- News Archive November 1998 -
UPN GROWS LEGACY, TWO OTHERS - Nov 25
From Hollywood Reporter
UPN has given full-season orders to three of its dramas, and one will get a much-needed shot of adrenaline with multiple airings in December.
The emerging network plans to strip from 8-9p.m. four reruns and one original episode of freshman drama Legacy from Monday, Dec. 28 through Friday, Jan. 1. The network also will air an original episode of the Alliance Atlantis production in a special time period on Tuesday, Dec. 8 from 9-10p.m.
The Friday night drama is the only critical favorite on UPN's new lineup. Given the heavy competition from the Big Four, Legacy is considered lost in its 8-9p.m. Friday slot. It's no surprise, then, that it represents the lowest-rated show for the night in adults 18-49 (0.7 rating/3 share) and total viewers (700,000).
"They're (UPN) taking a shot because they feel they have something special in Legacy, and I think it's special," media buyer Paul Schulman said. "It's a very well-done, high quality serial drama and it's a great period piece, but no one knows where to find it. This will increase the odds that people will see it."
Multiple runs of shows have certainly helped those that are considered critical favorites but are ratings-challenged. CBS last summer launched a strategy to improve the performances of Everybody Loves Raymond and JAG.
The eye ran four half-hour episodes of Raymond on one June night before stripping JAG at 8p.m. across five nights during Labor Day week. As a result, both veteran programs have made key strides this season in adults 18-49 and total viewers.
In other UPN announcements, the network picked up 7 Days from Paramount Network TV and Love Boat: The Next Wave from Spelling TV for the remainder of the season.
"We're pleased with the creative direction of these three series and confident about their ratings potential for a number of reasons," UPN Entertainment president Tom Nunan said. "As we expected, Jonathan LaPaglia has shown clear signs of becoming a breakout male action star on 7 Days, and creator Chris Crowe has delivered a dynamic hour of television each week.
"With Love Boat, we're betting on Aaron Spelling and his incomparable track record to build an audience with grand entertainment and a terrific cast led by Robert Urich," Nunan said. "'Legacy' is a quality drama that we have enormous faith in, and we expect these additional episodes to deliver fast- paced, compelling television (that) viewers will discover and embrace."
(Thanks Kat)
SENTINEL LETTER IN DREAMWATCH - Nov 24
The following letter was printed in Dreamwatch, Issue No 51, November '98, pp 81 in "Letters"
(The article was accompanied by the photo at left)
Do you have any suggestions as to why Sky TV are refusing to buy The Sentinel?
The Sentinel is an upbeat action show about a cop with hyperactive senses - 'a walking crime lab with built-in organic surveillance' - and his hippie anthropologist sidekick. It's got movie-style effects, a paranormal slant, it's fair share of T&A, and a likeable regular cast. Looks perfect for Sky1 programming to me. It's got fans all over Europe and Australia, as well as the US fans who just pressurized UPN into buying a fourth season. It's got fans here already for that matter - people who've seen it on holiday, or caught it on Pro7.
So what do Sky have against it? Any inside information or best guesses would be very welcome, as I'm mystified.
Sue Waller, Colchester, Essex
(Thanks Kathy)
Email Dreamwatch at dreamwatch@earthlink.net with a follow-up to this letter and to add your voice to the clamour for answers about why The Sentinel is yet to screen in the UK.
LIVING DANGEROUSLY, UPN OWNERS SHRUG OFF POOR RATINGS AND LOSSES - Nov 23
From a New York Times article
By Lawrie Mifflin
In most industries, if a company's sales dropped 40 percent from one year to the next, not only would the chief executive be dismissed, but the company might very well go out of business.
Not necessarily so in broadcast television today.
