors.
The networks, which automatically match buy and sell orders, account for about a third of Nasdaq's volume.
"It shows confidence from the networks, which realize that great shows are watched by lots of people," he added.
The networks, which include ESPN and ABC, are suffering from a continued weak advertising environment and higher programming costs at ABC.
The networks, which had originally disparaged the new cable channels as cheap-looking and too narrowly focussed, ended up buying them when cable took off.
The networks, which began showing Big East football in 2001, said their contracts allowed them to renegotiate if the conference makeup changed.
The shift in ownership of the networks, which are used to carry much of the world's Internet traffic, comes less than four years after the telecommunications bubble burst.
The decision, by the Federal Communications Commission, was widely hailed by Hollywood and the networks, which had lobbied hard for it.
He noted that the networks, which still tend to drive the overall viewing figures, have suffered though a grim start to their new prime-time season.
