To Whom It May Concern:
As per my telephone conversation with Monica Martinez this morning, I am writing regarding corporate
sponsorship of Moonlight, this year’s People’s Choice award winner for Best New Drama with 10 million
votes. Since being cancelled by CBS, Warner Brothers (the show’s production company) is currently
shopping the show to other networks. Additionally, Moonlight fans world wide are presently writing letters
to other networks, placing ads in The Hollywood Reporter and Variety in an attempt to garner support
and are also actively seeking corporate sponsorship to carry the production costs.
This has been done before. DirecTV, your competition, has just sealed a deal with NBC to bring their
critically acclaimed but ratings starved Friday Night Lights back to life. DirecTV’s deal allows for the
satellite company to exclusively air new episodes of Friday Night Lights beginning in October 2008, most
likely on their High-def channel 101. NBC and its affiliates wouldn’t air the episodes until January 2009
which means that your satellite company, Dish Network, is losing the Friday Night Lights fan base.
Your competition, DirecTV has undertaken an aggressive marketing campaign to heighten public
awareness. Their goal is to distinguish themselves from their rival on content as well as price. DirecTV
has been notified of our efforts to garner corporate sponsorship for Moonlight and appear interested.
So much so, in fact, that they created an email address specifically for Moonlight fans only.
Why should Dish network consider corporate sponsorship of Moonlight? First and foremost, to contend
with your competition. Dish Network has already lost the Friday Night Lights fans (which, according to
The Hollywood Reporter, average at 6.1 million viewers). Can it afford to lose the Moonlight, fan base of
7.5 – 9 million viewers as well?
Reason number two for Dish Network to consider corporate sponsorship of Moonlight is profit. Even
though Moonlight aired on what is called “Death Friday” in the TV industry, it still had a high viewership,
especially in the coveted 18-49 demographic. As per Nielsen Media Research:
● Moonlight consistently won its time slot along with the target adult 18-49 demographics.
● Moonlight was close on the heels of other established CBS hits on more-ratings friendly nights and far
outpaced its nightly competition in both total viewership and in the target 18-49 demographic.
For example, May 5-9, Moonlight ratings came in with 7.887 million and a 5.0 share. With the help of this
freshman show, CBS led this second Friday of the May 2008 sweeps, with a first-place finish in
households, total viewers and adults 18-49 in every half-hour.
● Moonlight experienced one of the smallest post-strike drops in viewership despite a four-month
absence from the air. The show saw just a 3 percent post-strike drop from its last new episode.
Compare this to shows like House (Fox), which saw a 36 percent drop in viewership or Desperate
Housewives (ABC), which fell 17 percent after the strike.
The numbers speak for themselves. Despite the lag in viewers post-strike, Moonlight still won its
demographic for nearly all of its episodes, along with winning its time slot among fellow competitor
networks. The show has over 8 million supremely dedicated and passionate fans behind it who are
willing to follow it to whatever network decides to give our favourite show a second season.
In addition to Moonlight’s numbers, another selling point is Moonlight's genre. Vampire based Romance
novels are still hot, selling in staggering numbers, and this show brings that genre to television. In
addition, Stephenie Meyer’s acclaimed novel, Twilight, hits movie screens this December through MTV
Films and has already garnered lots of buzz. Moonlight would be a network’s/satellite provider’s
opportunity to increase Moonlight’s existing fan base by grabbing both the millions of Romance readers
and Twilight fans who want to see their favourite genre in a weekly television show.
I’m a 37 year old Historical Romance author and I’m a true romantic at heart. I am a dish network
subscriber who watches TV and loves my DVR and my premium subscriptions to HBO and Showtime.
With that said, I have rarely been as moved by a show as I have been by Moonlight.
What is Moonlight? Moonlight is the story of redemption, proof that a person’s past always catches up
with them. Who can’t relate to that? The writing is superb! Every episode is rich with witty dialogue,
suspense, drama and romance, with layers of emotion and back-story. Each week, I was glued to my set
to see what would happen next and what tidbit of the characters’ pasts would unfold.
A television show about vampires … yes, it is but it is also so much more. Moonlight is a show with a
heart, a paranormal romance starring Alex O’Loughlin (who was honoured by TV Guide as one of this
year’s Sexiest Stars), Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring and Shannyn Sossaman. The show was conceived
by Trevor Munson, who wrote a novel about the main character. Mr. Munson’s story was first made into
a film script with star Bruce Willis named as one of the possible leads. The film script was later seen by
Nina Tassler of CBS. Ms. Tassler purchased the show, assigning Ron Koslow, creator of the TV classic
Beauty and the Beast, to create a script for television.
Moonlight consists of action, suspense and stunning special effects but, even more importantly, the
characters and their on-screen relationships make this show a must-have for any network. The
chemistry between lead actors Alex O’Loughlin and Sophia Myles is explosive. Their characters, Mick
and Beth, care deeply for each other yet his character is emotionally tortured. Additionally, Moonlight
features a strong male friendship at the core of its’ plot.
Numerous aspects of Moonlight make this show a perfect fit for cable. Take the SciFi Network, for
instance (one of the networks that have expressed a great deal of interest according to Warner
Brothers’ representatives). Like Moonlight, so many of the SciFi Channel’s shows are relationship
driven: Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Eureka, The Sarah Jane Adventures – they all feature strong
characters with personal conflict. Doctor Who is riveting because of the Doctor’s tortured past – the last
of the Time Lords fated to outlive all of those he comes to care about. Through all of his adventures, it is
his relationships with his assistants that fans are most intrigued by … and the chemistry between them.
Another example of a perfect fit for a cable network would be the USA Network. So many of their shows
are relationship driven as well: House, NCIS, The Starter Wife, Law and Order SVU – they all feature
strong characters with personal conflict. Like Psych (currently on USA), Moonlight actors Alex O’Loughlin
and Jason Dohring share witty dialogue and a strong friendship that is both a joy to watch and
emotionally moving.
In my opinion, Moonlight has everything a viewer could possibly want in the show – with the exception
being that it lacks a network that truly believes in this show as much as the fans do.
Moonlight’s viewers are loyal to Moonlight. We guarantee nothing but passion and high viewer numbers
to any network/satellite provider that supports it. We have already donated blood in a blood drive for the
actors and have donated our own money to run ads in The Hollywood Reporter and Variety for this show
– the same hard-earned money that we proudly give to advertisers of this program and to a satellite
company who choses to sponsor it. Our loyalty and determination are unwavering. We're willing to do
whatever it is humanly possible to keep such wonderful programming on the air.
Moonlight fans remember JAG, which was transferred to another network after cancellation. And it was a
staple on the second network for another 9 years and still airs in reruns on cable!
Moonlight is a solid investment for any network and any corporate sponsor. I would hate to see another
satellite provider invest in it. While I love my subscription to Dish, I – like millions of other Moonlight fans,
will follow this show wherever it goes.
I’ve attached one of the ads mentioned previously for your review. Please feel free to contact me if I can
answer any questions or be of assistance. And please see the potential profit, considering Moonlight for
corporate sponsorship.
Sincerely,
Tracy Goodwin
This is the letter e-mailed to Dish Network by Tracy Goodman, which prompted their response:
(originally posted at Moonlight-army)