For evidence, consider UPN. The network's average audience has shrunk 40 percent this fall from last fall. One new show, Reunited, has twice scored one of the lowest Nielsen ratings in history, an 0.9 (about 895,000 homes, of the 84 million UPN can reach). To make up for the low ratings, UPN has had to give most advertisers two commercials for every one purchased. And it looks as if the network will lose close to $200 million this year, after losing about $180 million last year.
Still, UPN's owners sound almost cheery. Top executives at Viacom and Chris-Craft, whose respective subsidiaries, Paramount Television and Broadcast Holdings Corp., jointly own UPN, insist that they are committed to the network for the long haul and that they are braced for substantial losses until it improves. They also expressed faith in Dean Valentine, UPN's third chief executive in its almost four years of existence.
Despite what would be called failure by most measures of business success, the one thing UPN says it will not do is go out of the network business. "There is no such scenario possible, unless the stations they own get shut down," said a UPN executive, speaking on condition of anonymity.
How can that be? In today's vertically integrated entertainment world, giant parent companies own networks, production studios -- and the shows produced -- and local stations, but the stations are among the most dependable profit makers. And to be competitive, stations need a national network's high-profile programs in prime time.
Some stations are stuck with UPN, because they are "family": Viacom's Paramount Television owns 19 television stations and Chris-Craft owns eight.
But nearly 200 others chose to sign on with UPN, which went on the air in January 1995, with two nights of programming a week and a promise to grow. Most affiliates were small, low-profile independent stations that had been buying and scheduling programs on their own -- syndicated shows, old movies and the games of local sports teams.
As networks grew -- Time Warner's WB network started the same year as UPN, both added a third night the next year, and now offer five nights a week -- the business changed. Prime-time syndication producers have narrowed their aim, making mostly male-oriented action-adventure dramas, which stations buy for weekend use or to fill programming gaps. Most local sports teams have gone to cable networks. Cable networks compete with stations to buy movie packages, too.
These days, stations would be hard pressed to survive financially by cobbling together their own lineups, as was once the norm. They need a network's brand name, its programs and its national promotional and advertising power.
Yet the UPN stations are getting lower ratings, and thus lower ad revenue, in many cases than they got before affiliating with UPN -- and they must give two-thirds of their prime-time commercial minutes to the network.
Certainly, they are upset. A 40 percent drop in viewers diminishes the audience for their 10 p.m. news programs, and hurts whatever syndicated shows they have bought to run later in the evening. It means promotional spots for the stations' other shows are seen by fewer people.
But there is precious little they can do. The only recourse would be to drop UPN when their affiliation contracts expire, in most cases several years from now, and join another network.
WB is the only broadcast network to show growth this year. It forged success with a heavily marketed appeal to teen-agers and young women, the primary audience attracted by its first two big hits, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Seventh Heaven.
That is, of course, what UPN needs desperately -- some hit shows. And there looms another worry: Like UPN's stations, the major Hollywood production studios are also grumbling about those paltry Nielsen ratings.
It costs studios hundreds of thousands of dollars each episode, and often more, to produce shows. They recoup some of that in the license fee paid by the network, but they share no advertising earnings. To make money, they depend on a show succeeding and accumulating enough episodes to sell into syndication or to cable networks.
That does not happen if people do not watch, and this fall, few people have been watching UPN.
One or two major studios have begun thinking twice about development deals with UPN for now, according to some show producers and some studio executives, none of whom would speak for the record. Others have asked for a contractual clause stipulating that if UPN goes out of business in less than four years -- the typical time needed to accumulate enough episodes for syndication -- UPN would reimburse the supplier for deficits incurred in producing the show.
But UPN still has an active development slate; if nothing else, Paramount, Spelling Television and Viacom Productions are sister Viacom companies, and would find it difficult to turn away.
Also, UPN executives are trolling for new, off-the-beaten-path producers, noting that the five major studios have produced few hits recently for any network -- even NBC, ABC and CBS.
UPN has a development deal with Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson (independent producers who created Homicide: Life on the Streets for NBC), and with the film writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (The Mask of Zorro), among others.
