Search results matching tag 'Print Edition'

At Long Last, Conan Takes Command

Anonymous — Sun, 31 May 2009 00:03:00 GMT

It’s been three months since Conan O’Brien hosted his last “Late Night.” While he’s been off the air, he’s hardly been out of the spotlight. Following the lead of predecessor Jay Leno, Mr. O’Brien spent a big chunk of his late-night interregnum touring the country, visiting NBC affiliates in dozens of cities, part of a carefully orchestrated campaign to build good will with his de facto bosses at the station level. Mr. O’Brien has kept a somewhat lower media profile during most of his break from broadcasting. But that’s changed in recent weeks in the lead-up to his June 1 “Tonight Show” takeover, with Mr. O’Brien popping up on the covers of publications as diverse as Parade to the New York Times Magazine. Two weeks ago, he also made time to chat with TelevisionWeek Editor Josef Adalian about preparations for the transition, the cultural significance of his new job and why he hopes to still be jumping on top of his desk when he’s in his seventies. An edited transcript of their conversation follows: TelevisionWeek: So it’s almost June 1. Are you freaked out yet? Conan O’Brien: I’m in a very serene state of denial. They’ve told me it’s June 1, 2011, which has helped me stay very calm. I’ve been hypnotized into believing I’ve got two years left to prepare. TVWeek: You’ve had a long build-up to the takeover. Mr. O’Brien: Yeah, [we’ve had] five years. But most of those five years, you have to host the “Late Night” show. You have to give that 100% of your attention. We’ve only been able to switch to hyperdrive since Feb. 20. And I spent a month of that on the road going on my affiliate wam-a-jam. TVWeek: How was touring the country, visiting with local stations? It seemed a very Jay Leno kind of thing to do. Mr. O’Brien: I think it’s what you do, especially since these are the guys putting on the show. I took the band Phish with me. It was a beautiful happening. TVWeek: Did Dave do a tour? Mr. O’Brien: I think he did. I don’t know if it was as extensive. I think I may have set some record with the 30-city tour. That may be a new record in the neediness hall of fame. TV Week: Is your job as host of “The Tonight Show” different than your job as host of “Late Night”? Is your mission different now that you’re hosting a franchise that is even more legendary than what Letterman handed you with “Late Night”? Mr. O’Brien: Fundamentally, there probably isn’t a difference. I think these shows are an extension of the hosts’ personality. They go out there every night. They comment on what happened that day. They try and make people laugh. They interview people. So in a very fundamental sense, the mission doesn’t really change that much. The rest of it, you have to get into the show in order to find out. There are ways in which this show will probably change me, but it’s hard for me to say how that’s going to be in a vacuum. I might sound a little bit arrogant if I say, “Well, as ‘The Tonight Show’ host, I’m the chosen representative of America.” Those thoughts probably lead to madness. A good “Tonight Show” host is someone who is just following their instincts and trying to put on a funny show every night and let the rest follow from that. TVWeek: Is late night, specifically “The Tonight Show,” still the institution it once was? How has it changed since the last time someone took over? Is it easier? Mr. O’Brien: I wouldn’t say it’s easier at all. There was a time when “The Tonight Show” was the only game in town. I envy that position. It’d be nice if this was the only show. Now we’re living in a world where there are 35 shows out there. And because the culture and the technology are changing so rapidly, you have to work all that much harder to stay relevant. My job, in a way, is to figure out as we go along what is this latest version of “The Tonight Show.” I accept that my “Tonight Show” is never going to mean to the country as a whole what Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” meant because television’s changed too fundamentally. He was the only person. No late-night show has that monopoly now. But that said, to a certain extent ... it’s all about the host. Jay’s show has changed since he started. It’s important for the host of “The Tonight Show” to keep changing and evolving as he goes along. TVWeek: What was your thinking about the set? Mr. O’Brien: I wanted it to look like a really high-end steak restaurant. We did a lot of polling and most Americans are very comfortable in a steak restaurant. I literally want people salivating when I’m in the monologue mark. I was talking with [production designers] and said, look, “The Tonight Show” is this 60-year-old franchise, and it’s very important that we take it seriously. I’m going to put my stamp on it and, unfortunately, there’s no altering my core personality now. But I said to them, I think this show should look elegant. It should be a beautiful space. We should acknowledge that I’m not in New York anymore, that I’m in L.A., but in a way that feels like it has some connection to our past in New York. And that led to deco, because art deco was a movement that has a distinct New York version and a distinct L.A. version. So we went with L.A. deco. It’s 30 Rock, but it’s this cool Los Angeles version of it. You know, Rick Ludwin [head of late night for NBC] came in the other day and said, “It’s beautiful, it’s beautiful.” He said, “It looks like ‘The Tonight Show.’” And what he meant was, it doesn’t look like Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.” It just looks like the “Tonight Show.” That’s nice. TVWeek: Even the logo ties into the deco phase. Mr. O’Brien: I really do love the logo. Logos are tricky. They need to be something that can endure being slapped on a lot of locations and still work. They have to be like a metal brand that you can put on anything and it works. TVWeek: You pay a lot of attention to these details. Mr. O’Brien: I