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Why Did Seinfeld Turn Down Fox?

Ben Gilbert says Jerry Seinfeld and Castle Rock took NBC's four-episode deal after Fox guaranteed 24 episodes. Jerry Seinfeld wanted the NBC imprimatur of a real network. Ben Gilbert says Jerry has phrased the choice as it wasn't the major leagues and he wanted to be in the majors.

Ben Gilbert says Jerry Seinfeld later said in other interviews that he and Castle Rock were looking around for other buyers because they assumed NBC was out. The assumption was fair. Fox made an offer and guaranteed 24 episodes. David Rosenthal says Fox was a startup network, not the Fox of later years and not one of the major broadcast networks in the US.

Ben Gilbert says they went with NBC's four episode deal instead. David Rosenthal says they had the order, NBC said the network trusted them, and NBC said there were problems with the show.

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  1. Why Did Jerry Seinfeld Insist on Playing Himself?Ben Gilbert says Jerry Seinfeld decided that whatever format the project took, he would play himself.
  2. How Much of Seinfeld Did the Creators Keep?David Rosenthal says it is reported that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David each own 15% of Seinfeld. He says they have all the leverage.
  3. Why Do Seinfeld Episodes Freeze Before They Resolve?David Rosenthal says Seinfeld keeps the same people and the same rooms across years, and nobody grows. Jerry is always Jerry. George is always George.
  4. How Did Editing Let Seinfeld Tell the Contest?Ben Gilbert says Seinfeld episodes are not live camera switched. They are edited afterward.
  5. How Did Seinfeld Grow Past Cheers on Thursday Nights?David Rosenthal says that in February 1993, Seinfeld moved from Wednesday to Thursday and the ratings rose 57%.
  6. Why Can You Watch Seinfeld in Any Order?David Rosenthal calls Seinfeld the most perfect syndication show ever created.
  7. How Did Seinfeld Reruns Beat Live Shows?David Rosenthal says Sony, which he also calls Columbia, earned its keep on the first syndication cycle of Seinfeld.
  8. How Much Seinfeld Money Did Castle Rock Sell Away?Ben Gilbert says Castle Rock sold to Ted Turner in December 93 for about $400 million.
  9. How Much Did Jack Welch Offer Jerry Seinfeld?David Rosenthal says Jack Welch told Jerry Seinfeld the show had not peaked.
  10. Why Did Ending Seinfeld on Top Keep Paying?Ben Gilbert says it is the taste left in people's mouths.
  11. Why Did Castle Rock Lose Money on Seinfeld on Purpose?David Rosenthal closes the books on Seinfeld's first run on NBC. Ben Gilbert says to leave syndication out.
  12. Why Did Michael Richards' Remarks Threaten Seinfeld?Ben Gilbert says Michael Richards' racist stand-up remarks in 2006 were a problem for the Seinfeld business.
  13. Why Did Netflix Pay Sony So Much for Seinfeld?David Rosenthal says in 2019 Netflix paid Sony a reported sum well over 500 million dollars for five years of worldwide exclusive streaming rights to Seinfeld.

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