Mole 0 Report post Posted January 20, 2004 Networks throw rules out window By Joanne Ostrow Denver Post Media Critic Monday, January 19, 2004 - LOS ANGELES - Look closely and see the fear in their eyes. At the start of 2004, television executives are desperate. "The old rules no longer apply," according to NBC’s top executive, Jeff Zucker. "There aren’t any rules anymore," according to ABC Entertainment president Susan Lyne. Declining audiences, the temptations of video games and other technologies and an impatient advertising community have prompted a wave of experimentation. "The old economic model has lasted too long," Fox Entertainment president Gail Berman said. "We need to change the business." There’s a hint of panic in the air. Anxious programmers will attempt a number of alterations: NBC will launch its fall season in August. Fox won’t even mention fall, preferring to "redefine the traditional broadcast calendar with year-round programming." ABC will try limited-run ser- ies on the British model. ("The D.A." is pitched as "four weeks, four murders"). Stephen King’s "Kingdom Hospital" is 13 weeks, beginning March 3. And ABC will adopt shared time slots on the HBO model, mimicking the way "The Sopranos" and "Six Feet Under" appear in rotation. The WB will air 22 episodes of the drama "One Tree Hill" twice a week nonstop without reruns, giving viewers an extra shot at finding the show. "Why not?" the WB executives ask. "We’ve had our heads in the sand for too long," said ABC’s Lyne. Desperate times call for progressive programming tricks. While monkeying with the schedules doesn’t resolve anything for viewers fed up with "reality" TV or appalled by the dumbing-down of the medium generally, it’s a sign of the networks grasping for answers in the face of monumental change. The uncertainty is giving the business a frontier feel. NBC and Fox will pursue a 52-week-a-year season, avoiding a rerun lull. ABC may experiment with fewer commercials at higher prices, giving sponsors the chance to buy time at a premium on the most popular shows. Program length may become elastic, too. "This is an exciting time to be in TV but you have to have strong nerves," said ABC’s Lyne. The frontier beckons, but programmers don’t know what they’ll find there. One thing NBC’s Zucker does not expect to find there is sweeps. The traditional ratings measurement system is outmoded and will be phased out, he believes, as new People Meter technology is introduced. NBC also expects to say goodbye to knee-jerk coverage of political party nominating conventions. This year for the first time, NBC will launch its fall season following the summer Olympics, knocking the Republicans out of prime-time into the wee hours. The executives disagree on whether viewers can navigate their erratic program schedules. NBC thinks chaos is now the norm. "We promoted ’Average Joe’ for just two weeks on the air," Zucker said, "and then it came on, and everybody had found it. We promoted ’The Apprentice’ for four weeks, two of those over the holidays, and people found it. We moved ’Third Watch’ over to Friday night with very little promotion and people found it. "We have to understand television is changing, and it’s changing right now," Zucker said. "There’s generations of viewers who have now grown up on MTV... and 100 cable channel choices, and all they do is surf around. They’re sophisticated enough now to be able to find the hot new website and to find the hot new show and the hot new channel." By contrast, Fox’s Berman acknowledged the difficulty for viewers when TV is unpredictable. "The goal is to try to create a more stable schedule," she said. One stunning development executives find themselves chasing is the effect of DVDs. Surprisingly robust revenues from TV-themed DVDs are changing the way television is made. A hit DVD could even revive a canceled series. Estimated sales of TV series on DVD exceeded $1 billion in 2003, according to industry reports. Fox’s animated "Family Guy" tops the list; HBO’s "The Sopranos" has earned enough from DVD sales to recoup the entire cost of the early seasons. Serial dramas such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "24" are much bigger sellers in DVD than procedural dramas like "Law & Order." "The Family Guy" is the best example of the changing business model, Berman said. The Cartoon Network picked up the series when Fox dumped it. Then, "the huge success of the DVD made us pay attention to the show again," Berman said. Additional episodes likely will be produced, and the series may once again be a viable candidate for Fox. Joanne Ostrow is in Southern California for the winter Television Critics Association meeting to preview new programming. I like the idea that Fox and ABC are going to show first run episodes all year round. I think Fox wants to do this because of the OC doing well in the ratings. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted January 20, 2004 They want to do it because HBO makes a ton of money from doing it this way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mole 0 Report post Posted January 20, 2004 HBO actually has good television though. I don't think they have had a series that hasn't done well or the critics didn't like. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Satanico Report post Posted January 20, 2004 HBO has had a few shows that flopped in one way or another. I believe the most recent flopper was the one about undercover narcotic agents. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sfaJack 0 Report post Posted January 20, 2004 ABC's potential strategy of fewer commercials sounds like a winner to me. I wish they'd all do that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ghettoman Report post Posted January 20, 2004 So who's gonna say "fuck" first and let us get back to watching TV without caring about the old model or trends or if we can find shows or not? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lando Griffin 0 Report post Posted January 20, 2004 HBO had a flop in Mind of the Married Man. And Arliss should have flopped. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mole 0 Report post Posted January 20, 2004 So bascially HBO's shows have a 67% rate of doing well. That is better than any network. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpikeFayeJettEdBebop 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 I think HBOs shows have ALOT more chance that 67%. I mean not only is most of their stuff good, but they can show whatever they want, and HBO just has a "Good TV" Aura to it(To me atleast lol) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Ghost of bps21 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 Also...they don't have to worry about advertisers not likeing the ratings. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JHawk 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 Anybody else notice that not one network said "If we actually put on good shows, people might watch us"? Is there even a good show on network TV anymore? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 Anybody else notice that not one network said "If we actually put on good shows, people might watch us"? Is there even a good show on network TV anymore? Eh... Smallville isn't that bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NoCalMike 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 HBO's Oz was the best drama series the network ever had, IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 Anybody else notice that not one network said "If we actually put on good shows, people might watch us"? Is there even a good show on network TV anymore? 