UPN's one modestly successful night -- Wednesday -- may suggest a path to take, since it draws more male viewers than most network TV, with Seven Days, a military spy drama, and Star Trek: Voyager, the lost-in-space series. UPN's future may lie in becoming a fraternal twin to WB -- focusing on male teen-agers and young men.
(Thanks Beth)
SHRINKING NETWORK TV AUDIENCES SET OFF ALARM AND REASSESSMENT - Nov 22
The New York Times
By Bill Carter
For many who work at the broadcast television networks, the new season of prime-time programming that began in September with the usual high hopes for a batch of 37 new weekly series has already degenerated into a disheartening and increasingly panic-stricken game of "what's wrong with this picture."
With more on the line than ever before, as costs of programming mount and advertisers are increasingly courted by the expanding number of cable stations, the networks, by their own reckoning, have failed to add even a single new show this season that falls indisputably into a category known as "appointment viewing" -- a show that viewers make a point of watching every week.
The networks' share of the television audience has fallen steadily for years, but this year's performance is particularly stark: Through the middle of November, network viewer totals were down by about 5.75 million viewers, or about 9 percent from last season.
Not coincidentally, the ratings for cable channels were up about 10 percent, thus proving the conclusion of many network executives that cable channels, and not other broadcast channels, are now the default channels for viewers when they decide they are uninterested in a network's offerings.
More tellingly, a disproportionate amount of the network falloff is taking place at NBC, the network that had provided most of the big hits of recent vintage. NBC has seen its audience levels fall by about 15 percent.
The most significant change for NBC has been the departure of Seinfeld, its top comedy for five years.
"Seinfeld is so much more important than anybody understood," said Peter Tortorici, a former head programmer at CBS, who is now president of the Spanish language network Telemundo. "How do you replace a show that's popular in Alabama and Boston, even though it was about Jewish characters from New York? That just doesn't come along every day."
There is no shortage of reasons being cited for what one television studio head called "this sorry state of affairs" -- from the thinning of the talent pool of writers to the reliance on the timeworn formats of situation comedies and dramas.
But numerous executives point to an overall lack of distinctiveness in many of the series. These executives attribute the sameness of much of the programming to the often slavish devotion of most networks to grabbing an audience of younger adults between the ages of 18 and 34 or 18 and 49, especially viewers from urban areas with substantial incomes, because of advertisers prefer to reach those specific viewers.
"The young, upscale viewer doesn't watch enough television to build a seven-night-a-week schedule around them," said Steve Sternberg, a senior partner with TN Media, a company that advises advertisers on buying time on television.
Four of the six commercial networks -- NBC, ABC, Fox and the WB -- consciously aim almost their entire entertainment output at viewers in these younger audience groups. And many believe that given the difficulties of reaching a mass audience in the factionalized modern entertainment universe, this is the only way to go, particularly because advertising is the main source of income for the networks.
But the result, many executives and television producers said, is a lack of originality in concept, casting and writing, ending up in a raft of programs that look and feel so much the same that viewers are apparently being left cold.
In addition, despite ample evidence that the shows that have broken through as hits in recent years have been totally fresh ideas, delivered in a distinctive voice, network executives continue to be wary of taking risks, several producers and studio executives said.
The results from this fall have been sufficiently dire that executives in charge of programming have already been replaced at two networks, NBC and Fox.
But the falling ax this time had special meaning for network watchers. In this case, longtime broadcast veterans, Warren Littlefield at NBC and Peter Roth at Fox, were replaced by executives who built their careers at cable channels: Scott Sassa from the Turner channels and Doug Herzog from MTV and Comedy Central.
Herzog, the executive who brought the outrageous cartoon South Park to Comedy Central, said his and Sassa's arrivals at broadcast networks signaled a "sea change" in the business.
Even one holdover top network programmer, Leslie Moonves at CBS, while disputing the notion that the traditional network hit program is threatened with extinction, said, "It's time for re-invention" in the program selection process.