felt this way when I took over the “Late Night” show from Letterman. I take the responsibility of these kinds of things very seriously. When I took over “Late Night,” I really felt the sense of experimentation and play and fearlessness that David Letterman’s show had. I didn’t want to do anything remotely like what Dave did, but I wanted us to keep that spirit. Now it’s a trust that I’ve been handed. And I have different concerns now than I did in 1993. In 1993, when I was young punk I didn’t care what the lighting was. I was all about just the ideas. Now I’ve evolved somewhat in that I want people who come on the show to look good. I want things to have an elegance. One of our aims should be that really funny things happen on the show, but that people look good, too. People haven’t fallen asleep quite yet. I’m used to my viewers being completely conked out. I do think the visual statement is important on this show. TVWeek: Are you still as much of a comedy student, almost a comedy snob, as you were when you took over “Late Night”? Mr. O’Brien: I take the comedy really seriously. I want it to be funny. I’m not comfortable doing things that aren’t funny. That’s like nails on a blackboard to me. If I know something’s no good but I know we can get away with it, that makes me very uncomfortable. Any host like myself is in a volume business. You don’t do shows when you feel you have all the best material. You do shows every night because you have to do a show every night, and so sometimes something’s not ready but you do it anyway. That’s just built into the job: You can’t be in love with every piece you perform. That said, I’m always going to really care about something being funny. That’s just my nature. One of the evolutions that happens to you is, when I was 30, I cared about the comedy almost to the exclusion of everything else. When I first started doing the job I had an almost condescending attitude toward interviews. I just thought, “Look, I just want to set the world on fire with my strange ideas. I wanted to show people that we were completely fearless.” I learned fairly quickly that the part of the show where you sit and talk to Marisa Tomei is really important, too. And it’s got to be good. That’s when I figured out “How do I be myself?” in that kind of environment. I learned to care about those kinds of things. TVWeek: You’ve changed a lot over the last 16 years, in other words. Mr. O’Brien: The biggest misperception is that suddenly Conan’s shifting from 1993 “Late Night” to 2009 “Tonight Show”. Well, no. There’s a Conan that hosted the show in 1998 that’s different than 1993. And there’s a Conan who hosted the Emmys twice, who had to grow and adjust to do that. There have been specific phases you go through. In the last two years of “Late Night,” we really changed and expanded Act 1. We’d do full-blown sketches from the monologue. If people haven’t been paying attention, and they tune in again in early June, they might think, “Oh, he completely, radically changed himself.” Well, no I didn’t. It’s been a long time coming. TVWeek: It’s sort of hard for me to think of the young guy I first interviewed in 1993 is now just four years away from turning 50 and a father of two. Does it feel natural? Mr. O’Brien: I don’t think it does to anybody. I used to think people in their 70s probably feel very old. I realize now, Oh, no they don’t. They probably feel a lot like I do. If they’re lucky, they feel pretty good and they have pretty good energy and they have a lot they want to accomplish. You just get a different perspective. I really don’t feel any different than I did in 1993. I have a tremendous amount of energy, and I like being physical in my comedy. I have wondered sometimes, ‘Wait a minute, can you jump up on a desk and dance with Mr. T when you turn 50? Is that going to be cool?’ And then I realize, you just can’t think about it. I’m going to keep doing what feels right to me until they give me the hook. And then I’ll do it on the Internet. TVWeek: You still seem like the same guy you were back in the 1990s. You still seem normal. Mr. O’Brien: It’s funny. That can be exaggerated. I’d like to pretend that I’m a completely normal person, but I definitely have my moments. There can be a belief that, ‘Oh, he’s like Richie Cunningham. And then he hangs up the phone and he goes down to do a show, and it doesn’t seem to get to him.” But I take things very seriously. I almost get into an intense, anxious depression when I’ve got to do a performance or be funny. That’s always been with me. I’ve been that way my entire life. I was that way when I had to write a “Simpsons” script. I was that way when I had to write a “Saturday Night Live” sketch. I’ve been that way throughout my entire “Late Night” hosting career. I don’t just walk around with a chipper smile. But I think people don’t see that as often. I think that would be the biggest misperception about me. People that know the television Conan and who then hang around me for a bit are sometimes a little taken aback. ‘He’s lying on the couch, and he’s just staring. What’s going on? He seems really anxious!” I get that way. TVWeek: Maybe it’s not that you’re still “normal.” But you’re still you. Mr. O’Brien: That is true. Look, if I haven’t changed now, I don’t think it’s ever gonna happen. People who have known me a long time have always said, “You’re the same person who was in improv class with me,” or, “You’re the same person that was in high school with me.” And I think that’s true. It’s a product of how I grew up. I think that’s also true of the people who work with me, too. If I start to get out of line with Mike Sweeney or Jeff Ross they’re going to let me know. Nobody kisses up to me. I wish they did. But nobody does. And every now and then when someone does, I just find it creepy and annoying. I think it’s good that I have a team of people that are gonna tell me when something’s not good enough. Match that with my own self-hate, and you have a pretty good recipe.

