Shake up at WB
From: The NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com19, 2005
With More Misses Than Hits, a Shake-Up at WB Network
By ELIZABETH JENSEN
When it introduced its slate of fall programs, the WB Network had a clear-cut mission to broaden its audience beyond teenage girls. But executives weren't really looking for 50-year-old women.
That, however, turned out to be the audience tuning in to see the veteran actor Don Johnson in the show "Just Legal." The program was canceled after three episodes.
Meanwhile, 13 weeks into the season, the network has lost ground among the younger audiences that it is courting.
Over all, through Dec. 13, the network has attracted an average 3.5 million prime-time viewers of all ages, down 8 percent compared with the same period last season. It is off 9 percent to 17 percent in the 12- to 34-year-old and 18- to 34-year-old demographic groups it is aiming at. Among the six broadcast networks, the WB finished last in the November sweeps ratings period that local stations use to set ad rates.
In this climate, the senior WB executives overseeing comedy development, scheduling and casting lost their jobs on Dec. 9, part of a round of work force reductions that also extended to other parts of the Time Warner empire. (The Tribune Company, which owns 22.5 percent of the WB, has also been carrying out companywide layoffs.) In total, WB executives said, about 50 jobs have been eliminated at the WB Network, its TV station group and its Kids' WB! unit.
"They were just smart business moves to make," Garth Ancier, the WB's chairman, said in an interview. "This network is a bit more agile and competitive when it is a smaller group."
Of the four WB shows introduced in September, only "Supernatural," about two brothers who confront evil apparitions while on an extended road trip, has made a mark with viewers. "Related," an hourlong show that follows the lives of four adult sisters, started poorly but has picked up some viewers since moving to Monday nights. "Twins," a comedy starring Melanie Griffith that is broadcast on Fridays, continues to run but has not caught on. And "One Tree Hill," a promising two-year-old show, has declined in ratings.
That leaves the 11-year-old network with a stable of aging shows, including the still-strong "Gilmore Girls" and "7th Heaven," which will end its 10-year run this year. A spinoff is being discussed but is not yet a certainty.
Despite the bad numbers, not everyone is ready to write off the network's fall programming strategy, the first schedule under the full direction of David Janollari, who was hired as president for entertainment in the summer of 2004.
One risky change - the move of the top-rated "Smallville" from Wednesday to Thursday, which is a more competitive night - has paid off. The ratings for this Superman prequel have improved, even up against CBS's "Survivor," nearly doubling the WB's audience on the lucrative night, with its abundance of movie ads.
Steve Sternberg, executive vice president at Magna Global media research, said that the network could still turn its numbers around with just one success. He said the bigger problem was the WB's heavy reliance on reruns to pad its schedule throughout the week. "So far this season, roughly 40 percent of its schedule hours have been repeats, versus about 25 percent last year at this time," Mr. Sternberg said.
The WB deliberately chose to put reruns up against the ABC hits "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," Mr. Ancier said. Still, he added, "there is no question we went past a certain line in repeats this year." He said the network was considering no longer supplying programming for two hours on Sunday evening, from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern time, where reruns have always been broadcast, dragging down the networks' numbers. If that happened, it would be up to local stations to supply programs for those hours. A decision will be made in May, he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ancier said the network was preparing new material to help reduce reruns. New episodes of last season's sitcom "Living With Fran" will start Jan. 13, replacing a "Reba" repeat. "Beauty and the Geek," a summer elimination reality program in which beautiful women and nerdy men team up, will return Jan. 12.
In March, the WB will introduce "Pepper Dennis," starring Rebecca Romijn as a Chicago news anchor. Also set for later in the year is "The Bedford Diaries," a one-hour show from the producer Tom Fontana ("Homicide," "Oz") that is already generating controversy because of its provocative storyline, which follows college students who keep video diaries for a human sexuality class.
"Supernatural" and, most likely, "Related" will return next fall, Mr. Ancier said, noting that the network had succeeded in the past by being patient with shows it believed had potential. "I feel like there are building blocks there going forward. It simply takes a while when you put something like 'Supernatural' on and replace an aging show," Mr. Ancier said.
