• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 5, 2010

Certain network shows have no business being on the air with low ratings -- especially ones that seemingly slide year to year.

To many, NBC's "Heroes" would seemingly be put into this category. But looking closer, you might see some startlingly reasons why it is still around: Zealous viewers.

According to reports, "Heroes" is the most "pirated" show on television - more than ABC's "Lost,"  Fox' "House" and "24," HBO's "True Blood" and Showtime's "Dexter."

TV programmers will tell you the importance of TV programs can be measured in terms of passion and engagement -- the least of which comes when those fans become marketing ambassadors of a show.  "Heroes" has this.

These data go along with "Heroes" also being one of the most time-shifted TV shows (as well as grabbing hard-to-get young male viewers). That, in and of itself, may not seem like much -- especially if customers are in no rush to see it live -- but it does talk up the value of a show's commitment with its core viewers.

In the digital video world, six million loyal viewers can be more valuable than a TV show with nine million ho-hum viewers.

On the surface, a down-trending-rating show would seem to be a no-brainer: It's time to cancel it. But all this is the last decade's bit of outdated TV business philosophy. 

TV advertisers know the score, and it has to do with a fractionalized video universe. That's okay -- as long as they are getting better at targeting more of those customers who will buy their products.

Lower ratings? It seems not to matter, as long as they find other shows where TV viewers will rush to champion their products and create buzz among other potential customers.

"Heroes" creates an obsession including, unfortunately, for theft. That's not good. But for the infatuation it seemingly creates, that's not entirely a bad thing either.