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The big American
broadcast television networks just finished their presentations to media
buyers, offering a preview of this September’s schedules as a means of
selling as much advance advertising as possible. It used to be that Canadian
networks looked at those schedules, figured out which shows to buy, sold
their choices to Canadian media-buying firms and hoped their bets were
right. Not any more.
An increasingly
fickle audience, instantaneous, metered ratings and greater risk aversion
mean the television scheduling grid changes week to week. Shows are launched
in January, June or any time their originating networks feel makes the most
sense. American cable networks started the trend, launching new series such
as The Sopranos or Sex and the City when the main networks
were in reruns and viewers were restless.
As a result, the TV
season now runs a full 52 weeks a year — not just in a flurry every fall,
although that remains the primary focus for the networks. Programmers have
to think more like air-traffic controllers, constantly shifting shows in
their schedule, replacing underperformers and counter-programming against
the competition.
“Part of what’s
driving this is also escalating production costs,” says Bruce Claassen,
chief executive officer of Genesis Media, a media planning and buying firm.
“A first-run series used to be 30 episodes. Then that went down to 26, then
23 or 24. Now you’re seeing 20. They repeat shows in January and February
because they know tuning [in] is high anyway, or they’re slotting in new
shows then. They’ll take six episodes and schedule [the show] during the
spring as a test.”
Even a show that’s
done well in the first part of the season may suddenly find something like
The Osbournes or The Sopranos suddenly siphoning its audience
away.
Mr. Claassen says
the changes in the TV landscape mean media buyers have to function like
investment advisers, monitoring a portfolio of buys with respect to each
client’s advertising objectives, changing and rebalancing the placement and
cost of advertising to ensure the best return on investment. “The media
world has exploded. This is just adding another layer of constant change and
complexity to the situation, which means you just have to dance that much
quicker.”
Networks used to
rely on ratings gathered during sweeps periods to figure out where the
audiences were. Viewers kept diaries on their television choices from three
weeks out of a seven-week window in the fall and four weeks in the spring.
That produced a snapshot, but it was only a snapshot.
With the advent of
ratings meters, there’s a more complete picture of viewing habits. Nielsen
Media Research introduced the people meter to Canada in 1989. “Everything is
captured — a pilot, specials, awards shows,” Nielsen president Mike Leahy
says. “So now, broadcasters aren’t guessing. It gives them the tools to make
better decisions; it’s allowed them to examine the possibilities in other
parts of the year.”
That’s allowed News
Corp. Ltd.’s Fox Network, for example, to reap numerous rewards by launching
some of its new shows at different times of the year. Initially, that
strategy had a lot to do with fox owning the rights to the Major League
Baseball playoffs. The network unveiled shows it deemed promising in June or
October — before or after the playoffs — as part of a commitment to
year-round development.
Beverly Hills
90210 first appeared in
October, 1990. Melrose Place
made its debut July 8, 1992. Launching programs at times other than
September has helped make Fox number one among viewers in the prized
18-to-49-year-old demographic.
That kind of
year-round thinking has spread as the number of networks — broadcast and
cable — has increased, and the advent of reality programs has accelerated
program turnover.
“We’re aware very
quickly and can act to get a replacement or change from the broadcaster,”
says Hugh Dow, president and CEO of media firm M2 Universal. “Instead of
being in the dark and waiting for the sweeps, we’re informed constantly.”
“Now we have six
networks in the United States, and they’re launching programs all year
long,” says CanWest Global Communications Corp.’s programming boss, Doug
Hoover. Dragnet, he says, is an example of a successful non-fall launch. He
attributes the success at least partly to the fact it was launched when much
of the rest of the dial was in reruns.
What happens in
U.S. broadcast schedules affects Canadian viewing options because Canadian
broadcasters aim to run American shows at the same time as they air on U.S.
networks. Simulcasting automatically boosts ratings, and it’s the only way
Canadian networks can ensure they’re getting their money’s worth out of U.S.
programming. But competition between American networks means Canadian
broadcasters sometimes find shows they rely on suddenly cancelled and
supplanted by a show they’ve never seen. That’s made them bolder about
shifting their schedules.
“We’re always
responding to changes,” says Susanne Boyce, president of programming for
CTV. “That’s what led us to buy The Sopranos, to take The West
Wing out of simulcast and put in Amazing Race instead.” The
West Wing’s audience had proven itself loyal enough to follow the
program.
“Advertisers very
much like simulcast, as do we,” Ms. Boyce says. “But we’re looking for
opportunities. We haven’t seen negative impact on revenue because of
shuffling, which is great. There was hesitation, but then it did very well.”
“It’s meant that we
have to refine our systems and ways of conducting business,” CanWest
Global’s Mr. Hoover agrees. “Overall, though, I think it’s great for the
industry. Commercial television has gotten a real shot in the arm” with the
52-week season. Broadcasters are more adventurous, looking for a wider range
of shows.
Or, as CTV’s Ms.
Boyce puts it, “It’s great to have Lloyd Robertson, Ozzy Osbourne and Tony
Soprano on the same channel.” |
