SIGNATURE SHOWS SHINE ON SMALLER STATIONS
USA Today has an iteresting article on the ups and downs of having a signature show make a name for your station

Some popular basic-cable networks, which tend to be far less specialized, have done well without signature series by defining themselves in other ways. Lifetime was among the first with original hourlong dramas (The Division), but it's best known for women-in-peril TV movies. USA — despite kudos and reasonable ratings for the series Monk and The Dead Zone— is far more reliant on daily doses of JAG. TNT prefers ratings from NBA basketball, Law & Order reruns and movies over smaller returns from former series Bull and Witchblade.