Why does it seem that so many ...

Question: Why does it seem that so many established shows are being moved around this fall? Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Without a Trace are being moved from their established time slots. Have the networks given up on them to concentrate on establishing their new fall shows?
Answer: The circumstances are different for each show, but this isn't a case of the networks "giving up" on a show. It's more that the networks are realizing the value of these shows by moving them into strategic new time periods. Criminal Intent was going to be bumped by NBC's new Sunday-night football franchise anyway, so it was moved to Tuesdays, where NBC traditionally struggles, to act as a lead-in to the more popular Special Victims Unit. CBS made a riskier decision by moving Trace from Thursdays to Sundays because the net is killing its movie night and wanted to put two strong crime procedurals back-to-back. Cold Case and Trace are going to be very compatible, and CBS has already been successfully testing the strategy this summer. I'll miss Trace on Thursdays, but since I'll be playing back CSI at 10 pm/ET after watching Grey's live, I wouldn't have as much time for it then anyway. I'll probably be able to watch it more consistently on Sundays, unless Brothers & Sisters turns out to be a hit. Speaking of which....