Executives, producers and agents shared broad agreement that the system that creates hits, the lifeblood of television for half a century, has begun to sputter and cough, to a point where at least some predict that no program will ever come near to the ratings enjoyed just last year by Seinfeld and ER on NBC.
"I don't think even a 30 share is possible for any show again," said one senior network entertainment executive. The share is the percentage of viewers a show attracts at a given hour. Both Seinfeld and ER routinely surpassed that figure for years; only ER eclipses it now. A show can now be considered a hit with just a 15 share, especially if its audience is mainly young adults.
Even NBC's own executives concede that their greatest failure was in not being able to find a show remotely close to Seinfeld in appeal, despite four years of golden chances on Thursday nights to launch series in the spots adjacent to Seinfeld.
But NBC's critics say the network failed because of a strategy that insisted on appealing to the same audience with every show. A string of shows about young, single New Yorkers in the advertising, magazine or some other media industry has produced no discernible hit.
"On close analysis, one could question NBC's broadcast plan over the last three years," said one longtime packager of television programs.
This plan called for establishing NBC, in the words of one NBC executive, as a "premium brand" -- one with an audience of young, wealthy city dwellers.
Because NBC was also the only network making real profits -- up to $500 million a year -- its strategy was widely imitated. "At one point, every network was trying to be NBC," Tortorici said.
There is another issue, illustrated by the popularity of wrestling shows, now the biggest audience draw on cable: the alienation of blue-collar viewers. "Look at what's popular on cable," said David Poltrack, the executive vice president of research for CBS. "Wrestling, football and Walker Texas Ranger. That programming appeals to male, blue-collar viewers. They're not getting anything to watch on the networks, most of which now only want to reach yuppies."
Similarly, Fox, after seeing a batch of sitcoms wiped out early this season, has begun to score -- and to damage NBC's mighty Thursday night lineup in recent weeks -- by using down-and-dirty video specials geared to young, decidedly un-yuppie men, shows like When Good Pets Go Bad and Busted on the Job.
The pressure to tailor shows for the specific target group of affluent young adults inevitably affects the process of program creation, as network executives try to force shows to conform to what they expect will appeal to that group.
"Too many times a writer is asked to add or change an element or character of a show, even if it makes no creative sense, merely in an attempt to reach a specific demographic," said Bob Broder, one of the most prominent agents in the television business as head of the agency Broder, Kurland, Webb, Uffner.
And though there is near uniform agreement that only shows with truly original concepts seem to be connecting with viewers, an unwillingness to take risks often derails ideas before they are even tried, several executives said.
One head of a television production studio, who spoke on condition of anonymity, outlined how the fear of risk undermined the networks' acknowledged need for truly new ideas. "We go into development meetings after they see how all their shows are failing, and they tell us we have to give them our wildest, most creative ideas," the executive said.
"So we tell our writers to come up with most original ideas they can. Then we come back, and we've got about eight ideas to pitch, four that are truly out there and four that are more like original spins on familiar formats.
"The first thing that happens is they throw out the four wilder ideas because they're just too risky. Then they start to tinker with the others. And every change they suggest makes the show more conventional. Then they give you a list for actors and say don't cast anyone not on this list. Then there's a list for directors. And by the time they get the shows, they wonder why they have no original ideas."
One way to get a truly distinctive show through is to be a producer with a track record. Many of the biggest hits on the air now are the result of the influence of one strong creative voice, shows like Steven Bochco's NYPD Blue, David Kelley's Ally McBeal and The Practice, Chris Carter's The X-Files and Dick Wolf's Law and Order.
The one new show this season that many in the business see as the best bet for developing into a hit is Sports Night on ABC, precisely because of its distinctive style (somewhere between comedy and drama) and the voice of its creator, Aaron Sorkin.
