Industry Talk

[TVFan]

I got this little snipet from Zap2it.com. It's an article on how each of the networks are doing heading into the new fall season. Here's CBS:


"Gone: "Becker"; "The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire"; "The Handler."

Renewed: "CSI: Miami"; "Navy NCIS"; "Survivor"; "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"; "Without a Trace"; "Joan of Arcadia"; "Cold Case." On the bubble: "The Guardian"; "The District."

Feeling optimistic: "Yes, Dear"; "Still Standing"; "Everybody Loves Raymond" (perhaps for a shortened season); "Two and a Half Men"; "Judging Amy"; "JAG."

Conclusion: No worries for "Eye" chief Les Moonves, despite a few high-profile embarrassments ("The Reagans," Janet). Although NBC's midseason reality hit "The Apprentice" slowed CBS' march to dominance on Thursdays, as long as uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer stays healthy, things are looking good. His casting of big-screen star Gary Sinise somewhat allayed fears that the "CSI" franchise was being stretched too far with "CSI: New York."

Prediction: Thumbs up."

So it looks like CBS is sitting pretty. JB has really done wonders for them. Interestingly enough, there was an article from CNN.com a few weeks ago about one of those "on the bubble" shows - The Guardian. The article mentioned that so-called character driven shows like The Guardian are being replaced by the so-called procedural dramas like the L&O franchise and the JB franchise. I would beg to argue that Cold Case manages to build characters while still maintaining the procudural effect. It seems that you don't have to sacrifice character development for a precedural feel. JMO.

[TVFan]

Some interesting info from Zap2it.com. The overnights from last night have NBC winning the night. CBS had their big movie Helter Skelter, and obviously CC wasn't on. According to the article, CBS fell from 1st place to second place at 8pm last night. That'll teach them to mess with CC!

Here's the article if you're interested:

<<Fast National ratings for Sunday, May 16, 2004.

CBS' new version of "Helter Skelter" wilted in the summer swelter, as NBC came from behind to easily capture Sunday night. But while CBS' normal audiences shunned the Manson biopic, the project drew solid numbers among young adults.

Overall, NBC averaged a 7.5 rating/13 share for a comfortable win over CBS' 6.5/11 and ABC's 6.4/11 (ABC had the advantage over CBS in total viewers). FOX had a 4.1/7 for the night, better than The WB's 2.3/4.

Among adults 18-49, ABC had a rare nightly win with a 3.5 rating. CBS was close behind with a 3.4 rating, followed by FOX's 3.3 rating. NBC was left in the unusual position of fourth, ahead of only The WB's 1.6 rating.

At 7 p.m., CBS began the night in front with a 7.1/14 for "60 Minutes." "Dateline NBC" was second with a 5.1/10 for the hour, better than ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos." FOX was fourth with the 2.9/6 average for two episodes of "King of the Hill." The WB trailed with an encore of "Smallville."

NBC moved into first at 8 p.m. with the 6.9/12 for the second hour of "Dateline." ABC was up to second with the 6.3/11 for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." CBS dropped to third with the first hour of "Helter Skelter." FOX was fourth with "The Simpsons" (5.0/9) and "That '70s Show" (4.7/8). The WB was fifth with "Charmed."

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" grabbed an 8.9/14 at 9 p.m. to give NBC the hour. ABC stayed in second with "Super Millionaire," which drew a 7.3/12. CBS' "Helter Skelter" did a 6.2/10 for the hour (and a 6.3/11 over its three-hour run) to stay in third, beating "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The Simpsons" on FOX. "Charmed" did a 3.0/5 on The WB.

NBC closed the night in the lead with the 9.0/15 for "Crossing Jordan." The series finale of "The Practice" did a 7.5/12 on ABC, keeping "Helter Skelter" in third.>>

[Naj]

Thanks for the info TV,

Well, that goes to show that CC fans have their niche time slot. I think it has been a good idea to run the reruns on a different night in other time slots to see if it brings other viewers though.

~Naj

[TVFan]

I agree about the reruns. I noticed that the CC repeat fri night did better than Joan and Jag ( both new episodes). So, it looks like a lot of new people are watching the show in that time slot.

[Naj]

Hi TV,

Do you happen to know if there are statistics showing the number of viewers for each episode of Cold Case for the first season. I'm wondering if it did draw in more viewers than the 14.8 million we saw a few weeks ago and how each episode compared?

~Naj

[TVFan]

I would love to see those stats as well. I haven't seen anything yet, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for them. ;D

[Naj]

Okay. I'll be patient.


