ABC May be Ready to Cancel ‘Shark Tank’
By: Jordan Fraser
Tags: Business, Money, TV Series, TV Shows, Entrepreneurship

ABC May be Ready to Cancel ‘Shark Tank’

The veteran reality investment show is on its last legs

In 2009, reality investment show Shark Tank premiered on ABC to decent numbers and enormous potential.

Spun-off from the British reality TV series ‘Dragons Den’, Shark Tank is a reality show wherein everyday entrepreneurs come to the ‘tank’ and pitch investor ‘sharks’ with their winning ideas.

If a shark likes the pitch, they can choose to invest their own money in the idea. The formula hasn’t changed for 11 years, and for the most part, it’s worked.

Photo by Victória Kubiaki on Unsplash

Ratings Journey

The first season sat between 4 and 5 million viewers, with one episode hitting 10 million.

Season 2 saw similar ratings as the first season, which didn’t excite ABC in the least. They wanted a lot more viewership, and at the time weren’t optimistic about letting the show continue.

According to Barbara Corcoran’s podcast ‘Business Unusual,’ the entire show could have been cancelled after the second season if it weren’t for one critical decision.

“Outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks” Mark Cuban was brought on as a regular cast-member, a decision that is credited for the 30%+ boost in the ratings that carried on for the next couple of seasons.

Season 6 seems to be the show’s peak, with regular viewership dancing around 7 million people.

Starting from season 7, viewership declined until reaching the numbers they’re experiencing today in season 11.

The season 11 premiere episode was seen by 3.8 million people, with viewership dropping as low as 2.75 for its 11th episode.

With ratings in constant decline, the real nail in the coffin for the veteran show was ABC’s announcement last week that they’d be moving Shark Tank to the Friday night death slot.

So what went so wrong for Shark Tank? And is there any hope of revival for the beloved reality series?

Photo by Gerald Schömbs on Unsplash

The Shark Tank Model

Shark Tank has been around so long because like all reality TV shows, it’s inexpensive, it’s exciting, and it has developed a cult-like following.

Viewers love tuning in and watching dreams made and destroyed in front of their eyes.

There’s something universally appealing about watching very rich people dealing out advice to struggling entrepreneurs looking for someone to believe in them.

Although I’m much more cynical than the average person; I much prefer the moments when the shark investors come down on entrepreneurs who came unprepared and delivered a sub-par pitch.

I watch reality TV for the “wine throwing” moments, and if you’re looking for those, Shark Tank doesn’t disappoint.

The best of these moments are the times when the sharks fight each other. After years of carefully cultivating a unique collection of highly egotistical millionaires and billionaires, ABC has ensured that legendary fights will break out at least three times every season; always with one episode seeing at least two cast members leave the set in a dramatic exit.

Although dramatic and addictive, the show isn’t going the way of the Kardashians. That is to say that they aren’t gaining popularity with time, they’re losing it.

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Perfect Timing

The show aired its first season right after the financial crisis, timing that couldn’t have been more perfect for the American public.

The country was on its knees after the 2008 recession, and desperately needed something positive to watch. They needed a show where real-life business people gained the success they’d spent years searching for.

They wanted to see someone have a win, and that’s what Shark Tank provided.

Over the first few seasons, the reality show provided many tear-jerking moments with their entrepreneur guests who had lost everything in the recession.

The camera would slowly pan into a tight close-up on the entrepreneur’s crying face while the violins soured over their sob-spoken stories of bankruptcy and ruin.

B camera would flank the sharks to provide follow-up shots of the sharks crying on queue. These moments guaranteed emotional responses in living rooms all around America.

These moments made for compelling television, and for a while, it kept the show going.

But then years passed, and people stopped being able to rely on the recession as a reason for failure.

In the recent bull economy, anyone that failed had only themselves to blame, leaving no time for tears.

The show took a pivot away from sad drama into conflict drama. Entrepreneurs couldn’t blame the economy, so they took wild swings at parents and Chinese knock-off competition.

The sharks would react with speeches of ‘pulling yourself up by your bootstraps’ and personal stories of victory over adversity. It seemed to work fine, but nothing could recreate the magic of the tears.

Photo by Jonathan Chng on Unsplash

Hobbling to the Finish Line

Nowadays the show seems to be on its last legs. The series has taken another pivot, this time into memory lane.

Seasons 10 and 11 are heavily focused on the triumphs of the past, the amount of money invested over the years, and the number of entrepreneurs who have the show to thank for their successes.

It seems that like a retired singer who’s released a ‘best of’ album before checking into rehab, so has Shark Tank leaned on their laurels while starting to pack up the studio.

I think the only chance the show has left of making a come-back at this point is by leaning on the coronavirus-fuelled stock market crash of early 2020.

There’s a chance that business people who’ve lost everything because of the impact of the virus could provide the lifeblood the reality series needs. But there’s no guarantee it will work, and it may take years before we know the full damage the virus has caused to small business owners.

It’s the End

Shark Tank lives in the death slot now, where TV shows go to die (the Friday night slot).

So with that, I say goodbye Shark Tank, I loved you while you lasted. While you never gained the viewership of ABC juggernaut ‘Modern Family,’ you made just as many seasons, and that’s worth celebrating.

We will remember you by re-watching old episodes and reliving all the good moments, the boring math talk, and definitely the fights.

You may not have made Kardashian-level money, but at least people respect you; plus at the very least your cast-members were actually self-made millionaires and billionaires. Thank junk is priceless, and none of the Kardashians or Jenners can ever say that…

… Are you listening, Kylie?