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Topic: More Reality TV on the way. (Read 204 times)

BlankWillWin
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More Reality TV on the way.
« on: Dec 22^nd, 2003, 5:08am »

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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/22/business/media/22reality.html?th=& pagewanted=print&position=
December 22, 2003
Networks Find Reality Has Become a Part of Life
By BILL CARTER

In a startlingly quick reversal of strategy, executives at the broadcast networks are disavowing their previous disavowals of reality programming.

With reality shows outdrawing other new series this fall on most networks - and in case of "The Simple Life," the biggest new hit on Fox - broadcast executives are trying to convince advertisers that the once outlawed reality genre is such a part of the prime-time mainstream that it deserves the same premium rates fetched by the highest-rated scripted programs.

Several network executives said they expected to integrate more reality shows into their plans for next fall's television season. Some even plan to create a pilot process for reality ideas comparable to the time-honored tryout procedures for dramas and comedies.

"Reality is a part of the business that is starting to come of age," said Lloyd Braun, the chairman of ABC Entertainment, which is a unit of the Walt Disney Company.

That was not what network executives were saying as recently as May, during the so-called upfront sales season when the networks promote their coming shows to advertisers. Back then, numerous broadcast executives, fearful that reality programming would not bring in big advance advertising money, distanced themselves from reality shows. Instead, they promised to devote their primary efforts to creating new, wonderfully scripted comedies and dramas and all but vowed to wear garlic necklaces to keep the hypnotic but dangerous reality format at bay.

Mark Burnett, probably the most highly regarded of the reality producers as the man behind "Survivor," said, "I listened at the upfronts to the way network people were going on about how they didn't want reality shows, and I thought, 'Am I going to be out of a job?' "

Hardly. The results from the fall season are in, and while viewers have been cool to many new scripted series, reality is hotter than ever. New reality shows like "Average Joe" on NBC and "The Simple Life" on Fox, as well as holdovers like "Survivor" on CBS and "The Bachelor" on ABC (along with its offshoot, three episodes of "Trista and Ryan's Wedding") are again at the top of the ratings lists for the younger audiences that most networks covet. Many advertisers pay extra to reach those younger viewers.

Broadcast executives are also under increasing pressure as more viewers stray to cable. In November for the first time, the share of audience controlled by the networks dropped below 50 percent, falling about 3.5 percent from last year while the share for advertiser-supported cable networks grew 8.3 percent.

And of course, the networks fretted all fall about the mysterious loss of younger male viewers. Betsy Frank, the executive vice president for research at the MTV Networks, said the connection to the pullback away from reality shows should have been obvious.

"There is no mistake what the young audience wants," Ms. Frank said. "The networks are going back to reality shows the rest of the season. Just watch, those young viewers will suddenly be back."

Executives at the networks, and even some at the Hollywood production studios, suddenly seem to be coming to grips with a reality of their own: They have to change their business model to accommodate what are clearly the shows for which younger viewers have a passion.

"Both programmers and advertisers have to acknowledge the appetite for upscale, unscripted reality shows is humongous, and we can't deny it," said Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Entertainment, which is owned by the General Electric Company.

Mr. Braun said ABC programmers were now "working hand in hand with our sales division" to make sure the reality shows have the same appeal to advertisers that scripted shows do.

Gary Newman, the president of 20th Century Fox Television, a studio owned by the News Corporation that had steered clear of reality in the past, had a change of heart about the time he saw the ratings for "The Simple Life." It was the studio's first reality entry, starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie. "I said, 'The heck with it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em,' " Mr. Newman said.

In the short term, the networks are planning to add more reality shows in the current season. That will include "The Apprentice" on NBC, which starting Jan. 8 will offer a group of would-be entrepreneurs the chance to compete for a big job working for Donald J. Trump (and be fired by him if they fail). ABC plans to run a version of the British reality hit "Wife Swap" (although with a different title, not yet determined) in which two women exchange lives and families for a week, as a social, not sexual, experiment.

NBC will also bring back another edition of "The Restaurant," about real-life dining adventures in Manhattan, in April. ABC has a series called "Extreme Home Makeover," about a lucky family getting free home renovation. And CBS last week picked up a show called "The Will," about a patriarch who is willing to have his heirs compete for his bequests.