TVWeek Goes Online as Market Changes

Anonymous — Sun, 31 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I’m Chuck Ross, the editorial director and publisher of TelevisionWeek and TVWeek.com. If you’re reading this in our print edition, it’s the last column I’ll write, as today we publish the last regularly scheduled print edition of TelevisionWeek. If you are reading this at TVWeek.com, it’s the first of many blogs I’m planning to write. Regardless if you are at this moment holding the paper edition or looking at a computer or PDA screen, let’s get the commercial message out of the way: This column is being presented by Debmar-Mercury and its new syndicated comedy “Meet the Browns.” “Tyler Perry and TBS have turned the traditional sitcom model on its head with hit comedies like ‘Meet the Browns’ and ‘House of Payne,’” Mort Marcus, co-president of Debmar-Mercury, has said, and local TV audiences are in for quite a treat when Debmar-Mercury starts syndicating “Meet the Browns” next year. Tomorrow, by the way, my blog at TVWeek.com will be presented to you by a network that attracts the Type-H male viewer that advertisers crave: a business owner, a proud father and into wine, not beer. So if you’re a marketer—or media planner or buyer working for a marketer during this upfront season—and if this male viewer is one you need to reach—you know where to look: The History Channel. So, whatd'ya think? Do these commercial messages, presented this way, bother you? In fact, we did NOT really sell the sponsorship of this column to Debmar or the History Channel. But, quite frankly, don't be surprised if such sponsorships eventually become commonplace. And the way I've just presented them, embedded in this piece, is probably nothing like any print advertising you've seen before-but it's nothing that's particularly new or revolutionary. It's a sponsorship format that I've stolen from TV's first newscasts over 50 years ago-and those guys were just copying what had been done for years and years before that on radio. By the mid-1950s, about 40 million people a week were tuning into NBC’s live, signature evening newscast. Here’s a partial transcript of the newscast that was broadcast on April 18, 1955: “Ladies and gentlemen, a good evening to you. This is John Cameron Swayze reporting the news for the biggest car of the low-priced three, Plymouth.” An announcer then said, “Plymouth, the car that’s making news, presents the Plymouth News Caravan. The excitement, the drama, of today’s news today, produced for Plymouth by NBC.” Mr. Cameron—and his Washington D.C. correspondent, a young reporter named David Brinkley—then proceeded to deliver the nightly news, with placards on their desks reading “Plymouth presents” and their names. When it was time for the first commercial, Mr. Swayze intoned, “Now, to New York’s famous hotel Waldorf-Astoria for important news about Plymouth.” What follows looked like another news story about a Plymouth press conference. At the end of the 15-minute newscast Mr. Swayze said, “Well, that’s the story folks. Glad we could get together. Remember to tune into the Camel News Caravan at this time tomorrow night, brought to you by Camel. No other cigarette is as rich tasting, yet so mild as Camel. Now this is John Cameron Swayze saying goodnight for the all new ’55 Plymouth, the biggest car of the low-priced three.” I dwell on this because advertising is germane to what’s going on here at TVWeek. We announced last month that in the current environment there isn’t enough advertising demand to support any more print editions of this publication after today. From here on out, after a rich publishing heritage that’s lasted 27 years thus far, TelevisionWeek will exist virtually exclusively online at our longtime Internet address www.TVWeek.com. As most of you know, TVWeek has not published a hard copy on a weekly basis for more than a year—there just hasn’t been advertiser demand that we do so. Thus on many weeks we’ve been available with a digital online edition only. In fact, the interests of our readership has long demanded that we publish news daily at TVWeek.com, which we’ve been doing and will continue to do. Too often these days you’ll read that such-and-such a publication has gone exclusively online, discontinuing its print edition “to better serve our readers.” We find that justification suspicious. What publisher would not rather still have a healthy print publication as well as a robust Web site, with considerable advertising support for both? Our journey over the past two-and-a-half decades isn’t particularly different than that traveled by many publications—and is shorter than many, longer than some. For most of our lifespan we were known as Electronic Media, and primarily served the syndicated TV marketplace. But due primarily to consolidation—consolidation on both the TV station ownership side as well as on the program producer side—we’ve gotten fewer and fewer ads for syndication. We broadened our ad base considerably over the last several years, but still came up short. So we will carry on online. Some of you may be wondering why we are doing even doing that. We are doing so because we fervently believe in the necessity of the journalistic endeavor. More than a decade ago the prestigious Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism came up with this definition of the purpose of journalism: “to provide citizens with accurate and reliable information they need to function in a free society.” Of course here at TVWeek we aren’t doing something as high-minded as that. But we ardently believe that we serve a similar high-minded purpose for the professionals in the TV business: we provide you with the accurate and reliable information you need to do your jobs better. And if real journalistic coverage of the business of TV on a regular basis disappears, there will be five people—or 45 people—who will have enough of an interest to blog about what you do on a daily or even hourly basis. And maybe they’ll get it right and maybe they won’t, and who knows what self- interests they’ll bring to the table. Don’t get us wrong—we have a number of folks who blog for us today and we’ll have more in the future—but the blogs need to be tempered by the accompaniment of real journalism, and we will continue to do that. As we make this transition we’ll be losing a few more staffers, and that’s always painful. Greg Baumann, our editor since the spring of 2006, will be leaving, and we will miss him. Greg’s done a tremendous job during a very trying period. Our executive editor, Tom Gilbert, will be staying, as will our deputy editor and blogger, Joe Adalian, who becomes editor of TVWeek.com. And I’ll be staying as the managing director of TVWeek.com and all of our online products. Our monthly NewsPro section of TVWeek has always been popular with our TV-station newsroom and cable-news readership, and it’s been a success story on the ad side as well. So, as we’ve previously announced, NewsPro will be spun off as its own print publication starting in August. Mr. Gilbert will also run it. Online you can still find NewsPro as part of TVWeek.com. We will continue to produce live events when we believe we can make a needed contribution. For example, our Upfront Summit at the Roosevelt Hotel in April was a major success. We’ll also bring you webinars of topics that are of interest to you, and write a white-paper online when a subject matter demands one. Will we make it online? Right now we have a vigorous online readership. Furthermore, we’ve gotten commitments from enough advertisers to keep us going online for the next year or so. We are grateful for their support of the kind of journalism we do. And don’t be surprised, as we work with our advertisers to present their messages to you, that we may try some creative new approaches, including some new ideas, as we mentioned at the top of this column, that are 50 years old. Let me know what you think. In the premiere issue of this publication, published on May 3, 1982, our editor-in-chief, Rance Crain, and his top editors wrote: “Our exclusive niche will be defined as the wide range of electronic media, in all its new, old and emerging forms. We believe in the need for a publication that will blow away all the smoke and pull together, in a meaningful and useful way, the relationships involved.” That continues to be our guiding principle at TVWeek.com. See you online. Sincerely, Chuck Ross

