http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/departments/features/articl...ontent_id=1003791591Upfront Players: Network, Cable and Syndicated TV
John Consoli, Anthony Crupi and Marc Berman
APRIL 21, 2008 -
Network TV
By John Consoli
ABC
Sales Point People: Mike Shaw, president, sales and marketing; Geri Wang, senior vp, prime-time sales
Programming: Returning: Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Brothers & Sisters, Dancing With the Stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Analysis: ABC methodically continues to fill holes on different nights, targeting a female audience. The network boasts a slew of returning hit dramas, two hit reality shows and a handful of successful freshman shows from the current season that have great potential going forward. But like its sibling networks, ABC has had trouble developing breakout comedies. Several new offerings got off to a good start last fall before the writers' strike, but Grey's Anatomy spinoff Private Practice may be the only new entry with long-range potential. Because of its buzzworthy programs and younger female audience, ABC is primed to capture the biggest share of prime-time dollars in the upfront.
CBS
Sales Point People: Joanne Ross, president, network sales; Chris Simon, executive vp, network sales
Programming: Returning: CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI NY, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Without a Trace, Two and a Half Men
Analysis: CBS continues to get solid ratings from veteran procedural dramas, but they're not as strong as they once were. Its Monday sitcoms are solid, and its schedule is still the most stable across the week among all the broadcast nets. Still, CBS has not generated a new, buzzworthy hit in several years, and with its aging programs beginning to bleed audience, the network could be in trouble. CBS will continue to battle ABC in raking in the most prime-time ad dollars in the upfront, though ABC advertisers target younger women as opposed to the overall older demos on CBS.
Fox
Sales Point People: Jon Nesvig, president, sales; Jean Rossi, executive vp, sales
Programming: Returning: American Idol, House, Bones, 24, Prison Break, The Simpsons, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader
Analysis: Fox has done a solid job shedding its image as the titillating reality network and now has several dramas—particularly hit medical drama House—advertisers are flocking to. Even its reality shows now are more family-oriented than bawdy. Lowbrow fare like Temptation Island, The Littlest Groom and Playing It Straight are a distant memory (at present), as Fox now is closely identified with mega hit American Idol and, more recently, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. Fox also boasts a solid, young-male-skewing Sunday animation block, led by The Simpsons, still going strong in its 18th season. Advertisers like the direction Fox is headed, with the network secure to win the 18-49 demo race this season for the fourth consecutive year as well as the 18-34 face-off for the ninth time in a decade. Look for Fox to again ring up a record upfront take and to again challenge NBC for third place in terms of upfront dollars.
NBC
Sales Point People: Michael Pilot, president, sales and marketing, NBC Universal; Marianne Gambelli, president, network ad sales
Programming: New: Crusoe, Kath and Kim, Knight Rider, My Own Worst Enemy, The Office untitled spinoff, The Philanthropist Returning: Heroes, Law & Order: SVU, Deal or No Deal, The Office, 30 Rock, Medium, Chuck
Analysis: No. 4 in the ratings, NBC has nowhere to go but up. Its new strategy of announcing its prime-time schedule 52 weeks in advance was a hit with advertisers, some saying it would give them better opportunities for product placement. Still, many in the ad community wonder whether NBC will boast enough quality new programming to make an impact with viewers. The once-dominant network has failed to score a big hit in nearly a decade, although Heroes and Deal or No Deal have performed OK. While comedies The Office and 30 Rock are praised by critics, they draw only average ratings. Most advertisers see NBC prime-time upfront buys as a way to balance the higher prices they pay on the other Big Three nets. Even with creative sales programs, NBC could face a challenge from Fox and finish fourth in upfront dollars for the first time.
The CW
Sales Point People: Bill Morningstar, executive vp, national sales; Rob Tuck, executive vp, sales and planning
Programming: Returning: America's Next Top Model, Gossip Girl, Smallville, Supernatural
Analysis: The CW is in trouble from a ratings perspective, but because it reaches such a young, harder-to-reach, primarily female audience, advertisers are pulling for the two-year-old network to succeed. Buyers believe Warner Bros. and CBS made a mistake merging The WB and UPN into the new CW rather than folding UPN into the more-established WB. Many of The WB's more fanatical viewers (brought to the net by such fare as Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek) are not watching The CW, whose ratings are down more than 20 percent across the board compared to last season. The network also dropped its WWE Friday night wrestling, adding two more hours to fill next season on a schedule already filled with holes. Advertisers will continue to buy the network, as they balk at paying the hefty premiums the network commanded when it was The WB.
