TNN Readies Repositioning
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1.11 IAMUMME 078 #BXNQDWJ*******************3-DIGTT WW0098348# JUN04 ED9 488 LAURA JONES WALDENBOOKS 42 MOUNT PLEASANTAVE WHARTON, NJ 07885-2120 111-1111111 111111 VOL. 12 NO. 46 THE NEWS MAGAZINE OF THE MEDIA DECEMBER 16, 2002 $3.95 MARKET INDICATORS NATIONAL TV: SOLID TNN Readies Repositioning Auto, telecom, novie, beer, video game and Net moves to stem slippage with young -skewing shows; namechange weighed PAGE 4 pe-sonal care cate- go-ies are driving the marketplace with dou- SYNDICATION ble-digit spending hikes National Ratings through holiday period. NET CABLE: STRONG Claims Disputed Nets decking the halls as overall tightness and Some studios say cable Waiti brisk demand drive data should be broken out scatter rate hikes into first quarter. Wireless, PAGE 5 movies, video games are loliday spenders. MAGAZINES T SPOT TV: MIXED W.th January slowdown Crystal Springs He's J1:Jlij c at the anund the corner, sta- ticns are relying on To TV Guide Ne 'i r'st and automotive to stay New publisher aims to oversees a strong strong to bolster first quarter. Telecon is energize Gemstar flagship TV station group. healthy, retail mixed. PAGE 6 Is lAspIan Murdoch RADIO: WARM Advertising in Los al early to Angeles, Chicago, TV STATIONS run News Corp.? Mliami softening slightly for early January. CBS Starts Long BY JOE STRUPP PAGE 18 Overall, month looks stronger than usual, Uphill Journey dniven by attractive sta- Swanson says patience tion rate ad padkages. needed for turnaround MAGAZINES: STEADY While the drugs and PAGE 9 remedies and toiletries and cosmetics cate- Mediaweek Magazine gories are solid Monitor PAGE 27 spenders in first luar- ter, wireless companies anc electronics have els] joined the fray, as they promote their lat- est products. 0 2111 ffiscouerg CHANNEL EXPLORING THE DEPTHS, TV'S #1 BRAND* HAS REACHED NEW HEIGHTS. "...UNPRECEDENTED..." -The New York Times ...TAKES UNDERWATER 7, CINEMATOGRAPHY TO NEW HEIGHTS... -TV Guide &A ...A TRIUMPH OF TECHNOLOGY... -Lcs Angeles Times JAMES CAMERON'S EXPEDITION: Discovery Channel Quest made possible in part by: Discovery Channel would like to thank all the sponsors of James Cameron's Expedition: Bismarck GMC, HEWLETT PACKARD, IBM, MASTERCARD AND UPS Discovery WE ARE PROFESSIONAL GRADE Premiering in high definition tonight, December 16th, at9 pm on Discovery HD Theater. At Deadline 1 NETS TWEAK SCHEDULES FOR MIDSEASON II ALL EYES ON MURDOCH'S MOVES FOR DIRECTV With midseason fast approaching, the broadcast networks are News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch is expected to soon marshal making lineup changes and cancellations. ABC last week pulled his forces to make another bid for control of DirecTV. Murdoch's the plug on new series MDs and likely will replace the Wednes- path opened last week when satellite firm EchoStar Communi- day 10 p.m. show with Celebrity Mole. CBS yanked Robbery cations Corp. formally dropped its bid for rival DirecTV in the Homicide Division. Beginning Jan. 10, the courtroom drama face of opposition from federal regulators. That ended a merger Queens Supreme will move into RHD's Friday 10 p.m. slot. In bid that began with EchoStar outbidding Murdoch. scheduling news, ABC is flipping some of its Sunday and Mon- day programs, moving The Practice to Mondays at 9 p.m. and 1 CBS SHAKES UP STAFF AT CHICAGO O&O Dick Wolf's updated Dragnet to Sundays at 10 p.m., premiering CBS' owned -and -operated Chicago outlet WBBM-TV last week Feb. 2. The network also said it will give the prized post -Super dismissed several producers and newsroom staffers. WBBM Bowl slot to struggling spy drama Alias. CBS announced it will air management has been charged by Viacom Stations Group COO Star Search Wednesdays at 8 p.m., repeating it Thursdays at 8. Dennis Swanson with the task of fixing the station, which is lan- guishing in third place in the local late -news rat- 1 FCC WORKING ON CABLE LIMITS ings (see related story on page 9). The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau is working on a draft proposal rec- 1 ADDENDA: Robert Liodice, executive vp of ommending that the Commission raise the limits the Association of National Advertisers, was on national cable ownership. The current rule, promoted to succeed retiring John Sarsen Jr. as which was rejected last year by a federal court, the group's president/CEO...Julia Franz, former limits cable companies to 30 percent of U.S. vp of comedy series at Touchstone Television, cable and satellite homes. Proposals under dis- was promoted to senior vp of the division, and cussion include raising the limit up to 45 percent. Francie Calfo was promoted to senior vp, drama The Media Bureau is expected to to send its final series, where she will jointly oversee the divi- recommendation to the FCC by year-end. sion with Suzanne Patmore, who was also