New Look, Additional Features at TVWeek.com

Anonymous — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:57:00 GMT

As previously announced, this is the last regularly-scheduled print edition of TelevisionWeek. From now on the publication will exist exclusively on the Web at its Web site, TVWeek.com. The site has been given a complete redesign, with several new features, including: —Open Mic, a new blog featuring commentary and analysis from TV industry insiders and executives. —The Twitterati, an Twitter aggregator featuring feeds from a wide variety of TV-centric sources. —An expanded TVBizWire section, with the latest industry headlines from the TVWeek.com staff and publications across the Internet. Josef Adalian, deputy editor and columnist, will become editor of TVWeek.com. As previously announced, TelevisionWeek editor Greg Baumann will be leaving the company. Mr. Adalian will oversee day-to-day operations at the Web site, while offering news reporting and analysis of the TV industry via his recently launched blog, TV MoJoe, and his weekly column. He will work closely with Tom Gilbert, who continues as executive editor of TVWeek.com. Chuck Ross will oversee Mr. Adalian and Mr. Gilbert as managing director of TVWeek.com “Joe is one of the finest journalists I know,” Mr. Ross said. “As we continue our tradition of news you can trust exclusively on our Web site, I can think of no one better to lead us.” Mr. Adalian joined TVWeek in May 2008. He had previously spent a decade at Variety, where he was TV editor. During his nearly 20-year career in journalism, Mr. Adalian has also been a reporter for the New York Post and the Boston Herald. He served as TV critic for the Washington Times in 1994. Mr. Gilbert, who will be based in New York, joined TelevisionWeek (then Electronic Media) as managing editor in 2000 and was named executive editor in 2005. A veteran entertainment journalist, he previously was managing editor of both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, and immediately prior to joining TVWeek was an editor at the Los Angeles Times.

Marketing Syndie’s ‘Office’

Anonymous — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:44:00 GMT

Affiliates airing NBC Universal’s “The Office” are rolling out the show’s syndication advertising campaign, ahead of the customary July pushes. NBC, without a new first-run program to advertise this year, is focusing its promotional energy on “The Office,” which is entering broadcast syndication in September. Under the banner “The Office is Branching Out,” NBC Universal is planning a multi-phase approach to get viewers up to speed about “Office” in broadcast syndication, Donna Mills, NBC Universal vice president of marketing and affiliate relations, said. The first phase contains mostly clip-driven spots from the show that are currently airing in some markets, Ms. Mills said. “The Office” promos launched early in part because Fox affiliates airing “The Office” wanted a spot to air during the finale of “American Idol” on May 20. Stations are also receiving custom promos from NBC Universal, with cast members discussing specific markets. The promo package includes call-letter jingles and behind-the-scenes clips. Subsequent phases of the advertising push include character-specific spots and highlighting the fact that “The Office” in syndication allows viewers to enjoy episodes from the beginning of the series, Ms. Mills said. Stations will also have access in August to a video content-management system developed by DG Entertainment that will allow affiliates to search clips of the show by keyword, giving them the ability to cut station-specific promos. For instance, stations can search for every instance the word “five” is said on “The Office” and use those clips to create a custom promo highlighting that “The Office” is airing five times a week. Ms. Mills said a Tampa station that is airing “The Office,” the independent WMOR-TV, started its promo push in March. The station has already requested talent to appear at a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game, and is pitching contest ideas to NBC Universal. “That just shows the excitement around this show, and how exciting stations are to have it, and how excited we are to push it,” she said.

