Sometimes a cancellation can be the best thing to happen to the series.

When The Game was dropped by CW in May 2009, the comedy/drama about football players and their significant others was picked up by BET. That was a record-breaking move.

The first two episodes of Season 4 averaged 7.7 million viewers -- almost 6 million more than it did on the CW -- and set a viewership record for sitcoms on cable.

Continual repeats, demographics, marketing and social media are being credited for the success of the launch.

Debra L. Lee, the chief executive and chairwoman of BET Networks, is "just over the moon" about the results. “It proves that cable is competitive,” she said.