It's No Gossip, Ratings Slip Threatens CW Network By REBECCA DANA May 16, 2008;
Time may be running out for the CW network.
Two years after CBS Corp. and Time Warner Inc. combined their second-tier networks UPN and WB into the youth-oriented CW to pool young viewers prized by advertisers, the network's hopes of surviving are looking increasingly bleak.
Despite the buzz about "Gossip Girl," a prime-time soap opera about a group of rich kids on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the network has lost about 28% of its target audience of 18 to 34 year olds so far this season. Its ratings during this month's "sweeps" period -- the all-important measure upon which future advertising rates are set -- are down about 22%.
Advertisers eager to reach a young demographic initially clamored to sign on to the CW, but have since cooled to the network. Steven Kalb, director of broadcast media for media-buying firm MediaHub, owned by Interpublic Group, says there were high hopes for the network when last year's lineup was unveiled. Now, he says, "It has collapsed."
Part of the problem is that the CW's young audience is most prone to spend leisure time on the Internet. Last winter's Hollywood writers' strike, which forced scripted shows off the air for three months, hastened the defection of viewers to the Web.
Increasingly, people in the industry are asking whether this coming season is the CW's last chance. One person close to the situation confirms that without significant progress in the next year, at least one of the network's owners is likely to abandon the venture.
The defection of viewers recently led the network to suspend the free Web streaming of "Gossip Girl," angering some fans in the process. After several weeks of the experiment, ratings have remained essentially flat.
The CW's fall schedule, unveiled this week, suggests the network has few fresh ideas. It is debuting only three new shows, all designed to complement "Gossip Girl," which executives hope will find a larger audience come fall. The new offerings are: "90210," an updated version of the 1990s hit prime-time soap about rich kids in California, "Beverly Hills, 90210"; "Surviving the Filthy Rich," a drama about rich kids in Palm Beach; and the reality show "Stylista."
The network has made a series of radical moves in recent weeks to stem its financial losses and draw more attention from advertisers and viewers.
Last week, the CW said it was bringing in an outside production company, Media Rights Capital, to program three hours of Sunday nights, often the most-watched night on broadcast television but a poorly rated time period for the network. To take a slice of prime time and essentially cede it to another programmer is a rare event for a major network.
Also this spring, the CW elected to stop airing wrestling on Friday nights -- an admission that chasing a young male audience was no longer part of the network's mission. Wrestling had drawn high ratings, but advertising rates were lower because it draws an audience less desirable to advertisers. At its upfront presentation this week, the CW redefined its target audience as exclusively 18- to 34-year-old women.
The success of the venture is of importance for CBS Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves, who has been closely involved in every element of building and promoting the network.
Mr. Moonves sits on the executive board that overseas programming and marketing decisions at the CW. The network's president, Dawn Ostroff, is a longtime associate and protégé of Mr. Moonves, and he was instrumental in placing her at the helm of the network. Mr. Moonves declined to comment.
CW executives attribute the network's poor ratings performance not to a lack of viewers but to flaws in the system of measure. "Obviously, we would have liked to do better," Ms. Ostroff said this week. "Our young audience certainly knows how to get their content in different ways, and we have to figure out different ways to measure how they're getting it."
The CW has two strategies for this: work with Nielsen Media Research, the company that records ratings, to improve its methodology; and continue efforts to lure more and younger viewers to the network. Despite its stated demographic targets, the CW viewer's median age is 34, Ms. Ostroff says.
Nielsen says in a statement that although it believes its ratings "provide a fair picture of what younger viewers are watching," the audience is challenging to track. "We are working closely with the CW and all of our clients to continuously improve our measurement."
In the past two years, the CW has experimented with different ways of presenting advertisements to its young viewers, who are proficient with digital video recorders that allow them to fast-forward through commercials, and who have especially short attention spans.
The network introduced multipart commercials called "content wraps" in its first year; in its second year, it introduced ultra-short commercials it called "cwickies." Next year, the network is focusing its efforts on TV and Web integrations, says Executive Vice President of Network Sales Bill Morningstar.
Bruce Rosenblum, president of the Warner Bros. Television Group and a member of the CW's board, says he was disappointed the network had not managed to capture a larger audience. But he pointed to the strength of its distribution system and its new-series development as reasons for optimism.
Although the CW isn't profitable itself, it has helped its parent companies launch shows that can make money down the road on other platforms such as syndicated reruns and DVD sales, Mr. Rosenblum says.
Combined, UPN and the WB lost about $2 billion in the 11 years that spent on the air. It is unclear how the CW's losses compare, since neither company reports earnings for the small network. CBS and Warner Bros. incurred significant start-up costs when they launched the CW, including a multimillion dollar marketing campaign. CW draws about a quarter of the audience that CBS does.