Smith & Co. Expands Reach

Anonymous — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:41:00 GMT

The producer of “Hell’s Kitchen” is getting into the Cupcake business. A. Smith & Co. has signed a series development deal with Cupcake Brown, the crack addict turned lawyer, motivational speaker and best-selling author. The alternative-production powerhouse is looking to build a reality show concept around Ms. Brown. The deal with Ms. Brown is part of a packed slate of existing and future projects in the works at A. Smith, the Los Angeles-based production shop that has turned into an alternative-TV powerhouse for founders Arthur Smith and Kent Weed. The company is preparing to launch the second season of ABC’s “I Survived a Japanese Gameshow” later this month. Its A. Smith Company Properties unit, headed by Frank Sinton, has helped the company dramatically expand its cable operations with shows such as “Pros Vs. Joes” for Spike and “Trading Spaces” for TLC. And then there’s the “Hell’s Kitchen” franchise. “It’s become this great ride for us,” Mr. Smith said of the Gordon Ramsay-anchored brand, which is produced in conjunction with ITV Studios. “Nobody knew that it was going to be as big as it has become. When we started, the novelty of reality shows was starting to fade.” Indeed, Fox can’t seem to stop dining in Mr. Smith’s “Kitchen,” which wrapped its fifth cycle last month. Another season will start up in July, with season seven already in the can for a 2010 premiere. The original series has been supplemented by “Kitchen Nightmares,” a successful spinoff in which Mr. Ramsay tries to help struggling eateries whip themselves into shape. And in November, the network plans to extend the brand further with a live cook-along-with-Gordon special. Mr. Smith, who possesses the reality-producer gene for promotion, said season six of “Hell’s” is nothing less than “phenomenal.” “It’s the most intense season we’ve had yet,” he said. “In some ways the last season was our comedy season. Season six is different.” Mr. Smith is nearly as upbeat about the sophomore season of “I Survived a Japanese Gameshow,” which just won the Rose D’Or best of 2009 award for best reality program. “It’s one of those shows you work really hard on, and sometimes we wonder if anyone appreciates this,” Mr. Smith laughs, adding that the Rose D’Or award is a nice validation of his staff’s efforts on the ABC series. “I Survived” is actually two shows in one. Half of the show is a traditional reality soap, capturing the drama of Americans living in the alien culture of Japan. The other appeal of the series comes from American contestants attempting to compete in over-the-top Japanese games (“Big Bug Splat on Windshield,” anyone?). Mr. Smith said season two of “I Survived” will depart from the show’s first year. “The novelty is gone, so we really have to push it,” he said. “We have to make all of it bigger and better.” That means contestants will likely play at least one more Japanese game show in each episode. Time spent following the contestants off-stage might be cut back, Mr. Smith hinted. The show’s episode count has also been increased, up to 10 hours (versus last summer’s seven-episode run). “I’m so happy we got a second season,” Mr. Smith said. “The first season was so hard, it was almost impossible. The whole show is a test of international relations.” In addition to his network projects, Mr. Smith has expanded his company’s production capacity with the launch of A. Smith Company Properties, the unit devoted to cable projects. Mr. Smith said bringing on Mr. Sinton to run the unit was key to quality control. “We were turning down cable work because we didn’t have the time,” Mr. Smith said. “We had to increase our capacity, so we brought in Frank. It lets us be a big boutique.” While Mr. Smith spends most of his time working on network projects, A. Smith Company Properties “will probably do nine or 10 shows” this year, Mr. Smith said. “We have three shows at Tru, two shows at Spike, and projects for Travel, BET, Discovery and TV One,” he said. “I would have never been able to do all this if we hadn’t gone to Frank.” At Tru, Mr. Smith has teamed with producers Michael Braverman and Barry Bloom for “Conspiracy Theory,” a project that will be hosted and produced by Jesse Ventura. A. Smith & Co. is also developing the “Dummies for Life” books into a potential syndicated series. As for the deal with Cupcake Brown, Mr. Smith is, true to reality-producer fashion, mum on details. “But we have an idea that’s based on overcoming,” he said. “She’ll be working with people who are in trouble and getting them over it.” The tentative title for Ms. Brown’s project is “House Arrest.” “In a society where tragedy has the ability to overtake an individual’s life course, we feel strongly that her narrative will translate well to television,” Mr. Smith said. Ms. Brown’s dramatic life story, documented in her Oprah-approved memoir, “A Piece of Cake,” has possibilities beyond the reality TV arena, Mr. Smith said. “This will be a movie one day,” he said, noting that A. Smith & Co. has purchased the life rights to Ms. Brown’s saga. Mr. Smith, like many reality producers, is hoping his company will be able to expand into scripted projects. A. Smith has a scripted development deal at Fox Broadcasting and is already working on one idea at the network, Mr. Smith said. “We’re good at telling real stories,” he explained. “Now we’re going to try to do it in a dramatic fashion.” Mr. Smith said he also has another “half dozen shows in the closet that we don’t talk about it.” His challengeis getting shelf space on broadcast and cable networks, many of which these days seem content to keep expanding current concepts to almost ridiculous lengths (see VH1’s “Daisy of Love”). That’s one reason Mr. Smith is so upbeat about the return of “I Survived a Japanese Game Show” to ABC. While not a breakout hit last summer, the network saw enough potential in the concept to renew it—a display of patience Mr. Smith believes needs to be repeated at other networks if the unscripted genre is to continue flourishing. “Networks have to give shows that are doing modest ratings a chance to come back,” he said. “You have to take risks. Viewers are really discerning now. I don’t think they’re going to keep falling for the same rhythms.”

