The end and the beginning of V

We are getting to the point where the mid season breaks are beginning to take effect, this is a fairly recent addition to the TV schedules in the UK, but in the US it has become a standard practice.
Last night it was the turn of FlashForward; it was not as if Five had any choice in the matter either for production of these expensive shows work the breaks into the production schedules.
But does this practice hurt the industry?
It would seem that the accountants running the studios and the broadcasters are using these breaks to fashion the schedule according to cost, in some cases a series can take a mid season break and not return and for sci-fi fans this can be worrying.
In the US, the reworked V has falling viewers so will it return in the spring?