24, CSI, Law and Order, Without a Trace.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hogan Made Wrestling 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 Anybody else notice that not one network said "If we actually put on good shows, people might watch us"? Is there even a good show on network TV anymore? The only new shows that I like are Las Vegas (currently the best show on TV) and The O.C.. As far as old ones go, the Law&Orders are all still pretty good at varying levels, The Practice has come back with a vengeance since James Spader joined the cast (if all was right in the world he'd be an Emmy nominee for sure), and I like Crossing Jordan which is supposed to come back on after Jill Hennessy has her kid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Satanico Report post Posted January 21, 2004 Network TV isn't nearly the wasteland some people make it out to be. It's not like Network TV has ever been overflowing in great shows at one time. The good has always been amoungst crap on network TV. Pick any time in network history in comparison to the current and there's probably just as many good shows now as there was then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 Network TV isn't nearly the wasteland some people make it out to be. It's not like Network TV has ever been overflowing in great shows at one time. The good has always been amoungst crap on network TV. Pick any time in network history in comparison to the current and there's probably just as many good shows now as there was then. Since I consider most of the reality programming crap (the only reality show I even remotely like is Amazing Race) and the fact that reality based crap is getting more and more of the networks' primetime schedule, I condsider that even if there's the same number of good shows on now vs any other time, theres a lot more crap on right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skywarp! 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 Right now, when I get home from work, all I want to do is play videogames and watch DVDs. Basically, if I turn the TV on, it's on the "video" feed to do one of the two things above. Someone needs to put a bullet in the head of reality TV. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mole 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 Anybody else notice that not one network said "If we actually put on good shows, people might watch us"? Is there even a good show on network TV anymore? 24, Angel, and The Simpsons are the only shows I must watch everyweek. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
notJames 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 Someone needs to put a bullet in the head of reality TV. Hear hear. I would suggest heading to Times Square to the MTV offices, since it was The Real World that arguably paved this particular road to hell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Satanico Report post Posted January 21, 2004 eh I hate reality tv too, but I don't pay attention to it. Reality TV and UPN may produce alot of crap, but it's not enough to affect my TV viewing. I could probably name at least 5 good shows on each network except UPN. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skywarp! 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 (edited) Someone needs to put a bullet in the head of reality TV. Hear hear. I would suggest heading to Times Square to the MTV offices, since it was The Real World that arguably paved this particular road to hell. They may have been the originators, but the craze was really kicked off in an attempt by other networks, and even its own network, to re-capture the success of the original Survivor. And the trend isn't dying because there are enough dumb women (I'm not stereotyping, there was a study that network prime-time programming has lost the majority of the coveted 18-34 male demographic) to give these shows ratings; shows that are cheap and quick to produce, so they rake in much more dough than they cost to make. Edited January 21, 2004 by KANE Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mole 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 Someone needs to put a bullet in the head of reality TV. Hear hear. I would suggest heading to Times Square to the MTV offices, since it was The Real World that arguably paved this particular road to hell. They may have been the originators, but the craze was really kicked off in an attempt by other networks, and even its own network, to re-capture the success of the original Survivor. It pisses me off though because CBS used to claim it "invented" reality TV. And it was MTV who actually started it all, long before CBS even thought of Survivor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricMM 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 I like being able to find Seinfeld on at many many times of the day. If only fox would cancel it's friends block and put family guy on right after the simpsons. They'd rape the other networks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mole 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 When I am at school, since I get the NY stations, I can watch Seinfeld at 630 and 7 on TBS, then on FOX at 730. I love it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JasonX 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 HBO has had a few shows that flopped in one way or another. I believe the most recent flopper was the one about undercover narcotic agents. Actually "The Wire" was a big hit with critics and did extremely well when HBO did a recent reairing of the first season in order to hype the show's second season... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spicy McHaggis 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2004 When I am at school, since I get the NY stations, I can watch Seinfeld at 630 and 7 on TBS, then on FOX at 730. I love it. And Wednesday's you get 2 1/2 hrs straight of the Sein... TBS- 6:30, 7:00, 8:00, 8:30 UPN- 7:30 I think networks need to stick longer with shows despite possibly poor showings in ratings. Besides sports, I only have to watch Alias and 24. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tully316 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2004 If Fox was smart, they'd move The Shield from FX and kill in the ratings. They need some quality programming to combat the reality crap on the other stations. I'm sick and tired of the Dumbing Down of America (I blame MTV). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted January 22, 2004 I blame Professional Wrestling and The Country's refusual to learn anything in school, stuff like, I dunno, READING a fucking book. If the Shield was to be put on FOX, Wouldn't they have to put on at 10 with the current rules? The show is just equal with NYPD in terms of Language and "Hard"ness... When would you put it on? Monday? It would get beat down by MNF and the CBS Comedy Block. Tuesday? Since I can't see 24 going a 4th season, Maybe. Wednesday? O.C has that cornered. Fox won't fuck with it's biggest show. Thursday? No shot. Friday? Death. Saturday? No chance at all. Sunday? Yeah sure, Skin it down to Malcom and Aressted Development(Simpsons needs to retire) and give it the Nine Slot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