Complicating everything else is the increasing pressure from network executives to own part of every show they put on, as a way to find profits. Shows get on the air because they are network investments, not because they are good ideas.
Still, several executives said the notion that hits can no longer be found is greatly overstated. "You can still make hits," Moonves of CBS said. "But more and more you have to show patience."
Indeed, many shows in recent years have broken through after some careful nurturing. These include NBC's Law and Order, Fox's Party of Five and ABC's Drew Carey. Two that seem poised to break through this year are Everybody Loves Raymond and JAG, both on CBS.
But calling a show a hit on CBS, which has the oldest audience in television by far, is still near anathema to many television executives, who count only young viewers. Compared with a show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the WB, which has been on numerous magazine covers and has the buzz that usually accompanies a hit, JAG, never on a magazine cover, is widely dismissed. But last week JAG had 10 million more viewers than Buffy.
"I'm sorry, that's a hit," Sternberg said. He noted that the networks that seemed to be making headway this season, CBS and the WB, "are the ones that are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, with the WB attracting teens and CBS attracting older adults -- they are not going after that same 18- to 49-year-old audience."
None of this concern about overemphasizing young viewers had an influence on Fox's decision to bring in Herzog, whose resume at MTV and Comedy Central is a blueprint of how to succeed by targeting narrow, advertiser-friendly audiences. Fox liked the edgy image Herzog carved out for Comedy Central, and is looking for him to bring the same to Fox.
Herzog has already put the sitcom genre on notice, saying it is badly "in need of updating." Overall, his promised approach sounds a lot like what those worried about the current television season think has to be done: "More risk-taking and a willingness to look at things differently."
(Thanks Moz)
SENTINEL FANS RAISE FUNDS FOR ANTHROPOLOGY AWARD - Nov 22
Fans of The Sentinel have joined forces with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver to create "The Sentinel Prize for Excellence in Anthropology."
The University will award a cash "prize" to an outstanding student of Anthropology who satisfies the criteria (see below). If a combined total in excess of $5,000 (Canadian) is raised, the interest on this sum will ensure that the scholarship will be self-perpetuating and "The Sentinel Prize for Excellence in Anthropology" will be awarded annually.
The goal is to achieve a donation total of $5,000.
The following is a draft of the criteria for awarding the "Prize".
- Must be a junior, senior or graduate student majoring in Anthropology at the University of British Columbia.
- Achievement of a grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
- Demonstrated excellence in their chosen field through scholastic achievement and/or independent research.
- The number and amount of the award(s) will be determined by the distributions available from the income earned by the endowment fund.
Donations should be sent to UBC:
Attention: Carolyn Gleeson
"The Sentinel Prize"
Awards - The UBC Fund
UBC Development Office
6253 N.W. Marine Drive
Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z1
Phone: (604) 822-3015
Fax: (604) 822-8151
US and other "foreign" checks will be accepted. Checks should be made payable to "UBC". You can also make your donation by CREDIT CARD via phone or fax.
For further information or details on the progress of the fund, contact Eve L Eastteam ELEastteam@neworld.net
BENEFIT NETS MORE THAN $50,000 FOR CHILDREN WITH AIDS - Nov 21
The Sentinel Convention Supports the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Los Angeles, CA, November 23, 1998
Children living with HIV/AIDS will have more to be thankful for this holiday as a result of a benefit featuring the stars of the UPN drama, The Sentinel, which raised more than $50,000 for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Couver Con '98, a fan convention held last month, in Vancouver, Canada, will donate $52,000 for the Foundation in support of children with AIDS. All three of the show's major stars donated their time for the benefit. Richard Burgi stars in the TV series as Detective James Ellison, a cop with heightened senses. Garett Maggart portrays Blair Sandburg, the anthropology student who helps Ellison, and Bruce A. Young plays Ellison's captain, Simon Banks. This fall, Burgi also headlines the UPN movie, I Married a Monster, and previously starred in the CBS series One West Waikiki.
