The Twin Peaks pilot was re-edited and released with additional footage as a stand alone feature length movie to be shown on European TV. I think. That's what I've read. I wasn't there, you know? This was done to get some value out of the production of the pilot in case it wasn't approved to become a series by the network.
Later, David Lynch and his collaborators would shoot a television pilot called Mulholland Dr. which was not approved to become a series, and so Lynch and co. took out a scene or two, shot more footage, and released it as a feature film which became nominated for many awards, and is regarded by some as Lynch's masterpiece. Is that where the New Golden Age of Television began? I probably shouldn't ask such grandiose questions about TV since I don't much care for it. Or was it The Simpsons? That show's going strong even today . . . Futurama's pretty good, too . . . I liked that South Park movie but the TV show got kinda long in the tooth for me . . .
So, if you end up with a pilot that a network doesn't want, you can go make a movie out of it. Or just dump it on YouTube so it doesn't have a shot at competing against snarky comedy movie reviews and inane unboxing videos. YouTube is fun.