pro- moted to senior vp...Citing sustained growth 1 NIELSEN IN BOSTON GETS MRC NOD among a broad range of ad categories and Nielsen Media Research announced Friday that stronger ad rates, Ralph Guild, CEO and its local people -meter service in Boston has Chairman of Interep, predicted radio revenue received accreditation from the Media Rating will hit more than $19 billion this year, for a Council. Boston is the first local market to be gain of 6 percent to 8 percent over last year... measured by people meters, which have been Scott Karnedy has been named senior vp and New TV Guide publisher used to measure national TV audiences for 15 director of national sales for Infinity Broad- Crystal is back in the rein- years. Achieving accreditation is a critical mile- casting...Mark Stern was appointed senior vp vigoration business Page 6 stone for the Boston service, which was turned of original programming at Sci Fi Channel...John on last May. Rollins, founding publisher of Vibe, and Alan Local Media 9 Light, former editor of sibling title Spin, will 1 VIACOM DEMANDS FLAG PROTECTION launch a music magazine for "grownups" next CBS parent Viacom says it will withhold all high - Market Profile 12 spring titled Good Music. The quarterly will tar- definition digital TV programming next year unless Inside Media 24 get readers age 30 and up. federal authorities mandate a broadcast flag to thwart Internet piracy of the network's digital sig- Magazines 26 1 HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROMMEDIAWEEK nals. The move raises the stakes in prolonged Mediaweek will not publish issues on Dec. 23 or negotiations in Washington over whether to Dec. 30. The next issue will come out on Jan. 6. require the flag-digital coding that bars Internet retransmission We wish all our readers a safe and happy holiday season and of programming. The FCC is considering whether to require that a prosperous 2003. digital equipment respond to the flag. In recent comments to the FCC, Viacom said that because of growth in digital TV sales I CORRECTION: In last week's Media All -Stars Special and in high-speed Internet connections, it "can no longer afford Report, a sub -headline in the profile of Research All -Star to expose its content to piracy." This season, CBS is producing Beth Uyenco incorrectly identified her company. Uyenco is all 18 of its prime -time comedies and dramas in HDTV. senior vp and director of research for OMD. MEDIAWEEK (ISSN 0155-176X, USPS 885-580) is published 46 times a year. Regular issues are published weekly except 7/22, 8/5, 8/26, 12/23 and 12/30 by VNU Business Publications USA., 770 Broad- way, New York, NY 10003. Subscriptions are $149 one year, $249 two years. Canadian subscriptions are $342 per year. All other foreign subscriptions are $319(using air mail). Registered as a newspaper at the British Post Office. Canadian Post Publication Agreement Number 1430238. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Customer Service Email: [email protected]. Subscriber Service 800-562-2706. MEDIAWEEK, 770 Broadway, New York, NY, 10003. Editorial: New York, (646) 654-5250; Los Angeles, (323) 525-2270; Chicago, (312) 583-5500. Sales: (646) 654-5125.Classi- fied: (1-800-7-ADWEEK). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mediaweek, PO Box 16809, North Hollywood, CA 9t615-9467. If you do not wish to receive promotional material frommailers other than ADWEEK Magazines, please call (800) 722-6658. Copyright 2002, VNU Business Media, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system,or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Reprints (651) 582-3800. www.mediaweek.com December 16, 2002 MEDIAWEEK 3 MediaWire TNN Mulls More DirecTV Pays Big Hike To Keep NFL Sunday Ticket The National Football League last week tripled the annual licensing fee it will Makeover Moves receive from DirecTV in a new five-year deal that lets the satellite TV service As ratings slip, network preps new shows, weighs possible name change continue its exclusive airing of 14 games per week as part of its NFL Sun- CABLE TV By Megan Larson day Ticket through 2007. The new deal will bring the NFL $400 million per year NN wantsto be noticed. As she Media analysis of Nielsen Media Research beginning next season, up from $130 shepherds TNN's five-year, bil- data, TNN's total of prime -time viewers 18-34 million under the current contract. lion -dollar makeover into a gener- and 18-49 has been slowly slipping, quarter by Starting with the 2006 season, the al entertainment network from its quarter, since the beginning of this year. The NFL will be able to sell some games to former incarnation as The Nash- average number of viewers 18-34 tuning into cable operators, which for the time ville Network, general manager TNN has fallen to 285,000 during the fourth being were spurned from gaining access Diane Robina admits that viewers quarter so far (through Dec.