"The tragedy of AIDS is only heightened when it strikes our children, our most precious gift," said Richard Burgi. "I am very happy that, by appearing at Couver Con '98, I was able to contribute to a wonderful organization which helps sick children, and, at the same time thank our fans for their loyalty and support."
The Sentinel is being held out as a mid-season replacement on UPN, after its near-cancellation last summer was stopped by an international fan campaign. Fans from as far away as Australia, Germany, Austria, the U.K. and the Bahamas attended the Oct. 23-25 benefit.
"I want to thank our fans who traveled so far and donated their hard-earned money for this benefit," said The Sentinel Executive Producer Danny Bilson. "I am also grateful to all the fans of The Sentinel, who showed their support this summer by getting us back into production."
Also appearing at Couver Con were co-star Anna Galvin, noted actress Leigh Taylor Young, who portrays Naomi Sandburg in the series and is currently starring in Beverly Hills 90210, actor Tim Thomerson, known for many sci-fi film roles, Robert Chapin, actor and swordmaster at the famed Inosanto Academy and directors Bruce Bilson and John Connor. Fans were also treated to tours of the set, a stunt demonstration and staged sword-fighting by Chapin and Bruce A. Young.
"The Foundation is thrilled to be the recipient of such a generous gift from this heartwarming benefit, and we thank all of the fans who participated," said Doreen Lane, Sr. Development Officer, Special Events, for the Foundation.
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is the leading national non-profit foundation identifying, funding and conducting critical pediatric AIDS research worldwide. More information can be found at http://www.pedaids.org.
Couver Con '98 was presented by C.C.I., a non-profit organization which hosts fan conventions as benefits for worthy causes. The Sentinel is produced by Pet Fly Productions.
UPN MULLS MAKEOVER - Nov 21
From E-online at Yahoo News
Pummeled in the ratings, trashed by the critics, slighted by advertisers, embarrassed by the debacle of The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer and viewed by some as headed for extinction, UPN is making another attempt to reinvent itself.
The beleaguered sixth-place network is narrowing its focus, doing a U-turn back to its original goal of attempting to appeal to the 18-34, male crowd, Daily Variety reports.
Word has gone out to producers to come up with programming à la The Waterboy and There's Something About Mary that appeals to this demographic. (Presumably, the network would settle for anything that draws eyeballs.)
UPN (a partnership between Viacom's Paramount Television Group and Chris-Craft Industries' BHC Communications) was launched in 1995 with programming aimed at young irreverent urban audiences--the same demo that had helped jump start the rival Fox network.
But that all changed when ex-Disney executive Dean Valentine took over as CEO last year. Pronouncing a belief in broadcast not "narrowcast," Valentine's strategy was to appeal to "real families in real communities." That led to medical dramas like Mercy Point and a revival of The Love Boat -- decisions that proved disastrous, driving away the young urban, often black, audience targeted by sitcoms like Moesha and Malcolm & Eddie and that eternal saga of Star Trek: Voyager (now 100-episodes old).
UPN's hapless status has seen even ratings for their so called hits drop since last year from 25 percent to 50 percent and overall the network has lost 42 percent of the advertiser-coveted 18-49 audience.
The reported new strategy, which the network declined to confirm, but which one producer described as "a 180 degree turn," is another example of cable's impact on the networks. Both NBC and Fox recently hired entertainment presidents with cable experience. If Valentine doesn't get it right this time, there's probably some cable guy waiting to take over or the network may go under.
In the meantime, while producers scramble to devise edgier product, UPN's immediate fate seems to be in the hands of Dilbert, the corporate everyman whose cartoon series debuts in January.
(Thanks Angie)
STAFF CHANGES AT UPN - Nov 20
From Ultimate TV and Electronic Media online
Paramount Network Television has promoted Marshall Coben to VP current programming from director of current programming. Coben continues to oversee creative activities on Paramount series including Seven Days, Star Trek: Voyager and Clueless.