TV Twittering: A Subtle Art

Anonymous — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:37:00 GMT

When Fox’s “Prison Break” ran its series finale last month, fans of the show were left wondering if the lead character was really dead. Their response was to go online and post a whole lot of “WTF?s” in chat rooms, fan sites and Twitter, using the Internet acronym for “what the f**k?” For 20th Century Fox, the studio behind the series, a WTF? or two is a good thing. It means fans are curious and engaged. Fox’s efforts to use social media to both gauge and shape buzz for the series finale illustrates one of the ways in which TV programmers can harness social media. In this case, the studio judiciously doled out clues on social forums rather than issuing a blatant promotional message for “Prison Break: The Final Break,” an 88-minute DVD releasing July 21 with never-before-seen episodes. Those efforts also embodied the findings of a study that suggests networks will likely have more success using social networks for brand building, as Fox did, than for driving tune-in. According to research firm Knowledge Networks, Twitter is best used by TV networks to connect to influential people, such as bloggers, reporters and critics, than it is to encourage viewers to tune in at 8 p.m. Despite Twitter’s meteoric rise, the service is still only accessed regularly by a small percentage of the population. A recent Nielsen study found that 60% of people who sign up for the service stop using it after one month. Twitter Saved ‘Chuck’ That doesn’t mean the social-networking service hasn’t reached a critical mass. NBC was on the receiving end of a fan-driven campaign to save “Chuck” from cancellation that used Twitter to demonstrate audience devotion to the show. The network cited the campaign in its decision to spare “Chuck.” Also, Internet users tend to dismiss more overt sales and tune-in messages on social forums, said David Tice, vice president of the media practice at Knowledge Networks. “With Twitter, people don’t succeed with the hard sell. It needs to be more subtle,” he said. That’s why Fox monitored word of mouth on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace communities in the weeks leading up to the “Prison Break” finale, as fans speculated about whether the lead character would marry his longtime love. The episode itself didn’t provide the answer but after the West Coast finale aired, the studio posted a wedding photo of the fictional couple in social forums, said Steven Melnick, senior VP of marketing for 20th Century Fox. Only then did the studio officially announce that it would release two more episodes in the DVD, which will address the WTFs that fan posted about the character’s fate. “The level of engagement by fans was pretty extraordinary and it’s the kind of chatter we track regularly, which is one of the benefits of these social networks,” Mr. Melnick said. “It’s more effective to give them a piece of content to react to and forward around, than give them a message that the DVD is coming on July 21.” Engagement Key NBC uses Twitter to share production information, pictures and news on upcoming guest stars for shows, said Jared Goldsmith, director of digital promotion strategy at NBC. “The key is engagement. This lets fans become a part of the process to peek behind the curtain,” he said. He emphasized that Twitter is a communication tool and to use it for anything more is tricky. “We don’t want it to be a spam tool,” he said. Programmers also need to remember Twitter is still not mainstream. “Social media wasn’t a big factor in terms of a reference or a resource for what shows to watch,” Mr. Tice said, adding that 32% of social media users said they used social media regularly or sometimes as a reference for information, reviews, or recommendations on TV programs, with most relying more on friends or media reports. Social media can be a valuable way to garner press attention, Mr. Tice said. For instance, rather than “tweet” tune-in messages, Discovery Channel uses Twitter to share “insider” content like pictures or updates from a shoot, links to behind-the-scenes videos and alerts to the media regarding breaking news, said Katherine Nelson, VP of communications for the network. The network has also created talent accounts for stars like “MythBusters’” Adam Savage and “Dirty Jobs’” Mike Rowe. To be effective for a network, Twitter should be interactive, said Scott Lackey, co-founder and strategic director at advertising agency Jugular. Networks need to be ready to have conversations with fans, share songs and even live “tweet” interviews with talent or stars, he said.

