ARE YOU 12 TO 34? IF SO, THE WB'S GOT YOU COVERED.

Byline: David Kronke Television Writer

It was called the upstart network when it lept into homes in January 1995 with a frog as its mascot and a television lineup aimed at teens. Its limited lineup including such maligned shows as ``Unhappily Ever After'' and ``Muscle.''

Eight seasons later, there's the muted yet palpable sense of triumph. With massive growth from last season in all key demographics to which the network caters - teens and young adults ages 12 to 34 - the WB has already emerged as the clear winner of the 2002-03 season. And for its efforts, this could be the season the network begins to see a profit.

``They're up across the board in double digits (percentage-wise) in every category,'' enthuses Marc Berman, ratings analyst for Mediaweek.com. ``They finally found a compatible show for '7th Heaven' in 'Everwood.' Tuesday is rock-solid - 'Gilmore Girls' and 'Smallville' are blockbusters by their standards. As a bonus, 'Charmed' has taken off on Sundays - that's the first time they've got leverage on Sunday.''

Essentially, the WB is a broadcast network that draws a niche audience, albeit a sizable one, with the laser-accuracy of a special-interest cable programmer. Its audience may be dwarfed by the Big Four networks but appears far more loyal.

``They've really figured out how to redefine network TV,'' says Robert Thompson, founding director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television. ``All networks want that young demographic, but their programming is all over the map. The WB, because they came on board in the cable era, learned how to be a network and securely established a brand name. Show me a tape of a WB show I'd never seen before, and I could identify it as a WB show in 30 seconds - it's a really savvy identity to have.

``They have this hip young audience and get kudos for their family-friendly quality, too - that's hard to achieve,'' Thompson continues. ``Networks do that infrequently, yet the WB manufactures this stuff like Chevys. Not only are they successful, but some of their shows are very good, too.''

Families wanted

Lewis Goldstein, co-president of marketing, says, ``Identity here is really important. You might not know about a particular WB show, but you know what kind of shows they do, so maybe you might check this out. That took a long time to achieve.''

The WB excels at programming appealing to teens that their parents can likewise enjoy. Though the phrase ``family programming'' suggests bland, wholesome fodder, the network has updated its tone while retaining its intent.

``There are things we do, from creating dual-generational appeal to making sure the themes and the central question the series poses are clear, (in terms of) coming-of-age or identity issues,'' says entertainment division president Levin, who admits that in August he ``aged out'' of the WB's target audience when he turned all of 35. ``There's a consistency of theme, relationship, conflict and tone that we've created. We also know not to replicate ourselves too much.

``Other networks are selling 18- to 49-year-olds, but they're certainly missing the young end of that,'' Levin adds. ``Look at a show like (ABC's) '8 Simple Rules' - the world's seen largely through the eyes of John Ritter's character. Were that series on the WB, it would be shaped so the daughters' point of view would be as weighted as the adult point of view, so there would be dual entry points and equal appeal for both audiences.''

The WB hit the air in January 1995 after the Fox network abandoned younger audiences for the same demographics for which ABC, CBS and NBC vie. After much struggle, in 1996 it aired its first hit, ``7th Heaven''; ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ``Dawson's Creek'' - two distinctly different shows which, in the end, were both about coming of age - soon followed, and the formula for success was created.

``In the early '90s, as Fox shifted to 18- to 49-year-olds, the biggest (viewer) erosion was households with kids and teens,'' Levin says. ``That became our target. It was a youthful target, but we knew they were an abandoned audience.''

From Fox to Frog

Many of the WB's key players - Jamie Kellner, who oversees the Turner Broadcasting System, and WB President Jed Petrick - came from Fox's early years.

``What we have going for us here that we didn't at Fox is the population boom - the same goal, (viewers ages) 12 to 34, but we have a lot more people to go out and capture,'' says Petrick. ``The hardest part of starting the WB was distribution. With Fox, there were a lot of independent TV stations, and they needed programming. The studios were skeptical, and that was the slowest thing. For us, the studios and advertisers came in without a whole lot of concern, but there weren't a lot of stations around.''

Another longtime challenge the WB faced was coaxing affiliates to emulate the network's style - as opposed to ABC, NBC and CBS, the WB has no say over what its affiliates air outside of prime time and an afternoon children's bloc. Over the years, though, stations have begun airing more youthful programs throughout their schedules and running more promos for the network.

``It has taken us eight years to earn a trust from the affiliates that this demo is lucrative and not a flash in the pan. That's one of the most interesting aspects - how we were able to become successful without that control,'' says Bob Bibb, co-president of marketing.

The answer lies in the programming. The WB's best series boasts rich visuals, cutting-edge pop music and a respect for both its characters and audiences. A longtime rap against the network is that it can't develop successful comedies, but that may be due in part because, as Syracuse's Thompson puts it, ``some of the best comedy on TV is on WB dramas.'' Next to rich character comedy, punch-line/rim-shot gags seem empty.

Smart and pretty

``We were very conscious that our programming needed to feel more like a cinematic experience for an audience like ours that consumes so many movies,'' Levin says. ``Younger audiences don't think as inside the box when looking at programming. Two of our most successful hours were created by sitcom writers ('7th Heaven,' 'Gilmore Girls'). That was very calculated on our part.''

``What we put on screen in terms of depicting teens is far different than feature films, if you look at 'Dude, Where's My Car?' or 'American Pie,' '' says Bibb. ``We've tried the irreverent, young approach and haven't had tremendous luck with it. What we've had success with is having very intelligent, attractive people going through the travails of life.''

