APRIL 7, 2003 $3.95 VOL.13 NO. 14 THE NEWS MAGAZINE OF THE MEDIA Lifetime Fights to Stem Slide Net rolling out new original series and cross -media sales unit to get back to No. PAGE 4 -Orr -1111111111F-W KIDS TELEVISION Discovery Kids Adds Animation Tutenstein, Kenny the Shark join NBC Sat. hlorl,PAGE 5 NETWORK TV UPN Pins Sales ForSmackdowni WWE hopes to get a hold on new advertisers PAGE 5 Weight MAGAZINES Deregulation and Time Inc. Execs diversification-that's how E.W. Scripps CEO Shake Up People Ken Lowe wants to 3 las replaced as top editor grow his midsize changes continue PAGE 6 media company into one of the big boys 11 11 BY SANDY BROWN PAGE 24 D 491189931 2 IMIXFHOWJ ..**,.***********.*** 3 -DIGIT 07B MO1098340* JUN04 LAURA JONES WALDENBOOKS 42 MOUNT PLEASANT AVE WHARTON NJ 07885-2126 S0070 H1.11."11.1.1.11.1.1.1.h.d1.1.111.1.1.1.1.111 THORA BIRCHA LIFETIME ORIGINAL MOVIE EVENTKELLY LYNCH shenothing believedWhen to believetherein herself. was in, THE LIZr!es MURRAY STORY BASED ON81* A TRUEI3r STORY PREMIERES 9PM ET/PT TONIGHT Source:FORFROM Nilsen ORIGINAL MediaTHE Research,12/31/C1-12;2/02; #1 BASIC MOVIES. BasedCABLE on original movieNETWORK Lifetime premiere F .usehold average vs. all ban: cable retworks lied with TBS). -raum-um 4t ixowy.4.4 Market At Deadline Indicators NATIONAL TV: STRONG I EMMIS MULLS DEAL WITH NEWS CORP. parent company General Motors. News Corp. was out- With few major adver- Emmis Communications disclosed last Friday that it has bid last year by EchoStar Communications, but that deal tisers pulling spots been talking to News Corp. about purchasing a number was squashed by federal regulators. News Corp. is because of the war .n of its TV stations in markets such as Austin, Texas; expected to make a formal bid soon, though a represen- Iraq, brand battles con- Memphis, Tenn.; and Birmingham, Ala. In an effort to fa- tative said he was unsure when that will take place. Two tinue to fuel spe.clug cilitate the transaction, Emmis has also explored com- weeks ago, Liberty Media chairman John Malone struck in many key cate- bining a purchase of stations with a bid to acquire News a deal with News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch to gories, including auto- Corp.'s controlling interest in the Los Angeles Dodgers help finance the proposed acquisition of DirecTV. motive, wireless, test through an investor group in which Emmis would hold a food, beverages, minority stake. Bids for the Dodgers were due Friday. I INDIE PROGRAMMERS PRESS CASE WITH FCC movies and retail. Advocates of reserving part of prime time for shows 1 THE ATLANTICS KELLY KILLED IN IRAQ from independent producers pressed their case at the NET CABLE: STEADY Michael Kelly, the former editor in chief of The Atlantic Federal Communications Commission last week. The Despite the war, he Monthly who was covering the war in Iraq Coalition for Program Diversity met with scatter market is st II as an editor at large, was killed last week three of the five FCC commissioners. relatively active with in a Humvee accident while traveling with INS The coalition includes directors' and automotive, wireless the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division. A actors' guilds, agency MediaCom and and movie -studio highly regarded writer/editor, Kelly wrote MED EK. TV producer Carsey-Werner-Mandabach. money. Pharmaceutical a syndicated column for The Washington It says more independent programming spenders are evem Post. Kelly, 46, was credited with re -ener- would rescue prime time from bland- creeping back in. gizing the Atlantic and helped earn the ness that is driving viewers away. Net- CPMs are pacing title several National Magazine Awards. works argue hundreds of competing upward of 15 percent He leaves behind his wife and two sons. channels afford viewers ample choices. higher than upfront prices last year. I SNTA'S DEWITT MAY LEAVE POST I ADDENDA: John Byrne, a senior Differences between Syndicated Network writer at Business Week, has been SPOT'TV: BUILDING Television Association president Gene named editor in chief of G+J USA April and May arE DeWitt and some member syndication Publishing's Fast Company. Byrne suc- showing signs of NM- companies over the SNTA's future direc- ceeds co-founding editors Alan Weber ness due to an lilies of tion have fueled speculation that DeWitt and William Taylor, who will stay on as new automotive inen- tive and movie -studio may be on his way out, despite his consultants. Byrne starts on April 28... 