Struggling Soaps Seek New Niche

Anonymous — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:34:00 GMT

Soap operas may be borrowing from one of their favorite plot lines—patient is in a coma, on life support, hanging on by a thread—but they aren’t dead yet, and networks and studios are working to find ways to keep the genre viable. Most recently, the cancellation of “Guiding Light” on CBS renewed fears that daytime TV dramas are fated to be written out of television’s scheduling script. “I think daytime soap operas as we know them—the regular five-day-a-week, long-running serialized stories—are going to be a quaint vestige of yesteryear,” said television historian Tim Brooks, co-author of “The Complete Directory to Prime Time and Cable TV Shows.” “I don’t think they have a future in that form.” Even though daytime audiences have dwindled, advertisers still covet those highly engaged and loyal audiences that are still watching. The question is whether the genre can overcome the social changes that have led to soaps’ difficulties, particularly the migration of female audiences away from the TV during the day. TelevisionWeek spoke to some of the experts in the field and zeroed in on the top ways networks and studios have been exploring to keep the genre alive, and what to look for before another long-standing title is cut. 1. Explore online video as a delivery method and marketing tool. Taking a nod from prime-time content delivery online, ABC (“All My Children,” “General Hospital,” “One Life to Live”), CBS (“The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Guiding Light,” “The Young and the Restless,”) and NBC (“Days of Our Lives”) all offer online access to their daytime staples, whether as clips or full episodes. Offering content online ensures that dedicated fans can stay up to date with the shows and remain loyal to the series, while the network and its site reap the benefits of those viewer numbers. “It’s never been easier to watch a television show, with all the digital technology available,” noted Ed Martin, a TV critic for JackMyers.com and blogger for the Huffington Post who covers daytime dramas. “I’m not sure overall the situation is as dire as people thinks it is, it’s just that people are watching shows in crazy ways that aren’t being measured.” Online access to content can also help increase title awareness through the viral explosion of a particular clip or storyline, such as the Luke and Noah storyline on “As the World Turns.” The fan channel LukeVanFan on YouTube, dedicated to providing updates on the gay characters’ love story, has drawn over 3 million channel views, with its most popular clip nearing 2 million viewers to date. 2. Increase audience reach through cable network distribution. Disney-ABC Television Group’s SoapNet airs ABC’s “AMC,” “GH” and “OLTL” in addition to NBC’s “Days” and CBS’ “YATR” and some of the other networks’ daytime dramas throughout the day, including prime time. That allows access for viewers who aren’t watching during traditional daytime hours. According to Brian Frons, Disney-ABC TV Group president of daytime, viewership on SoapNet accounts for about 25% of those titles’ total impressions. Using cable as a means to maintain or possibly increase viewership, however, may not be the solution for those titles that are struggling more than others. “I think that if you took a successful soap to the right [cable] network that had broad distribution, high CPMs and a high subscriber fee, it certainly could work,” said Mr. Frons. “I think if you have weak show, and it’s weak on broadcast, then it’ll be weak on cable.” Mr. Frons said Disney-ABC has no plans to move any of its soap operas exclusively to cable. 3. Keep story quality as priority No. 1. While exploring different delivery methods and production models is important, it is vital that the writing quality doesn’t decline, alienating viewers. “It’s all about the writing,” said Jonathan Reiner, Emmy-winning writer for “Starting Over” and former editor at TV Guide Online and Soap Opera Weekly. “One of the reasons ‘Guiding Light’s’ revamp failed is because the writing was too weak to overcome the amateurish production values. It really is all about the writing—the characters, the emotions, the relationships and the payoffs.” In the late 1970s, the advent of the Luke and Laura rape-turns-romance story line on ABC’s “General Hospital” changed the game for daytime soaps and the way the genre told its stories. The show became a phenomenon through its controversial storylines. Some 30 years later, however, audiences may view those as clichéd topics. 4. Find new ways to expand the creative talent pool. Bringing new writing and creative talent to daytime dramas seems like a quick way to bring a fresh voice to any title, but it is very difficult due to the nature of these shows’ production models. It’s difficult to find new talent that can begin contributing to stories if they don’t already know the extensive and intricate backgrounds of many of the characters. To begin anew and disregard the past would be insulting to viewers and potentially drive away more of them. The five-day-a-week episode model is also difficult, and it takes a certain kind of writer that can successfully work under those constraints. 5. Cut costs of production without sacrificing quality. While it is important to retain characters on any series for the sake of story continuity, it becomes expensive for soaps to keep some of their long-time personalities on the show. Some soaps, however, are finding themselves letting go of on-screen talent left and right for the sake of cutting costs, in addition to scaling back on location shoots and using fewer sets. There will be a point of diminishing returns, however, when cuts can no longer be made without damaging a program’s quality. “Guiding Light” changed its presentation model to a hand-held, grittier and more realistic feel—an experiment in budget reduction that failed—and “Light” paid for that choice with the ultimate cost. 6. Leave soap operas alone entirely. As one industry insider noted, it may be that the only way to keep the genre alive is to leave all shows alone, especially when the reasons for all drops in viewers may be completely out of networks’ and producers’ control. “For all the DVRs, and the taping, and the SoapNet—attempts to find ways to move them around—the problem is that women, the target audience, don’t have the time to devote to [soaps],” said Mr. Brooks. “When something is in decline, it might be unrealistic to say you can restore it to its previous glory, but you can delay its decline—you can stabilize it sometimes. The underlying social changes would be very difficult to reverse.”

Where Is Hispanic TV on Web?

Anonymous — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:31:00 GMT

Hulu last week rolled out a batch of new initiatives to make the Web-video site appealing to more users. One group of users that was left out: Spanish speakers. That oversight may not be surprising, given the television advertising industry’s ambivalent attitude toward the demographic. As networks get more comfortable with Web delivery of TV shows, however, look for them to try to capture Hispanic and bilingual audiences online and via mobile video. “More and more you see that advertisers want to look multi-platform options to reach their consumers, and the Hispanic audiences are high media users,” said Leticia Juarez, VP of Media and Promotions for the Hispanic ad firm Castells. “The opportunity is there, and it’s a missed opportunity for a segment that is growing tremendously.” Telemundo Executive VP of Digital Media and Emerging Businesses Peter E. Blacker said that his Spanish-language network has participated in discussions with Hulu, a joint venture between NBC Universal, News Corp. and Walt Disney Co.’s ABC. A deal with the site is something that may happen in the future, Mr. Blacker said. “I think it’s just been a matter of timing,” Mr. Blacker added. “We had to first get our new Telemundo.com up and running. We launched our new site in January, and we’ve seen our video numbers as well as our audience numbers skyrocket, but we had to get that under control first.” He said Telemundo is interested in getting its content onto other Web video sites “in the near future.” Telemundo and Hulu, both subsidies of General Electric, began talks about having Telemundo content appearing on the site three months after Hulu’s launch. Since then, the network has been focusing on establishing its online video brand and nurturing a committed audience. In addition to hosting full episodes of its telenovela prime-time content, Telemundo.com also allows viewers to react and interact with other fans to specific scenes. A representative for Hulu did not respond to requests seeking comment. Hispanic and bilingual audiences continue to be more elusive online than non-Hispanic, English-speaking audiences. Part of the problem may stem from Spanish-language media’s failure to deliver content the way its audience wants to consume it. According to a study that the Simmons research company performed for bilingual music entertainment network MTV Tr3s, many Hispanic media consumers are less tethered to a computer than non-Hispanic counterparts. By the same token, they demonstrate greater hunger for online video content. Of the 20.6 million Hispanics online each month, those using the Web for watching and downloading video outpace non-Hispanic Web users, according to a North American Technographics Benchmark Survey for Telemundo. Among those seeking online video, a larger amount would also prefer Spanish-language content over English. Given Hispanics’ less prevalent use of computers to access Web video, it may not be surprising that more viewers in that group prefer mobile devices to watch clips than in non-Spanish speaking demographics. MTV Tr3s VP of Programming and Production Lily Neumeyer said her network’s strategy for online and mobile video is, like Telemundo’s, to build an audience. The network, which aims for younger viewers, currently focuses its online video content on supplementing its broadcast shows by featuring additional clips, interviews and music performances. The goal is to drive traffic to the network and build awareness of its brand. “We really believe in exposing our audience to our content in a multiplatform basis,” said Ms. Neumeyer. “We do know that young people are interacting with content everywhere, but we’d like to really asses how much is too much and how much is too little, because our main purpose right now is to grow our distribution and our exposure on air.” Networks that traffic in Spanish-language and bilingual video content also face a challenge that bedevils their English-language counterparts: No one has figured out a way to profit from it on the same scale that old-fashioned TV does. And Spanish-language media companies may find that some of the same problems that have challenged them in the television business—marketers who don’t understand how to sell to Hispanic audiences—persist in the Web-video world. “As an advertiser, we want to associate our brand with content that is Hispanic-relevant, culturally relevant, and that is quality premium programming,” said Ms. Juarez. “The content is there, but it’s the deals that have to be struck.”

