Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Cheerio, Trio

Word comes today that NBC is finally pulling the plug on Trio, an off-beat little network that you probably didn't get unless you had a dish (though DirecTV dropped it, removing about 12 million subscribers) or one of the higher-end digital cable packages. It will be re-launched on broadband via the Bravo website, retaining some of its current programming (such as the now ironically-named short-run series compendium Brilliant But Cancelled) while developing new content for its new form.

We don't get Trio on our current package, but I've had it before, and enjoyed its mix of original stuff and reruns of The Larry Sanders Show and Late Night with David Letterman. You get the sense that Trio was doomed from the start - too small to compete, too useful to NBC for other purposes once bought - but it will be missed all the same.

The hole left in the digital landscape by Trio's demise will seemingly be plugged by a mystery-themed channel called Sleuth. Not sure what the content of this will be like, but given what NBC's done with Bravo, expect one or two original series that will get run into the ground and re-runs of NBC properties.

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