Danielle Greene (has been promoted) to director, comedy development, UPN Los Angeles, from manager, current programming. Also, Brad Sterling to director, current programming, from manager, comedy development.
(Thanks Sis, Lee Ann)
UPN PASSES ON GUYS - Nov 20
From Hollywood Reporter
UPN has decided not to order the back 9 episodes of Guys Like Us from Columbia TriStar TV.
(Thanks Darla)
UPN SHIFTS TO AIM AT YOUNG DEMO - Nov 19
From a Variety article which can be found at Excite News
By Jenny Hontz
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Acknowledging that its fall schedule has performed poorly, UPN is abandoning its strategy of targeting a broad, middle-American audience and will focus instead on attracting younger viewers and men, according to industry sources.
UPN would not comment, but executives at the network have been sending out word to the creative community that they want to target male viewers between the ages of 18-34 with boundary-pushing programming.
They are citing the popularity of films such as The Waterboy and There's Something About Mary, as well as action-adventure TV shows like the syndicated Xena: Warrior Princess. They also say young males are underserved by TV.
"They are not going for the mainstream, broad-based programming," said one producer working with UPN. "They've done a complete 180, and they want more cutting-edge stuff."
The shift marks a major reversal for UPN CEO Dean Valentine, who previously had derided the networks' narrow focus on demographics and had repeatedly stated that good programming alone can attract an audience.
When Valentine was officially anointed the successor to departing UPN CEO Lucie Salhany last September, he told Daily Variety, "Demos are, in fact, real Americans with real families living in real communities ... I wonder if the fact that the network TV audience has eroded to 50% isn't in some measure a result of thinking in those kinds of categories."
But UPN's attempt to broaden its audience this fall has failed so far. Its core audience of black viewers has largely abandoned the network, and few new viewers have taken their place. The result: UPN has lost 39% of its household ratings and 42% of its viewers between the ages of 18 to 49 compared to the same eight weeks last year.
UPN executives now admit that generic programming, even strong generic programming, isn't good enough because there isn't a compelling reason for viewers to tune in. UPN needs to offer viewers something they can't find anywhere else, and young viewers are typically more open to trying something new.
UPN's new goal of attracting young men is actually the initial strategy Salhany used when launching UPN, with Star Trek: Voyager as its linchpin.
Today, UPN's young male Wednesday lineup of Star Trek: Voyager and Seven Days is the network's best night: The Wednesday ratings are still down 25% from last year, but Monday and Tuesday have fallen 50% and 38%, respectively.
Even so, UPN's thinking reflects the current identity crisis in the TV business, as broadcasters realize they may have to become narrowcasters in order to brand themselves and survive in a multichannel environment.
The WB has perhaps clung to the most narrowly defined target of young women in recent seasons. Within the last month, two networks, NBC and Fox, have hired new entertainment presidents with backgrounds in the cable industry, which is known for its branding and narrow audiences.
(Thanks Angie)
UPN PROGRAM CHIEF COURTS BUYERS - Nov 19
From Hollywood Reporter
In an effort to give advertisers an inside track, UPN has taken the unusual step of taking its entertainment president on the road to meet with the network's major clients.
Tom Nunan recently joined UPN's new head of sales Mike Mandelker in a series of one-on-ones in New York. The concerted effort gave UPN a chance not only to acknowledge its ratings woes but to renew its commitment to growing the No. 6 network.
"I think it's terrific to hear first-hand from both the head of sales and head of entertainment," said Paul Schulman of Schulman/Advanswers NY. "It's the kind of thing that you would expect of Mandelker to pull off. He was always very unique at NBC (where he recently served as senior vp/GM Eastern sales) and would always do things above and beyond. This, to me, is above and beyond. This saves a lot of questions, reading, and taking a trip to California for a number of buyers."