``From the beginning, we spent a great deal of time researching and passing along information about young women to our producers and show-runners,'' Levin says, ``and encouraged them to present them in an empowered, nonstereotypical fashion and address their emotional needs.''

Then, ``Smallville'' and ``Everwood'' came to town.

``Boys were being portrayed (on TV) in a way that was destructive - they were seeing something to aspire to that was difficult to attain, and it wasn't very healthy,'' Levin continues. ``We felt strongly that what we did with girls we wanted to do for boy characters,'' and those shows' producers received research on contemporary teen male issues. WB parents, too, aren't usually depicted in the oafish terms seen elsewhere on network TV.

Despite success, Levin's already pondering the network's 2003-04 schedule, seeking potential holes. The aging ``Dawson's Creek'' won't likely be back, he says; ``Angel'' and ``Birds of Prey'' are perched on the fence. While the network's Thursday and Friday comedies are struggling, Levin has faith in ``Reba,'' ``What I Like About You'' and ``The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.''

``We have the ability to be fairly surgical with our development,'' Levin says. ``We don't buy the ratio of scripts that the other networks buy, but we do end up with the same amount of series. That's part of a very conscious effort on our part to focus ourselves, to ask the right questions at the script-buying stage instead of when they go to pilot. Every script is bought with an eye toward where it goes on the schedule.''

Michigan J. Frog a ribbeting presence

Michigan J. Frog has hopped a long way, from a single appearance as a frustrated entertainer in a Warner Bros. cartoon to serving as ``spokesphibian'' for the WB Network.

When the network debuted in 1995, it was naturally assumed that Bugs Bunny would be the network's mascot. But, notes Bob Bibb, co-president of WB marketing, ``Bugs' image was attached to family movies, and given the edginess of WB shows, we felt that attaching Bugs to the WB may not be the best usage.''

In searching through the Looney Toons for another candidate - Pepe Le Pew might've been appropriate for the network's early years - Bibb and marketing co-president Lewis Goldstein discovered they were both fans of the frog. ``We didn't even know his name,'' Goldstein says. ``There weren't that many rules attached to this character,'' which meant no legacy to damage if the frog-led WB didn't leap into viewers' hearts.

Bibb credits Turner Broadcasting CEO Jamie Kellner with closing the argument on Michigan's new gig. ``We didn't make a penny marketing the frog, so, he said, 'You're not going to lose anything if we screw it up.' ''

Coincidentally, legendary animator Chuck Jones created Michigan in 1954 - the same year the NBC peacock was born.

- D.K.

TV's winners and losers

Six weeks after the premiere of the fall 2002 TV season, winners beyond the WB have emerged - as have many losers.

Winner: CBS. Only one of its new crime procedurals - ``Robbery Homicide Division'' - isn't connecting with viewers, and ``Bram and Alice'' got the quick hook everyone expected. But that's practically the only bad news for CBS CEO Les Moonves these days. New shows are doing respectably or phenomenally, and the network stands to wrest the mantle of Must-See Thursdays from NBC. Viewership is up, and the average age of a CBS viewer is down.

Loser: Fox. Jeez, what a train wreck: No new show has clicked, auteur David E. Kelley's smugfest ``girls club'' got yanked after two episodes, and it looks as though the network, long notorious for announcing new shows that never make it on air, this season will have two: ``The Grubbs'' and ``Septuplets.'' Five nights a week of ``American Idol,'' anyone?

Winner: Cable. ``The Sopranos'' has redefined the way people watch TV on Sunday nights, and ABC has grabbed ``Monk'' - which premiered on the USA Network - which performs better than most shows the network developed.

Loser: NBC. Not yet, perhaps - the network's ratings are just a smidgen off - but the writing's on the wall. None of its new shows have caught fire. Worse, all of its stalwarts - save for the ``Law & Order'' franchise - are slipping in the ratings; some (like ``Frasier'' and ``The West Wing'') are losing audiences at a precipitous rate. It's becoming conventional wisdom that ``Friends'' will be back next year, in some form, simply because NBC can't afford to lose it.

Winner: Cities outside the media capitals. ``CSI: Miami'' and ``Good Morning Miami'' are doing well, even if the latter would tank were ``Will & Grace'' not protecting it. Likewise, two new shows set in Philadelphia, ``American Dreams'' and ``Hack,'' got decent early ratings. It sort of underscores how hungry viewers are to see shows outside the New York/L.A. axis.

Loser: TV auteurs. No one joined Kelley's ``girls club,'' Joss Whedon's ``Firefly'' fizzled, and ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is ready to be laid to rest. Fewer are voting to watch Aaron Sorkin's ``The West Wing,'' and ratings for J.J. Abrams' ``Alias,'' by any other name, don't smell too sweet.

- David Kronke

CAPTION(S):

7 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) X-RAY VISION 

The WB scopes out success among young TV viewers

(2) ``Smallville,'' with Tom Welling, is part of the WB's effort to expand its emphasis on presenting empowered, fully nuanced teens.

(3) The girl-driven, Batman-derived ``Birds of Prey,'' with Ashley Scott, hasn't yet cemented itself on the WB schedule.

(4) ``Everwood,'' with Gregory Smith and Emily VanCamp, follows the WB's longtime Monday success ``7th Heaven.''

(5) no caption (Michigan J. Frog)

(6) ASHLEY WILLIAMS and MARK FEUERSTEIN on ``GOOD MORNING, MIAMI''

(7) TONY SHALHOUB on ``MONK''

Box:

(1) Michigan J. Frog a ribbeting presence (see text)

(2) TV's winners and losers (see text)