Then there is the Fox Network, which starting Jan. 19 plans to flood its schedule with more than 40 nights' worth of competition in the latest version of its massive hit "American Idol." It also has a number of other reality entries ready to go. The other Fox concepts are still being kept secret, following the pattern of the network's introduction of its monster hit, "Joe Millionaire," last winter. Gail Berman, the president of Fox Entertainment, which is also owned by the News Corporation, said the network would announce its new reality lineup shortly, saying nothing more specific than "lots of fun will be had."

UPN, the part-time network owned by Viacom Inc., is gearing up on Jan. 13 for a second edition of "America's Next Top Model," the reality show that last year was the biggest hit UPN has yet seen.

Longer term, network executives said, they were trying to integrate preparation of reality shows into the standard programming process.

Most reality shows until now have been bought from a big concept, in which programmers had to gamble by committing to a full series of episodes. Mr. Braun of ABC likened this to "the Wild West, totally lawless, a free for all." That process is still in effect for certain big-idea reality shows.

Mr. Burnett, for example, promoted an idea called "Casino" to all the networks; it will follow two young men taking over the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. Mr. Braun said it was a very attractive concept, especially with Mr. Burnett as producer. "But you had to commit to 15 episodes at $1.5 million each, up front," he said. ABC passed. Fox, though, bought it and plans to use it next summer.

To get the system more under control, the networks say they have gone back to television basics. "We are doing reality pilots and some of those will likely to be contenders for the next fall season," said Ghen Maynard, the senior vice president for alternative series at CBS, which is also owned by Viacom Inc.

The next step, executives said, is to send the message to advertisers that reality is no longer the vampire menace they keep in a coffin in the basement.

Mr. Zucker said NBC was underscoring data for shows like "Average Joe," in which an attractive young woman had to pick a romantic partner from among a group of schlubby guys. Such series, he said, have an upscale, highly educated audience, similar to most of NBC's scripted hit shows.

Back in May Mr. Zucker was telling advertisers that NBC was committed to a core schedule of scripted shows. But at that point, many advertisers were feeling burned. They had often paid to place their commercials in scripted shows only to see those shows abruptly canceled and replaced by questionable reality shows.

The shows the advertisers did not like were mostly on ABC, titles like "Are You Hot?," a competition strictly based on body parts. "We are guilty-as-charged" of polluting the genre with lesser formats, Mr. Braun said. ABC has since vowed that it will only add reality shows "that are consistent with our brand," he said.

For ABC, he said, that means "feel-good shows" like "Extreme Makeover," which gives people upset with their looks a total physical change including plastic surgery, and "The Bachelor," the first of the find-a-mate-among-a-batch-of-beautiful- contenders shows.

Whether this sudden pro-reality message will persuade advertisers is still uncertain. Bob Riordan, an executive vice president at MPG USA, the American media buying unit of the global advertising company Havas, said. "Among advertisers, there is a larger confidence level in reality shows than there was a few years ago."

Mr. Riordan noted, however, that many advertisers still preferred scripted shows, although he acknowledged that in terms of scripted offerings, "the new television season has been a disappointment, at best." Advertisers are still a bit leery of certain reality formats, he said, citing "The Simple Life," which he said was "perhaps a little trashy."

But Fox's Ms. Berman said the network had no trouble selling that series to advertisers. And Mr. Newman, at 20th Century Fox, cited "The Simple Life" as a kind of prototype for how to develop and sell a reality series.

Because of the format, with two spoiled rich young women, Ms. Hilton and Ms. Ritchie, being sent to live on a farm, no pilot could be made. But the producers, Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray (both of MTV "Real World" fame), came up with a presentation they could show the network by having the two young women go to work as dog groomers for a day. The resulting fish-out-of-water mayhem established the personalities of the two would-be stars.

The Fox studio will make use of that try-out segment as an added attraction on the DVD version of "The Simple Life,'' an idea that the studio hopes will serve as a potential answer to one issue that troubles studios and networks about the future of reality shows: unlike conventional comedies or dramas, reality shows usually can not be repeated. That means none of the lucrative syndication sales other hit shows enjoy.

Mr. Newman said Fox would have a DVD of the entire series of "The Simple Life" in stores on Jan. 20, the same week the show ends its broadcast run. "We hope this might be a way to monetize ideas likes this," Mr. Newman said.

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
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