11111( protestations otherwise last week. "As Stacey Lynn Koerner was promoted to dollars. But the retail Discovery Kids' Kaplan adds category continues to far as I know, there has been smoke, but executive vp and director of global cartoon mummies and no fire," said DeWitt. Howard Levy, execu- research integration at Initiative Media, be a spotty performer. sharks to the mix Page 5 tive vp of ad sales for Buena Vista Televi- from senior vp, director of broadcast RADIO: OPEN sion and SNTA chairman, said: "SNTA research...Fox Sports Net Arizona has Plenty of inventory is has not terminated Gene, nor have we Local Media 10 received the sublicense rights to tele- available on stations in had any conversations with him about vise all Phoenix Suns home games most major markets separation." Neither DeWitt nor Levy Market Profile 12 beginning with the next NBA season... through the month of would comment further. Several syndica- Fox News Channel grew its total -day The Blunt Pencil 20 April. The automotive tion executives said a separation deal delivery of persons 2 -plus by 94 per- category is heathg up, with DeWitt, the former media agency Magazines 44 cent in the first quarter to 1.2 million. and telecom and retail executive who accepted the post just FNC's prime -time delivery grew 83 per- remain active spenders over a year ago, could be costly. "If Gene cent to 2.1 million. CNN followed with in radio. left now, SNTA would have to cough up about $2 million total -day delivery of 953,000 and a prime -time delivery to buy out his contract," said a syndication exec who of 1.5 million. MSNBC still trailed with a total -day deliv- MAGAZINES: SLOWING declined to be identified. "Although his job is to promote ery of 461,000 and a prime delivery of 666,000, but While some advertis- syndication, what he thinks needs to be done is not nec- both numbers were up dramatically from last year. ers continue to be cau- essarily in sync with what the SNTA [board] has in mind." tious, some catepries I CORRECTION: A Local Media story in the March 24 such as automotive, I NEWS CORP. SOLE CONTENDER FOR DIRECTV issue incorrectly reported that Time Warner Cable holds packaged goods. toi- Local telephone company SBC Communications an equity stake in the Kansas City Royals' new regional letries and cosmetics, dropped out of the running to buy DirecTV last week, sports network. The network receives a standard per - and drugs and reme- leaving News Corp. as the lone interested party. News subscriber fee from TWC. The story also should have dies are holding Corp. has been pursuing the satellite opera:or for the noted that 50 Royals games were carried last season steady for a broad last two years but could not reach an agreement with by KMBC-TV and KCWE-TV in Kansas City. variety of titles. www.mediaweek.com April 7, 2003 MED.AVVEEK 3 Media Wire Lifetime Earmarks Infinity Shifts Strategy on Streaming Radio Content Through a new pact with America Online, Infinity Broadcasting will break $800 Mil for Prime one of its long-standing rules against streaming its stations' content over the Net to mix in humor, reality elements after ratings decline in first quarter Internet. The Viacom -owned radio group CAB LE TV By Megan Larson will stream five of its largest stations on the AOL Radio@ Network, which ociologist Dr. Alice Rossi once reality shows like Joe Millionaire and The Bach- offers 200 channels of music, news, wrote: "There is strength in a vision elorette, which ate into Lifetime's core viewers. sports and entertainment. of a sisterhood." Lifetime CEO Car- Heavy war coverage on the back end of the first The streaming arrangement is part of ole Black banked on this when she quarter most likely took a bite, as well. an estimated $30 million advertising set out to make her network the top - "We recognize that we need a new voice. deal to promote AOL Broadband on Infini- rated cable channel in 2001. Howev- The biggest change in the development slate is ty stations over the next two years. In er, facing their first major ratings that we are getting lighter," said Lifetime's exchange for a schedule of 10 -second decline in two years, Lifetime exec- executive vp of programming, Barbara Fisher, spots that began airing March 27 on utives are hoping once again to rally that sister- noting that 75 percent of the new pilots have a Infinity's 183 radio outlets, AOL is outfit- hood by investing $800 million into program- sense of humor missing in Lifetime's issue - ting Infinity stations with AOL Broadband, ming that's sentimental but, hopefully, funny. laden dramas Strong Medicine and The Division. which will be used by on -air personalities Moreover, Lifetime is touting two other While 1 -800 -Missing, a paranormal detec- to entertain and inform listeners. networks-Lifetime Movie Network and Real tive series, has serious tone similar to Lifetime's David Goodman, Infinity executive vp Women-as well as a web site and a new mag- other originals, Follow The Leeds, starring Mar- of marketing, said the stations that will azine to help further unite its audience.