~Naj

[TVFan]

All of the networks announced their Fall Television schedules last week. CC is staying in its current timeslot. Looks like CBS is making the least changes since they are doing well thanks to Survivor and JB. Here's the article on CBS's new schedule from Zap2it.com:

<<CBS Goes After 'Law & Order'
(Wednesday, May 19 08:57 AM)
By Rick Porter

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - CBS is setting up a battle between the two biggest franchises on TV next season by scheduling the newest "CSI" series against NBC's venerable "Law & Order."

The network has scheduled "CSI: NY," the third installment of its forensics franchise for 10 p.m. ET Wednesdays in the fall. "Law & Order," which enters its 15th season in the fall, has dominated the timeslot for years, making it something of a dead zone for ABC and CBS.

That's likely to change. Both the original "CSI" and "CSI: Miami" rank in the Nielsen Top 10, and the Monday (May 17) "Miami" episode that introduced the "CSI: NY" characters drew more than 22 million viewer

"CSI: NY's" timeslot is the only real eyebrow-raiser on CBS' schedule for 2004-05, which the network unveiled Wednesday (May 19). It includes four other new series -- comedies "Listen Up" and "Center of the Universe" and dramas "Clubhouse" and "dr. vegas."

Les Moonves, chairman and CEO of the network, admits that the schedule is "rather conservative," but the network can probably afford to take an if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it approach. CBS will finish this season in first place in total viewers and adults 25-54, its favored demographic. It's also a solid third in adults 18-49, currently only a tenth of a point behind FOX.

The new shows also rely on well-known stars. "Listen Up," which will join the network's Monday-night comedy block at 8:30 p.m., stars "Seinfeld's" Jason Alexander and Malcolm-Jamal Warner ("The Cosby Show") and is based on the life of Washington Post sports columnist and "Pardon the Interruption" co-host Tony Kornheiser. "Center of the Universe," which will follow "The King of Queens" on Wednesdays, features John Goodman ("Roseanne"), Jean Smart ("Frasier") and Ed Asner ("Mary Tyler Moore").

"Clubhouse," a coming-of-age story about a teenager (Jeremy Sumpter, "Peter Pan") who becomes a batboy for a pro baseball team, also stars Dean Cain ("Lois & Clark") and Mare Winningham ("The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H."). It takes the 9 p.m. Tuesday spot of "The Guardian," which was cancelled.

Former "West Wing" and "Lyon's Den" star Rob Lowe has the title role in "dr. vegas," which will air at 10 p.m. Fridays. "Sopranos" Emmy winner Joe Pantoliano also stars, getting another shot at the Friday timeslot where his show "The Handler" died this season.

The only other night with significant changes is Saturday, where the sixth edition of "The Amazing Race" will air at 9 p.m., bookended by "48 Hours" and a rotation of crime-show repeats CBS is calling "Crime Time Saturday."

In addition to "The Guardian," "The District" and "Hack" have been cancelled. Comedy "Yes, Dear" is not on the schedule, but several reports say it's received a 13-episode order for midseason.

CBS has ordered only one show for midseason, a comedy from "Two and a Half Men" creator Chuck Lorre that will star Jenna Elfman. The two worked together previously on "Dharma & Greg.">>

[TVFan]

There are two interesting articles today. The first one is from USAToday.com. It kind of sums up the 2003-2004 T.V. season. The article talks about the increasing abundance of reality show hits this past season, but it mentions that there were still some scripted hits like Cold Case. There's a chart in the article that lists the top new shows of the season. CC comes in at#4, but it's the #2 new scripted show of the season. Here's the link to the article if you're interested:

www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-05-25-reality_x.htm

The second article is from Zap2it.com. It's somewhat of an interview with CBS Chairman Les Moonves. The interesting thing is that NBC and FOX are planning "year round programming" instead of reruns during the summer. Les Moonves says that his shows are strong enough to do very well in reruns, particularly the JB shows. There is a mention of Cold Case in the article. Here's the article from Zap2it.com:


Moonves: Year-Round Schedules Are for the Weak
(Tuesday, May 25 01:32 PM)
By Daniel Fienberg

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Year-round schedule? CBS doesn't have to show viewers any stinkin' year-round schedule.

While FOX and NBC spent much of their upfront presentations trying desperately to convince advertisers that the entire television scheduling paradigm has shifted to a new model, CBS Chairman Les Moonves scoffs at the notion.

"The rules of the game, from our point of the view, ain't as broken as the other people seem to think they are," Moonves notes. Moonves notes that the network has, in the past, made successful use of the summer as a launching pad for shows like the original "Survivor" and that the network has plans to average around seven hours a week of original programming thanks to several returning reality offerings and the usual assortment of news programs.

