The following excerpt is from Reuters website of May 14, 2012. Shares fell 18% on the news that NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? is being cancelled for a fourth season.
(Reuters) – Ancestry.com (ACOM.O) shares fell 18 percent on Monday after U.S. network NBC decided not to renew the company’s TV show for a fourth season.
Ancestry.com sponsors the American version of the popular British series Who Do You Think You Are.
The show, based on the idea of tracing celebrities’ family history through Ancestry.com’s databases, has been considered a major driver of new subscriber additions for the website.
THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS WERE RELEASED BY ANCESTRY.COM FOLLOWING CANCELLATION:
PROVO, Utah, May 13, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — Ancestry.com Inc. ACOM -12.54% , the world’s largest online family history resource, today commented on NBC’s decision not to renew the Who Do You Think You Are? television series for a fourth season.
“We want to thank NBC for their support of this terrific series, which over the last three years has inspired many viewers to follow their passion to learn more about who they are and where they come from,” said Tim Sullivan, President and CEO of Ancestry.com. “We have a great partnership with the show’s producers, Is or Isn’t Entertainment and Shed Media, and we look forward to exploring other avenues of distribution.”
About Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com Inc. ACOM -12.54% is the world’s largest online family history resource, with 1.9 million paying subscribers. More than 10 billion records have been added to the site in the past 15 years. Ancestry users have created more than 34 million family trees containing approximately 4 billion profiles. In addition to its flagship site, Ancestry.com offers several localized Web sites designed to empower people to discover, preserve and share their family history.
It is a shame that NBC has decided not to renew a wonderful program such as Who Do You Think You Are? For genealogists and family historians of every level, the lines were not only interesting, but educational. The stories provided new ideas for research, which might help to tear down some brick walls. I hope that Ancestry can find another channel on which to show this wonderful series.
Perhaps we can get away from the celebrity “worship” that so pervades our culture. I have never seen a single minute of the show. I also work when the show is on. I’d be a (bigger) fan of the show if they gone for a non-celebrity every show.
I also hope another Network will pick up this wonderful series! I don’t watch a lot of TV shows, but this was one that I always made time to sit and watch! I agree that it is also educational! Since I don’t know hardly anything about my own maternal grandmother, who was White Russian, i understand wanting to find out about your Roots!
Well, the PTBs strike again. Since WDYTYA is the only thing I watch on NBC, they’re losing a customer. I love this show and dearly hope that NBC will wake up or the producers will be able to find a channel who still cares what their “customers” want to see.
What a shame NBC has cancelled the program, as an avid family history researcher, I totally enjoy the series, and don’t find the fact that celebrities are being profiled a turn off! The process of the research is what I found fascinating. I think we have many, many more people interested in seeking their family’s story because of this program. I started my research after viewing the series “Roots”, WDYTYA definitely added to the number of people beginning to research their family. Hopefully the producers of this fine series will seek out another network/
Such a sad state of affairs when a wonderful series such as Who Do You Think You Are is cancelled. For each of the 3 major networks, their program planners all should take sabbatical as they make terrible decisions. There is very little programming of worth on the big three. Finding out our past, stories of our forefather/mothers can be an enlightening experience. Rather than just a name, they become more alive to us. I for one have revelled in my family tree searches through Ancestry.com. Thinking about my grandparents coming as young people in the great immigration period, or earlier, tracing my great grandfathers through their Civil War experiences, both Confederate prisones of war, visiting the sites of their imprisonement has brought our heritage to life. I’ve totally enjoyed learning about the guests on the show – don’t get hung up on celebrity issues. They too were touched by their ancesters’ lives.
Shame on NBC>
I am also appalled at NBC’s decision to cancel Who Do You Think You Are. Instead of bemoaning this on a site that caters to folks already interested in genealogy, perhaps we should all start emailing NBC and complain to them. Who knows – it might make a difference if they received hundreds (thousands?) of emails about this incredibly poor decision. Maybe they really think we all prefer American Idol, Celebrity Apprentice and Kardashian shows. They should know there are a lot of us out here who are capable of, and actually enjoy, thinking.
I beleive that both shows of Who do you think you are and Finding your roots on PBS are instrumental in encouraging people in exploring their own background into family history. Amazing stories can be found and learning about their own past and history is learned while watching these shows. I have learned more about cultaral aspects and hints on where to search that can help me in furthering my own family search for my own family heritage. Keep these shows going as it is a SAD loss if we can’t keep shows going for the chance to learn more about good values about family and history!