A REAL FIRST: FOX SWEEPS RIVALS ASIDE 'MILLIONAIRE' PAYS OFF WITH KEY AGE GROUP.

Byline: David Kronke Television Writer

On the strength of ``Joe Millionaire'' and ``American Idol,'' the Fox network shocked the television industry by winning the coveted 18-49 age group of viewers during the February sweeps rating period that ended Wednesday.

It's the first sweeps victory in the 15-year history of Fox, and left CBS President Les Moonves calling it ``perhaps the craziest sweeps in the history of show business.''

Fox was powered by reality TV: Talent contest ``American Idol,'' a limited series airing both Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the romance prank ``Joe Millionaire,'' which recently concluded its run by drawing 40 million viewers to its finale.

``The first sweep I participated in with Fox was November of 1988,'' said Sandy Grushow, chairman for the Los Angeles-based Fox Entertainment Group. ``If you hang around long enough, eventually you'll win one of these things.''

Sweeps periods are measured four times a year and are used to establish advertising rates; the 18-49 demographic is the one most sought out by advertisers.

CBS won the sweeps period in overall viewers and households on the strength of its regular schedule.

NBC, No. 1 in the 18-49 demographic for the past three years, took second place in the category, trailing Fox by a substantial margin.

``Obviously, it's disappointing that we didn't win,'' NBC Entertainment Chairman Jeff Zucker said. ``But it's far more a credit to what Fox did than what we didn't do.''

ABC, meanwhile, would have been dead in the water if not for its own reality stunts, the finale of ``The Bachelorette'' and six hours of prime time devoted to the curious lifestyle of singer Michael Jackson. (Fox and NBC also jumped on the Jackson bandwagon.)

``What's interesting about prime time now is that one or two shows can change a network's fortune, and that's what has happened with Fox,'' noted Marc Berman, Mediaweek's ratings analyst. ```American Idol' is an absolute blockbuster and 'Joe Millionaire' was an absolute bonus.

``When shows like this take off, you get a stronger promotional lift for your other programming. '24' has enjoyed a ratings surge (adding 2 million to 3 million viewers weekly). 'That '70s Show' is back (ratings are up 36 percent), and, with 'Joe Millionaire,' Mondays are strong again.''

Additionally, Grushow said, ``The Bernie Mac Show's'' numbers have improved 58 percent with ``Idol'' as a lead-in. And on the basis of its current ratings strength, ``24'' - now the No. 5 drama among the 18-49 demographic - has already been renewed for a third season.

``Fox has been poised to win the 18-49 demo for a long time - they've been slouching towards that goal, aiming at that audience for 15 years,'' said Robert Thompson, founding director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television.

The network, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, launched in April 1987 with a two-night schedule of shows that were louder, crasser and more overtly sexy than those on NBC, CBS and ABC.

The shows were aimed squarely at youthful viewers but ones which were largely and quickly forgotten. One, however, clicked - ``Married ... With Children,'' a bawdy situation comedy that reveled in its tastelessness and set the standard for years to come.

More hits followed including ``Beverly Hills, 90210,'' and ``The X- Files.'' The network's standard-bearer became ``The Simpsons,'' which celebrated its 300th show Feb. 16 to become the longest-running sitcom in TV history.

Although Fox announced a second ``Joe Millionaire'' on Wednesday, the question is how long will success remain when it is based on short-term reality programming.

``It's a deceptive win. 'Joe Millionaire' and 'American Idol' are temporary phenomena, leaving Fox all dressed up with nowhere to go,'' said Thompson. ``If you create three 'American Idols' a year, are they even idols anymore? And (the departure of cranky judge Simon Cowell after the current series) is an enormous loss - Simon was a whole new act, and I'm not sure people will buy replacing him with another grumpy guy.''

Fox Entertainment President Gail Berman dismisses such criticism.

``In the end, we have to deliver a program that everyone's talking about the next day.''

To that end, Fox has two more reality romances in the wings - ``Married By America,'' in which viewers will decide who ends up with whom, and ``Mr. Personality,'' in which women seek romance by going on a series of dates - but the men's physical appearance will be obscured, so they won't know whether they're dating a hunk or a geek.

Three years ago ABC dominated February sweeps with multiple airings of its game show ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.'' Within a year, though, audiences had had enough of the show and ABC had little to replace it with on its schedule. The network quickly dropped to fourth place, where it remains mired.

``It's still essential to find scripted programming that works,'' Berman said. ``You can't build your network around a couple of reality shows - ABC is a case in point. Reality is a phase and eventually it'll lighten up considerably. The meat and potatoes of any network is scripted comedies and dramas.''

CBS' Moonves agrees, although he employs another culinary metaphor. ``Scripted programming is the backbone of your schedule - reality should be the icing on the cake rather than the cake itself.''

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(color) Reality programming, such as ``Joe Millionaire'' helped push the Fox network to a ratings win among the 18-49 age group.

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