"We are thrilled that we have three episodes of 'Big Brother' and 'Amazing Race' and our newsmagazines and they're all very important to us," says Moonves. "'Big Brother' has become a real nice staple for us in the summer and we like doing it."

Both "Big Brother" and "Amazing Race" are set to premiere on Tuesday, July 6 with 90-minute episodes.

CBS also has the advantage of a lineup stocked with forensic dramas that traditionally replay well in the summer months. The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced "CSIs" and "Without a Trace" were regular Top 20 performers last summer and freshman hit "Cold Case" is likely to join them.

"I guess when you have shows that don't repeat as well, you look to replace them," Moonves chides.

The pugnacious Moonves also points out that NBC and FOX both have ulterior motives for their attempts to subvert the traditional broadcasting calendar.

"NBC's schedule is a little bit self-serving, because it's year-round scheduling starting after they have the Olympics, so that's their year-round scheduling," he says. "FOX has a different issue, 'cuz of baseball and I get it."

Coming off a sixth consecutive sweeps victory in total viewers and several big seasonal victories, Moonves believes his network is operating from a position of strength this summer and into the future.

"Let's see what happens," he laughs. "We are up in every single category over the last five years, playing the game the way we've played it. I guess when you're failing, you want to change the rules. When you're succeeding, you don't."

[Naj]

but it's the #2 new scripted show of the season

Interesting tidbit. I tuned in to E all last week when the networks were rolling out their fall schedule. CBS gets an A- and everyone else falls from there. Wasn't it last Season when Fox would run over American Idol 5 minutes? I thought that was a kinda neat trick and wasn't Friends running 75 minute shows? I can also remember some shows (but can't name them) that skipped the first set of commercials once the show came on--which takes the urge to channel surf at the beginning.

I don't much care what new shows are coming on because I basicially know I will watch Survivor, The Amazing Race and Cold Case. So nothing else is going to sway me.

~Naj

[TVFan]

Naj - I noticed the running the shows over a few minutes trick. The Friends finale ran over about 5 minutes and caused me to miss the first 5 min of Without A Trace. I noticed that Without A Trace lost viewers because of it.

I'm like you though, I already know what I'm going to watch and the new stuff isn't going to sway me away from it. ;D

[TVFan]

Interesting article today on USAToday.com. Remember those "summer schedules" that Fox and NBC went on and on about? Remember how CBS Chairman Les Moonves said that these schedules were "for the week," well it looks like he was right. The article says that 7 of the Top 10 shows last week were CBS reruns, and of course four of those were JB shows. Looks like CBS should be pretty happy to have great shows that rerun so well. I'm sure they're happy to see Cold Case in the Top 10 every week, even if it's just repeats. Here's the link to the article:

www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-06-29-summertv-main_x.htm

[Naj]

Thanks for the info TV. Looks like JB rules!

~Naj

[Trublu]

TVFan said:

Naj - I noticed the running the shows over a few minutes trick. The Friends finale ran over about 5 minutes and caused me to miss the first 5 min of Without A Trace. I noticed that Without A Trace lost viewers because of it.

;D

i noticed this too. i was taping both shows, even though im not a huge fan of friends, i enjoyed the show, and im a huge without a trace fan. i was furious in the morning to find out that i had missed the last five minutes of friends. thats a big X for nbc in my book.

[TVFan]

I agree Trublu! It was such a sneaky way of trying to get people to stay tuned for ER and not change to the superior (IMO) Without a Trace. Shame on them!

[TVFan]

Found this article today from the New York Daily News. It lauds the return to the scripted series. It has been an interesting TV season with some of the new scripted series (Desperate Housewives, Lost, CSI: NY) turning into bonafide hits.

Meanwhile, first-year scripted shows have been embraced by viewers with the greatest fervor in 10 years - roughly when NBC gave us "ER" and "Friends." This year, it's ABC that has provided the much-needed one-two punch, thanks to the addictive excitement of "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." They're the two best shows of the new season, and viewers have accepted them both.

On the reverse side, you have reality veterans (Last Comic Standing, The Bachelor) not doing as well as they have in the past.

At the same time, the stock of reality TV shows finally is starting to fall. On network TV, there's been substantial, usually deserved slippage.

There seems to be a changing of the tide back to the scripted format.

That's because the pendulum finally is swinging in the right direction: Reality shows are starting to die, and scripted programs are alive and very well.

All of this bodes well for the continued success of Cold Case and other scripted shows. Audiences seem to be embracing dramas and shunning reality.

Quality drama is being revived in a big way - and there's more good scripted drama right around the corner.

Full Article