Direct-to-DVD is probably the "lowest" level of incentive for producers to provide programming. Direct-to-cable is better, but still much lower than Direct-to-national network, and Direct-to-premium cable, both of which are avenues that offer great motivation for producers.
Jericho was actually given two chances to prove that it could attract an audience big enough to justify the investments made to produce it. It failed to do so, and not by a little. There is always the tendancy to try to assess blame, but blame is almost always misplaced. In this case, the network did everything it could reasonably be expected to do, and the show still failed. If blame needs to be placed, I would place it on the producers that thought it was a good idea to turn a great soap opera about survival into a mediocre political and military drama. However, even that's a pretty weak assertion: Not every good idea necessarily can command the consistent and sufficient attention necessary to justify its promulgation. Sometimes, the audience simply don't materialize, and that's just something that has to be accepted on its face, rather than there being some nefarious underlying scuttlebutt that caused it.