CBS Seeking a Return to Form

Anonymous — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:28:00 GMT

Over at CBS, offbeat is off the schedule. In the past few years, CBS used upfront week to unveil something a little off-kilter, experimental or quirky. It tested a singing Hugh Jackman in “Viva Laughlin,” a small town grappling with nuclear holocaust in “Jericho” and a couple of families from the ‘70s coming to grips with the sexual revolution in “Swingtown.” Next season, however, is very reassuring—and it’s all very deliberate, part of a must-win formula that ad buyers and Wall Street analysts attribute not only to the network’s entertainment executives, but also to CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves. “Les Moonves is very much a hands-on manager, and just is really involved in the consistency of the programming grid,” said Michael Nathanson, a media-industry analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. At stake: the continued good health of the CBS network, the financial driver of its parent company. Successful programs can drive more revenue in syndication and international distribution. What’s more, CBS is less insulated from fluctuations in ad spending than rivals such as Time Warner, News Corp. or even NBC Universal, all of which have multiple cable outlets to provide revenue. Steady and reliable appears to be working. Between Sept. 1, 2008 and May 17, 2009, CBS has been able to win more ad dollars than its broadcast-network competitors, according to TNS Media Intelligence. CBS secured approximately $4.03 billion during that time period, TNS said, while ABC took in about $3.67 billion, NBC lured about $3.02 billion, Fox received approximately $2.99 billion and CW took in about $361.9 million. “Because it’s so important, CBS is thinking about ratings more than other guys,” Mr. Nathanson said. The network posted an 11% increase in total viewers for the 2008-2009 season, while notching a 3% gain in viewers between 18 and 49 and an 8% gain in adults between 25 and 54.

A Win-Win for ‘Biggest Loser’

Anonymous — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:25:00 GMT

With seven seasons under its belt, NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” is still growing—particularly in developing alternative revenue streams beyond advertising. “Loser’s” consumer-product lines, which include items such as CDs, weight-loss plans, DVDs, workout equipment and now a Nintendo Wii video game, has garnered around $75 million in revenue, NBC said. The game, announced last week, will use the Nintendo Wii’s balance board, and will track users’ weight and nutrition goals. “Loser” trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels will be prominently featured in-game. As shows and producers contend with shrinking advertising revenue and tighter budgets, “Loser” is shaping up to be a model for programs whose product lines might outlive the programs that spawned them. Mark Koops, managing director and co-head of domestic television at Reveille, co-created and executive produces “Loser.” He said the show was originally conceived as a series about plastic surgery, but was reworked to use the “old-fashioned” way to lose weight. In conceiving the show with Reveille founder Ben Silverman, part of the pitch was to mold the program into the 21st century version of Weight Watchers, Mr. Koops said. “That remains our goal and aspiration,” he said. “I think we’re on the path to fulfilling that.” They’re shooting for that goal with enterprises including BiggestLoserClub.com, a subscription service that allows users to track their eating and exercise patterns online. Mr. Koops said that while subscription numbers tend to fluctuate, currently around 50,000 people have memberships. There’s also a partnership with home-shopping channel QVC, which brings the recent winners of “Loser” on to promote goods. Mr. Koops is quick to point out that the creative quality of the television show, produced by Reveille, 25/7 Productions and 3 Ball Productions, is the most important part of the business. Alternative revenue streams, including consumer products, brand integration, and international sales aren’t the main focus, he said. “They all come secondary to a television show that resonates with its audience,” Mr. Koops said. Still, the allure of the consumer product opportunities is growing, especially during rough economic times. Kim Niemi, senior VP of NBC Universal Television, DVD, Music and Consumer Products Group said additional cash-flow streams can help nudge a show to air, and can bring momentum to a program. “People are looking for those opportunities, but the creative has to drive it,” she noted. Ms. Niemi said she’s not concerned about overextending the franchise because NBC Universal and Reveille are careful to apply the “Biggest Loser” brand only to products that fit the show’s ethos. “It’s not about putting ‘Biggest Loser’ on something that exists,” Ms. Niemi said, “but making sure it fits with the philosophy of what we’re teaching people.” While “Biggest Loser’s” finale in mid-May posted its highest ratings since 2006, it’s not beyond the realm of the possible that the show’s offshoots would survive past its TV run. Mr. Koops said licensees understand the possibility of cancellation. Those companies trust the brand enough, he said, to sign multiyear deals with Reveille—despite the lack of a long-term official commitment from NBC. “From my view, I think it’s set up and has the potential to have a long shelf life,” Ms. Niemi said.