Wednesday, February 03, 1999
Costs force networks to get real
BY JOHN KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The shrinking TV audience has forced network executives to go back to their Roots.
Programmers at the Big Three networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) are investing more millions in big-budget miniseries to woo back viewers who have have departed for cable TV.
Unfortunately, the “minis” come with a big price — more cheap “reality” specials like When Good Pets Go Bad or Busted on the Job.
During February ratings sweeps, the four-week period starting Thursday that local stations use to set their advertising rates, viewers will see the first six-hour miniseries broadcast in two years.
Stephen King's Storm of the Century, an original miniseries from the prolific author, stars Tim Daly (Wings) as the police chief on a small Maine island encountering the wrath of nature (9-11 p.m. Feb. 14, 15 and 18, Channels 9, 2).
NBC starts sweeps Sunday with a four-hour fictional miniseries about The '60s (9-11 p.m. Sunday-Monday, Channels 5, 22). It also plans a three-hour Alice in Wonderland (8 p.m. Feb. 28), and three four-hour May miniseries, including Noah's Ark.
@subhed:Reality cheaper
@rbody:
“The networks have been defined as the place for big programming,” says Scott Sassa, NBC Entertainment president. Big miniseries, plus big promotion, “can turn those big events into big ratings,” he says.
After being trounced by NBC's Merlin and Gulliver's Travels, produced by Robert Halmi Sr. (Lonesome Dove), ABC asked Mr. Halmi to film a four-hour Cleopatra for May.
The big miniseries “is one of the things that, as a broadcast network, you sort of have the exclusive rights to,” says Jamie Tarses, ABC Entertainment president. Her network once devoted 12 hours to Roots (1977) and 32 hours to War and Remembrance (1988-89).
It's no coincidence that viewers also will see a record 14 prime-time news magazines and more reality specials through March 3.
The cost of producing quality series — and the risky high failure rate for new shows — forces networks to rely on more reality specials and four or five weekly installments of Dateline NBC or 20/20. The days of filling 22 hours a week with fictional drama and comedy series are gone in the modern 100-channel universe.
“We can't afford a full schedule of (entertainment series). That's why we have lower-cost reality programming in development,” admits Stu Bloomberg, ABC Entertainment chairman.
@subhed:Sad situation
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NBC recently hired Bruce Nash, whose dubious distinctions is creating When Good Pets Go Bad. Says Mr. Sassa: “Clearly, reality shows are doing well.”
Sad, but true. Fox again delivers another month of video exploitation, which millions will watch. Sweeps start Thursday with Robbie Knievel Building-to-Building Death Jump Live! (8 p.m., Channels 19, 45) and The World's Most Shocking Moments 2: Caught on Tape (9 p.m.).
Only on Fox will you find When Good Times Go Bad (Feb. 11) or the “champion worm swallower” on Cris Collinsworth's Guinness World Records: Primetime (Feb. 16).
The 14 hours of reality — just whose reality is this? — comprises 23 percent of Fox's prime-time sweeps' schedule. Even new Fox Entertainment President Doug Herzog hints that Fox has pushed the limit.
“Maybe we've been doing a little bit too much of that (reality) lately,” the former Comedy Central president says.
Only CBS, the No. 1 network, has no interest in the TV freak shows.
“We were going to do World's Scariest Grandmothers, but we didn't think it would work,” jokes Les Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Television, which has the most viewers over 50.
“We didn't feel (the reality genre) was appropriate for our audience, and we didn't go in that direction.”
John Kiesewetter is Enquirer TV/radio critic. Write: 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax: 768-8330.
John Kiesewetter is Enquirer TV/radio critic. Write him at 312 Elm St., Cincinnati, 45202.
