TCA WB TARGETS VIEWERS OTHER NETWORKS DON'T.Byline: David Kronke Executives for the WB, having enjoyed phenomenal growth and financial reward during the past season, shared a few secrets behind their success with journalists Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
``Our network succeeds by attracting disenfranchised viewers who aren't getting what they need from other networks,'' said Jordan Levin, WB entertainment president. The network has traditionally appealed to teenage viewers, but family shows such as ``Gilmore Girls Gilmore Girls is an American television drama/comedy created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The series premiered on The WB on October 5, 2000 and ended on May 15, 2007, with its seventh season, which aired on The CW Television Network. ,'' ``Smallville'' and ``Seventh Heaven'' are watched by teens and parents together. Shows that lure both demographics are increasingly rare on TV. ``It requires work to maintain a consistency and credibility with a younger audience,'' Levin added. ``Younger people watch less TV, so advertisers are willing to pay for people that are hard to reach.'' Levin also touted the network's ability to create stars frequently celebrated as ``the faces of New Hollywood New Hollywood or post-classical Hollywood refers to the brief time between roughly 1967 (Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate) and 1982 (One from the Heart .'' Guest stars on WB shows are then recruited to star in their own vehicles, and then, ``we bend over Bend over may refer to the action of bending one's body over, as in to pick up something, or, for example, as the hydra does in order to move when hunting, in dancing (like in the various breakdance moves), gymnastics, and sports (like snap football). backward to launch their movies and their movie careers.'' ``This was part of the old Hollywood star The Hollywood Star was an idiosyncratic gossip tabloid published on an erratic schedule in Hollywood, California by William Kern, who wrote much of the magazine under the pseudonym "Bill Dakota. system,'' he noted. ``It's something we try to feed and replenish.'' It hasn't been all smooth sailing for the WB - last week, it announced that ``Fearless,'' originally slated to premiere in the fall, would be pushed back to a midseason debut. Levin said this move came at the request of the show's producers who need further time to develop the lead character. ``The show needs to establish that fearlessness does not equal emotionlessness,'' Levin said. The soapy basketball drama ``One Tree Hill,'' about half-brothers competing on the same high-school basketball team, will air in the fall instead. Levin added that the WB's Friday lineup juxtaposes multicultural sitcoms with shows with predominantly white audiences because ``programming African-American shows in a bloc (as UPN UPN User Principal Name (Microsoft Windows 2000) UPN United Paramount Network UPN Unión del Pueblo Navarro (Navarrese People Union) UPN Umgekehrte Polnische Notation does) tells white audiences, `This is not for you.' These shows reflect a multicultural world young people are familiar with. We didn't want to minimize their appeal. We hope to avoid labeling shows like this as they have in the past.'' THE HYPE The WB announced that it has signed Hillary Duff - who left Disney in a money dispute after starring in the Disney Channel's hit series ``Lizzie McGuire'' and a spin-off movie - to star in two specials, one tied to her 16th birthday and the other to the Christmas holiday. THE ANTI-HYPE PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, president Pat Mitchell made a declaration you won't hear many TV executives make: ``We aren't concerned with ratings.'' This explains why PBS frequently airs high-profile programming - ``Masterpiece Theatre'' events or Ken Burns documentaries - opposite the networks' most attention-getting products. PBS lacks the resources to compete in promoting their shows, and many feel if the network reserved such programming for less competitive times, it could draw in far more viewers. PBS aired ``The Gin Game,'' which reunited Dick Van Dyke  This page is protected from moves until disputes have been resolved on the .The reason for its protection is listed on the protection policy page. and Mary Tyler Moore This article is about the actress. For her 1970s television series, also known as "Mary Tyler Moore", see The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Mary Tyler Moore , during the past May sweeps and will present ``The Blues,'' an ambitious documentary series featuring films by Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood and other respected filmmakers just as the networks are hyping their new fall schedules. Mitchell declined to explain the thinking behind such counterintuitive coun·ter·in·tu·i·tive adj. Contrary to what intuition or common sense would indicate: "Scientists made clear what may at first seem counterintuitive, that the capacity to be pleasant toward a fellow creature is ... strategy but did concede that PBS has struggled financially. ``PBS has had significant cutbacks in people as well as our operating budget,'' she said. "We have not touched the programming budget. We have to find a more sustainable revenue model for public broadcasting in this country. ``The model that was set up is 30 years old. We need to recognize that it's not sustainable and come up with new revenue models. I wish I had one to announce to you today. I don't.'' What about caring about getting viewers? David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com |
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