DISNEY GETS SHOT IN ARM ABC WIN, 'MONSTERS' LIFT FORTUNES.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

BURBANK - Some much-needed good news arrived on two fronts for The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday: the debut of its new ABC lineup Tuesday night led to a rare prime-time ratings victory for the struggling network while ``Monsters, Inc.'' set a home-video industry record by selling 5 million copies during its first day in stores as several retailers reported sellouts.

The new sitcoms ``8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter'' and ``Life With Bonnie'' easily won their time slots against the season premieres of two Fox sitcoms and reruns on the other broadcast networks.

``A lot of hard work went into this and our strategy of premiering early for advanced audience sampling worked,'' said ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne. ``Despite being very distinct shows that appealed to different core audiences, they each performed.''

The ratings victory, while not spectacular, provides some hope for ratings-challenged ABC, which was once a crown jewel of Disney's assets. The network went into a major tailspin last season despite finishing No. 1 as recently as the 1999-2000 season, when its hit game show ``Who Wants to be a Millionaire'' ruled the airwaves several nights a week. As ``Millionaire'' dropped in the ratings, ABC saw its overall numbers fall quickly, leading to a drop in operating profits and revenues for Disney's broadcasting division.

``8 Simple Rules,'' starring sitcom veterans John Ritter and Katey Sagal, attracted 16.9 million viewers, compared with 9.6 million for Fox's ``That '70s Show'' making its fifth-season premiere. Comedian Bonnie Hunt's new series ``Life With Bonnie'' (15.8 million) bested Fox's third-season premiere of ``Grounded For Life'' (8.5 million) while a preview of the drama ``Push, Nevada'' won its 9 p.m. time slot with 12 million viewers.

Analysts said Wednesday that a ratings victory was crucial for ABC on Tuesday because for the most part, the shows bowed against weakened competition as most other networks aired reruns. In all, the ailing network will unveil seven new shows this fall.

``It was important that they get out there ahead of the other season premieres to establish a viewing audience rather than to compete head-on,'' said David Joyce, an analyst with Miami-based Guzman & Co. ``But there is an issue that the time slots (in which) they aired the shows are not the slots they are in going forward.''

``Life With Bonnie'' will normally square off against longtime NBC hit ``Frasier'' on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. while ``Push, Nevada'' has the task of competing against the top-rated CBS drama ``CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and the NBC comedy ``Will & Grace'' Thursdays at 9 p.m.

Paul Kim, a New York-based analyst with Kaufman Bros., said the initial ratings ``are important on a perception basis because Disney has put so much emphasis on the ABC network. But it doesn't change anything really.''

Kim said that until attendance picks up at Disney's struggling theme parks, the company's Wall Street troubles will continue. He said the performances of Disney's cable interests including ABC Family, ESPN and The Disney Channel are also critical to investors.

The spectacular opening-day DVD and video sales of Disney/Pixar's ``Monsters, Inc.'' positions the popular film to be one of the biggest-selling home-video titles of the year heading into the holiday season.

Its 5 million copies beat a longtime record of 4.5 million held by another Disney title, ``The Lion King,'' which is the best-selling video of all time with more than 30 million copies sold.

Kim said the opening-day sales make it a virtual certainty that the title will easily reach and surpass the 20-million mark but said revenue for Disney is ``somewhat muted'' since half of the profits go to Pixar Animation Studios.

The sales record was fueled somewhat by tremendous preordering of the film by consumers eagerly anticipating its release, but Bob Chapek, president of Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment, said the response at stores was overwhelming.

``The consumers were coming in droves, waiting in line with retailers having to go into the back room to rip open boxes,'' Chapek said. ``Even the stores were a little unprepared for the onslaught. We have a lot of major retail outlets that we are shipping to overnight to get product to their stores so they can stay in business through the weekend.''

Some local retailers had braced for a sellout of the title after receiving numerous phone calls and seeing anxious kids lurking about the Disney display.

``We always anticipate a sellout, since the DVD market's booming and we're looking to see good sales on this,'' said Edward Terry, inventory supervisor for Borders Books, Music and Cafe's Northridge location. ``This is one of the better Disney movies to come out in a while. Kids who saw it in the theaters are now anticipating getting it at home. They can watch it hours on end, three or four times a day, for only a $24.99 investment, so their parents like it, too.''

The DVD version of the film featured cutting-edge technology and many extras, including an original short film called ``Mike's New Car'' featuring the voices of Billy Crystal and John Goodman, the leading voices in ``Monsters, Inc.''

``We're thrilled!'' said Steve Jobs, president and chief executive officer of Pixar. ``Pixar and Disney pulled out all the stops on this one.''

Staff Writer Brent Hopkins contributed to this story.

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NEW SHOWS GET SAMPLED

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