Nancy Tellem, president of CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group, says that CBS's commitment to the network is open-ended and that the CW has suffered mostly from too-high expectations. "I honestly believe that we did not expect it would be as difficult as it was," she says.
Excited for 90210 since I watched the original, but I am kind of tiring of rich kid shows. Is there any reason we are glorifying this? I don't know how these can survive and real family shows like Friday Night Lights are always down.
Posts: 67 | Location: Washington, DC | Registered: 05 May 2008
Before the CW folds, I'm sure companies will have the option to buy CW and rename it whatever they want. If they buy it, they probalby would have the option to pick up any of the old CW shows in their new lineup. That being said, I don't know why anyone would want the CW. And even if they want it, why they would want any of CW's current shows. Even ANTM is in a decline.
But it could allow for the new network or management to rebuild something that the CW management screwed up. (If another company did decide to go after the network.) All of this is on a hypothetical basis, mind you. What would be really interesting to see is another company bid on the CW, get it and totally turn it around and make something of it.
Also, what happens if the MRC shows on Sunday night are successful? Would that mean there would be a possibility of them taking over other nights? Because then it would not just be a CBS/WB venture, it would be a CBS/WB/MRC venture. Could that be possible and would it help? Peace!!
quote:
Originally posted by WlcmBlueBloodWorstEnemy: Before the CW folds, I'm sure companies will have the option to buy CW and rename it whatever they want. If they buy it, they probalby would have the option to pick up any of the old CW shows in their new lineup. That being said, I don't know why anyone would want the CW. And even if they want it, why they would want any of CW's current shows. Even ANTM is in a decline.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: wenart25,
Damnit im worried now...i hope cw doesnt fold as i love gossip and am psyched for the new 90210. can u see any other networks maybe wanting to buy series?
If the MRC block takes off, there is always the possibility that MRC would want to take over the CW. I guess it would all depend on how deep they want to get with the network.
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Originally posted by wenart25: But it could allow for the new network or management to rebuild something that the CW management screwed up. (If another company did decide to go after the network.) All of this is on a hypothetical basis, mind you. What would be really interesting to see is another company bid on the CW, get it and totally turn it around and make something of it.
Also, what happens if the MRC shows on Sunday night are successful? Would that mean there would be a possibility of them taking over other nights? Because then it would not just be a CBS/WB venture, it would be a CBS/WB/MRC venture. Could that be possible and would it help? Peace!!
quote:
Originally posted by WlcmBlueBloodWorstEnemy: Before the CW folds, I'm sure companies will have the option to buy CW and rename it whatever they want. If they buy it, they probalby would have the option to pick up any of the old CW shows in their new lineup. That being said, I don't know why anyone would want the CW. And even if they want it, why they would want any of CW's current shows. Even ANTM is in a decline.
I doubt any of the main networks would want Gossip Girl. The ratings aren't high enough, even for Friday nights. There is always cable, but networks like Lifetime are creating their own dramas and would probably want to focus on that. If 90210 does better in the ratings than Gossip Girl usually does, 90210 has more of a chance because of the name recognition.
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Originally posted by TheOCFan: Damnit im worried now...i hope cw doesnt fold as i love gossip and am psyched for the new 90210. can u see any other networks maybe wanting to buy series?
i hope the CW can pull it out i would love to have a few seasons of 90210. if MRC stepped in and obsorbed the cw do you see any reason y they wouldnt keep 90210 if it does well?
It would depend on a multitude of factors. First off, if MRC can get the rights to CW programming. Second, if they want to purchase it. Third, if it fits the vision MRC would want the network to have if they buy it. MRC's own slate seems to be a little more mature than the standard CW pilot fare. If CW folds, I don't know if anyone can predict yet what would happen next.
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Originally posted by TheOCFan: i hope the CW can pull it out i would love to have a few seasons of 90210. if MRC stepped in and obsorbed the cw do you see any reason y they wouldnt keep 90210 if it does well?
They wouldn't fold in the middle of a season. They would go through the whole year to see if the ratings get better. What may happen is pilot development stops and they just use what they have in development or in reserve.
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Originally posted by TheOCFan: :s crap lol they wouldnt fold in the middle of a season would they?
I think it all rides on 90210 this fall. If not, Warner Brothers is likely to cut its losses and get away from a network that quite frankly was mismanaged by CBS folks. Frankly, I'm guessing this new stuff from MRC is nothing but cheap trash that does nothing but nosedive into the ground even more on Sundays and continue to lose money for the network. I do not believe a network can survive alone on women 18-34 and that's why if you are going to lose money somewhere, why not just keep Smackdown and boost your weekly averages?
