Warner Bros. taps Osbourne to regain syndication edge.

As the foulmouthed matriarch of the rock music clan, Sharon Osbourne parlayed her family's antics into the popular reality show on MTV.

Now AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. unit is looking for Osbourne's name recognition, along with that of comedienne Ellen DeGeneres, to re-establish its presence in daytime syndication.

Osbourne's role comes in the form of her eponymous talk show, which Warner Bros. will debut on stations in September. Dubbed a show about "everything," it will feature man on the street interviews and music performances. Stealing a page from British talk shows (as well as appealing to young women) Osbourne will also interview "hot young men" while sitting with them on a bed (or standing in a shower) such as one with singer lance Bass of the boy band 'NSync.

Joining her in the daytime lineup is DeGeneres, a standup comic best known for her situation comedy on ABC, "Ellen," that made television history of sorts when she revealed her character's homosexuality on air. The show, however, went into a decline after that and was cancelled.

Her new daytime show, debuting next mouth, will feature more traditional fare such as celebrity interviews and cooking sessions.

"Nothing's guaranteed, but we think we have the hottest shows this year," said Warner Bros. spokesman Scott Rowe.

Hard times

Thanks in part to the 1988 acquisition of syndication pioneer Lorimar Telepictures, Warner Bros. had been a powerhouse in daytime syndication, churning out a string of hits that included "People's Court," and "Love Connection." It continued that streak throughout the late 1990s as a result of talk shows hosted by Jenny Jones and Rosie O'Donnell.

But in recent years daytime television, never an easy place to score hits, has been an especially challenging market for syndicators like Warner Bros. Among the recent victims: comedienne Caroline Rhea, who was handpicked by O'Donnell as her successor.

Courtroom show "Judge Mathis" only garnered a rating of 1.9 last season despite having spent several years on the air, while ratings for talk show staple "Ricki Lake" fell 11 percent, to 1.7.

"They're really in critical need of a bona fide hit," said Nell Sabin, executive vice president of Weigel Communications, which picked up the Osbourne and DeGeneres shows for its stations in Milwaukee and Indianapolis.

Part of the problem has been an inability to come up with a home run like "Rosie O'Donnell," which was among the top syndicated hits during its six-year ran.

Not helping matters is media consolidation. Until the mid-1990s, Warner Bros. and other syndicators had plenty of customers, thanks to numerous independent stations like KCAL-TV (Channel 9) and KCOP-TV (Channel 13). In addition, stations owned by the major networks, including General Electric Co.'s NBC, had to buy from syndicators because they were banned from owning shows on their schedule.

But thanks to a lifting of that ban by the Federal Communications Commission, networks began forming their own syndication arms, including NBC, which produces the entertainment news show "Access Hollywood."

Viacom Inc., which owns CBS and KCAL, also owns the syndication company King World, so programming packages are often arranged for Viacom stations. For syndication companies not tethered to a station group, such as Warner Bros., Sony Corp. and Vivendi Universal S.A., cutting deals is more challenging.

"There are only three prime hours available for programming and the syndicator for the station group will likely fill most of them," said Bill Carroll, a vice president of New York media representative Katz Media Group.

Executives at Warner Bros. had groused last year when they tried to get attractive spots for the Caroline Rhea show. They said that Walt Disney Co.'s ABC television stations opted to hand over the time spots occupied by O'Donnell's show to one hosted by Drew Carey sidekick Wayne Brady. That show is produced and syndicated by Disney.

Financial packaging

All of which has forced Warner Bros. to get creative.

To get Osbourne's shows on the air, it had to hand over a portion of future profits to Tribune Co., which will put it on its station group, including L.A.'s KTLA-TV (Channel 5), according to Rowe. It did the same in order to get DeGeneres' show on NBC's station group.

Warner Bros. is also eschewing the traditional arrangement of shouldering half the costs for local promotion, which annoys some station owners. With the help of Grey Advertising, it is buying ad time on cable networks such as Lifetime in the hopes of building awareness with young viewers.

"Our potential audience watches cable during the day. That's where we have to go," said Rowe.

Osbourne's show has already gone through three executive producers, including one of the masterminds behind "Jenny Jones." Meanwhile, station managers who have gotten to see versions of the show haven't been in love with the results.

"Sharon could bring in some curiosity-seekers. It did well in the focus groups. But no one says anything negative in focus groups, so who knows how well it'll really do," said Sabin.