Why TV Hit 'Longmire' Got Canceled: Fans Too Old

When a television show is consistently popular, its reward usually isn't getting canceled. But that is what happened to "Longmire" on the A&E cable channel, which was unceremoniously dumped after three seasons.

Unfortunately for "Longmire," it has the wrong audience and the wrong owner. A&E said it pulled the plug on "Longmire" because it appeals primarily to older viewers -- the median age of the show's viewers is 60 versus 48 for the network as a whole -- and it doesn't have an ownership stake in the show. A&E is a unit of A+E Networks, a joint-venture between Walt Disney and Hearst.