Timeless’s resurrection after a season 1 cancellation was only partially brought about by the fan campaign. The other part of the equation was a big production budget cut coupled with the show’s relocation from Vancouver to LA where it got a $9.9M tax credit from the state of CA. Sony also agreed to a cut in their licensing fee.
It’s all about the money…
I read an article where Les Mooves (of CBS) talked about how advertising revenues have declined significantly over the past 5 years–from 75% of network revenues to 50% in 2017-- and are continuing to slide each year. Networks will renew low rated shows they own (Elementary, for example) because the network can sell/license the show to other media providers and turn an overall profit on production. Networks can’t do that when the series/production is owned and produced by a non-network studio.
Many networks now demand a partially ownership share for any TV series they air as part of the initial licensing deal. Reportedly ABC asks for a 50% ownership of any non-network produced show.