V I D E O • A G E Se p t e m b e r/ Oc t o b e r 2 0 0 9 40 BY JOCELYN BRANDEIS The new U.S. TV season is looming large. “Large” as in: 1) The number of new series announced. 2) The number of new shows with highratings potential. 3) The amount of commercial time inventory held back by the broadcast networks. 4) The praises heaped on prospects by all the top network brass. 5) The amount of money paid by international broadcasters to secure some of the new U.S. series. Last August, CBS’ Leslie Moonves told financial analysts that for the 200910 season, his network kept 35 percent of its commercial time, compared with the 25 percent that was held back from the upfront market during the previous season. The last time CBS kept so much inventory was in 2002. The commercial time that is withheld is then sold on a short-term basis in what is known as the “scatter market.” When network executives believe that economic conditions will improve in the future, they sell less advance time during the May upfront market (when the new season is announced). According to Moonves, there has been some improvement in the scatter market for the third quarter with sales increasing by 30 percent from last year. FOX boss Rupert Murdoch told analysts he is “quite happy” with FOX’s results and announced that his network was also holding more inventory back to sell later in the season. Similarly, Disney-ABC’s Thomas Staggs said that ABC is “well positioned for the scatter market,” having sold an estimated 75 percent of the inventory at the upfronts versus 83 percent last year. GE chief financial officer Keith Sherin told investors that GE’s NBC would follow a similar track by retaining more of its inventory for the 2010 season. Naturally, by reducing inventory, the network brass hoped to create scarcity at the upfronts in order to increase their cost per thousand viewers (CPM) and, at the same time, save more inventory for the expected financial recovery. By embracing this strategy the brass claimed to be happy with less, about 13 percent less, than the 2008-2009 advertising revenues. This year, revenues reached about $8 billion, mostly lowered by a cheaper CPM at the upfronts that on average was five percent lower than in 2008 (to an average of $30 for a 30 second primetime spot). On the international programming side, one word used to describe the new U.S. TV season was “great,” as in great quantity of new shows and great quality. More than 1,100 international program buyers attended the L.A Screenings last May. Some TV outlets sent fewer acquisition executives than usual, others (particularly those from Italy) sent more. One of the buyers in attendance, Dermot Horan from Ireland’s RTE, offered VideoAge a few comments on trends, mini-trends and predictions for the 20092010 U.S. TV season. Horan was ecstatic about the full network slate, saying, “It’s great. U.S. television is back in force.” In terms of genre trends, he noted that “the biggest genre, the one with the most volume, is medical.” “Actually,” he added, “there are probably too many medical shows. Three of these new shows are all about nurses. Of those, the dark comedy drama, Nurse Jackie is my personal favorite. It has become a big hit for Showtime, and we have picked it up for a primetime slot this autumn, secure in the knowledge that it has already been picked up for a second season. E.R. has been laid to rest after a very long and successful run, so there is definitely room for a new medical drama but not six.” Another trend Horan observed is the proliferation of teen shows, like Fox’s Glee(distributed by 20th Century Fox), and ABC’s Make It or Break It (distributed by Disney). “The CW network is back to the WB days, targeting teenaged girls,” he said, referencing new shows The Beautiful Life, the new Melrose Place, Life Unexpected (all distributed by CBS Studios), and others. The third major trend in Horan’s view is the “high-concept show, like ABC’s Flash Forward(distributed by Disney) and NBC’s Day One (distributed by NBCUniversal). Those are good for drawing in the male audience.” Even though Horan “focuses on drama” because he has had little success of late with U.S. comedies, he was pleased that several of this year’s comedies have gone back to the multicamera production model that, in his view, adds the positive factor of a live audience. “Laughter is contagious,” Horan said, “and if there is an audience in the studio, the actor will perform better and the laughter becomes natural.” Horan’s final comment was about The Jay Leno Show, which has been moved to prime time from its traditional late night slot. “It will offer a certain amount of competition,” he said, “but will be hugely dependent on securing top guests, which is difficult to do five nights a week.” This year the main U.S. networks have added 36 new shows (including mid-season replacements, and excluding cable networks). The CW officially kicked off the Fall programming season on September 8 with the second season of 90210. On October 23, NBC will close the launching pad with the premiere of the second season of Southland. It should also be noted that there is one hour less of primetime programming with the addition of NBC’s Jay Leno Show, which began on September 14 and airs five nights a week in the 10 PM slot. Let’s take a look at each of the major networks’ new programs: ABC ABC has an aggressive slate of new scripted series, including sitcoms and dramas, as well as changes to the daily lineup, primarily on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. With seven new shows slotted, it’s already an improvement over last year’s two new shows. Stephen McPherson, President of ABC Entertainment Group, recently stated at the summer TV Critics Association Press Tour (TCA) in Pasadena, CA, “We have to remain ambitious. We have only succeeded when we’ve been ambitious and taken chances and really pushed the limits….And there’s no question that production cost is a major issue given all of the other economic pressures we have.” Even with sky-rocketing costs to produce scripted shows, McPherson believes “…you have to be looking at each show differently, because there are certain shows…that absolutely demand that kind of cinematic feel and production value. There are other shows that can be absolutely as successful or more so, but on a much larger scale because the creative doesn’t demand it.” Most of ABC’s new shows premiered beginning September 22, starting at 10 PM with The Forgotten (Warner Bros International TV), a Jerry Bruckheimerproduced, Christian Slater-starring drama which centers on a group of amateur detectives who solve cases of unidentified victims. On September 23, beginning at 9 PM, Modern Family (Twentieth Century Fox TV Distribution) premiered, starring Ed O’Neill, Julie Bowen and Jesse Tyler Ferguson in the multi-generational, single camera sitcom about three very different families. At 9:30 PM, Cougar Town (Disney-ABC-ESPN Television), stars Courteney Cox Arquette as Jules Cobb, a divorced 40-something woman attempting to date a man 14 years younger than she. Bill Lawrence of Scrubsfame produces the show. In the 10 PM slot came the new series, Eastwick(Warner Bros International TV), starring Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Price and Sara Rue as three single women living in Eastwick, a town inNew England, who discover they have magical powers. Eastwick is based on the JohnUpdike novel and the 1987 feature film, The Witchesof Eastwick. On September 24, the new drama FlashForwardpremiered at 8 PM. Based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer, the show stars Joseph Fiennes, Dominic Monaghan and Courtney B. Vance as hack U . S . T e l e v i s i o n Networks Look Forward To a Good, Prosperous New Season (Continued on Page 42) NBC Universal’s new drama series Mercy
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