Grant Tinker Quotes

Every single television product has the ambition to chase ratings, every one of them. Many have other ambitions, for many, ratings are not #1. But my experience on TV, and on the entertainment side, has been entirely ratings-based. When I look at TV I look at ratings. And I never second guess ratings. Never.

There's a lot of politics in television and a lot of in-fighting and all that sort of stuff, but in the end, we are purveyors of entertainment. Viewers are not really bogged down in who's doing what and who hates who and who's doing best in the ratings. They watch television to be entertained.

TV always wants more people to be watching.

I've been in television for a little bit, and when people are attracted to what you've created, you get very excited because of the numbers. The business side is very exciting.

It is too soon to tell, but old, tired 'Survivor' last night beat 'X Factor.' We're really proud of that. We're anticipating a very strong season for CBS.

A show that no one thought had a chance has just finished its fifth year: Charmed. I think it's tougher for the younger networks, so I think they have a little more patience for the sake of the show. But who knows?

There's a great appetite for smart television. Every day I get up and there are interesting stories I want to do.

But TV has changed completely. It's not until you come into people's homes that everyone says, 'You're a success now.'

Hosting a TV show is a full-time job in which success is defined by it never ending.

Being on a successful show is kind of like being a sea turtle. Every year, sea turtles lay hundreds and hundreds of eggs, but only a few manage to survive and mature. It's the same with TV pilots. There are so many great ideas, but for whatever reason only the lucky ones get picked up.

My priorities are where they should be, which is making really great, really exciting television.

In television you go in with this operating system that it is a crapshoot.

You're in the business - when you're a writer, producer, director - to get ratings.

I think most people who were involved with television will tell you, if given a season or given a 13-episode order and getting those episodes on the air, and if viewers don't come, I think most people will tell you they'd walk away. They feel they were given a fair shake, and if viewers didn't come, they didn't come.

Nobody really knows what makes a hit TV show.

I mean, all the ratings wars are silly. But, I mean, someone has to be concerned about the ratings because it means, you know, it translates into revenue.

I've been really lucky to get on shows that stay on. It's one thing to book a show, and it's like winning the lottery again to have it picked up, and then again to have the show stay on the air.

A lot of factors go into the longevity of a show.

When I came on 'The West Wing,' I jumped onto something that was already a steaming locomotive of a hit. It was very exciting for me because I knew, the moment I got the 'West Wing' job, 'Well, hey, so now I'm on a hit show because it already is established and very popular.'

At age 15, I sold a television series to NBC.

Television is a huge industry, and actors down south are aware of it.

We all know that there are different scripted programs out there, and we're all facing the same challenges in terms of ratings and everything else, but I think that there is a lot of opportunity to be had as well, and what I'm excited to do is to get to explore that.

At network television you could make a show like Freaks and Geeks, and even though 7 million people watch is every week, you were considered a terrible failure, and they got rid of you and staff. Now ... It's like a world where the replacements are the biggest fans in the world. It's, the Elvis Costellos of television are the winners. Creativity is king and it's very very exciting.

Television is a tough business. It's not that easy to jump shops.

To understand this whole area, you have to stop thinking like a viewer and start thinking like a network programming exec.