Shari Anne Brill, a vice president who analyzes programming for Carat USA, an advertising agency, agreed. "Strategy shifts have to begin night by night, show by show," she said. "I don't think you can transform yourself in a season."
http://www.nytimes.com19, 2005
With More Misses Than Hits, a Shake-Up at WB Network
By ELIZABETH JENSEN
When it introduced its slate of fall programs, the WB Network had a clear-cut mission to broaden its audience beyond teenage girls. But executives weren't really looking for 50-year-old women.
That, however, turned out to be the audience tuning in to see the veteran actor Don Johnson in the show "Just Legal." The program was canceled after three episodes.
Meanwhile, 13 weeks into the season, the network has lost ground among the younger audiences that it is courting.
Over all, through Dec. 13, the network has attracted an average 3.5 million prime-time viewers of all ages, down 8 percent compared with the same period last season. It is off 9 percent to 17 percent in the 12- to 34-year-old and 18- to 34-year-old demographic groups it is aiming at. Among the six broadcast networks, the WB finished last in the November sweeps ratings period that local stations use to set ad rates.
In this climate, the senior WB executives overseeing comedy development, scheduling and casting lost their jobs on Dec. 9, part of a round of work force reductions that also extended to other parts of the Time Warner empire. (The Tribune Company, which owns 22.5 percent of the WB, has also been carrying out companywide layoffs.) In total, WB executives said, about 50 jobs have been eliminated at the WB Network, its TV station group and its Kids' WB! unit.
"They were just smart business moves to make," Garth Ancier, the WB's chairman, said in an interview. "This network is a bit more agile and competitive when it is a smaller group."
Of the four WB shows introduced in September, only "Supernatural," about two brothers who confront evil apparitions while on an extended road trip, has made a mark with viewers. "Related," an hourlong show that follows the lives of four adult sisters, started poorly but has picked up some viewers since moving to Monday nights. "Twins," a comedy starring Melanie Griffith that is broadcast on Fridays, continues to run but has not caught on. And "One Tree Hill," a promising two-year-old show, has declined in ratings.
That leaves the 11-year-old network with a stable of aging shows, including the still-strong "Gilmore Girls" and "7th Heaven," which will end its 10-year run this year. A spinoff is being discussed but is not yet a certainty.
Despite the bad numbers, not everyone is ready to write off the network's fall programming strategy, the first schedule under the full direction of David Janollari, who was hired as president for entertainment in the summer of 2004.
One risky change - the move of the top-rated "Smallville" from Wednesday to Thursday, which is a more competitive night - has paid off. The ratings for this Superman prequel have improved, even up against CBS's "Survivor," nearly doubling the WB's audience on the lucrative night, with its abundance of movie ads.
Steve Sternberg, executive vice president at Magna Global media research, said that the network could still turn its numbers around with just one success. He said the bigger problem was the WB's heavy reliance on reruns to pad its schedule throughout the week. "So far this season, roughly 40 percent of its schedule hours have been repeats, versus about 25 percent last year at this time," Mr. Sternberg said.
The WB deliberately chose to put reruns up against the ABC hits "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," Mr. Ancier said. Still, he added, "there is no question we went past a certain line in repeats this year." He said the network was considering no longer supplying programming for two hours on Sunday evening, from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern time, where reruns have always been broadcast, dragging down the networks' numbers. If that happened, it would be up to local stations to supply programs for those hours. A decision will be made in May, he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ancier said the network was preparing new material to help reduce reruns. New episodes of last season's sitcom "Living With Fran" will start Jan. 13, replacing a "Reba" repeat. "Beauty and the Geek," a summer elimination reality program in which beautiful women and nerdy men team up, will return Jan. 12.
In March, the WB will introduce "Pepper Dennis," starring Rebecca Romijn as a Chicago news anchor. Also set for later in the year is "The Bedford Diaries," a one-hour show from the producer Tom Fontana ("Homicide," "Oz") that is already generating controversy because of its provocative storyline, which follows college students who keep video diaries for a human sexuality class.
"Supernatural" and, most likely, "Related" will return next fall, Mr. Ancier said, noting that the network had succeeded in the past by being patient with shows it believed had potential. "I feel like there are building blocks there going forward. It simply takes a while when you put something like 'Supernatural' on and replace an aging show," Mr. Ancier said.
Shari Anne Brill, a vice president who analyzes programming for Carat USA, an advertising agency, agreed. "Strategy shifts have to begin night by night, show by show," she said. "I don't think you can transform yourself in a season."
posted by Dominique Jackson at 2:10 AM
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