"The more information the clients can get when they're not in a place they would like to be, the better," said Tim Spengler of Western International Media. "They're (UPN) not hiding what's going on. It's a worthwhile meeting."
A UPN spokesman declined comment.
Taking the head of programming on the road with the sales department is nothing new, at least with in the basic cable world and among the emerging networks. The WB's Jamie Kellner has been known to join his head of sales in special East Coast meetings, sources said, and even former UPN CEO Lucie Salhany used to ride in with the cavalry when business wasn't booming for her network.
Still, special road trips are rare among the Big Four networks-which typically schedule their one-on-ones and general schmooze-fests with the advertising community at the May upfronts.
UPN's situation has demanded a more aggressive approach. Rather than remain a narrow-caster with shows that largely target urban viewers, the network this season has expanded its reach with programs that-Nunan and CEO Dean Valentine hope, at least-will attract middle America.
Though new shows like 7 Days and Legacy show promise, UPN has suffered double-digit declines across the board, including adults 18-49 (1.9/5 vs. 1.1/3) and adults 18-34 (2.0/6 vs. 1.1/3). UPN also is down in total viewers, from last year's 4.7 million to this years 2.7 million.
Advertisers were not optimistic about UPN's fall advertising schedule, and, as a result, sources said it took in $125 million-$140 million, lowest among the six broadcast networks.
Do the road trips portend a trend among all of the network helmers? "It's unrealistic to expect all the networks to call all the time," one source said. "UPN needs to sell harder then the next guy."
(Thanks Kat and Angie)
NETWORKS BURN OUT ON STARS - Nov 15
This Reuters/Variety Article from Excite News
By Jenny Hontz
The TV gravy train has been derailed
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - As more mega deal-driven TV series flop, the broadcast networks are scaling back on huge upfront commitments to series from well-known writers and stars.
Just last week, NBC's drama Trinity, from ER executive producer John Wells was pulled for the November sweeps. It was the second of three expensive and high-profile NBC series to hit the bench this season, the other being Nathan Lane's comedy Encore! Encore from the producers of Frasier.
ABC's Fantasy Island, remade by Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black), the most prominent feature film player to try his hand at TV this year, has struggled on Saturday night with just 8% of the TV viewing public tuning in.
Last season too, network schedules were dimmed by fallen stars such as Tom Selleck on CBS and Tony Danza and Jenny McCarthy on NBC. CBS' Melanie Griffith starrer, Me & Henry, never even got off the ground, but CBS was forced to pay a large penalty anyway.
This season, the networks are making far fewer deals committing to put shows on the air sight unseen with sweeteners such as guaranteed time slots. Most deals, even with top feature writers and producers, are mere script deals, and few acting stars are being shopped.
"People got sick and tired of the big star-driven deals that crapped out," says one top TV agent.
"The failure rate is miserable," one network chief says. "If you're going to fail, you might as well fail with somebody cheap and not get locked into putting something bad on the air."
Such deal-driven series are certainly promotable. They tend to grab headlines and may bring viewers in to sample a show, but they don't necessarily keep people coming back week after week. But how to explain a curse on these shows that makes them fail harder and faster than other series?
One network executive says that because the shows are so expensive, networks can't afford to be patient with them. "If you want to be in the spotlight, there's a cost," the source says.
NBC and CBS, which made the biggest commitments in recent years, have been the quickest to bring a halt to the practice. Part of the reason is simply cost-cutting.
Both of those networks, which are not partnered with studios, have been implementing layoffs and trying hard to pinch pennies as the economy slows and ad rates stop growing.
There also aren't any new companies trying to break into the business this year. In the past, new players like DreamWorks and Brillstein-Grey drove up talent costs by spending a lot of money to build their rosters.
But there's another reason the big deals have disappeared. The networks are actually cutting back on the number of entertainment series on their schedules altogether. NBC is replacing dramas and comedies with Dateline, while CBS, ABC and Fox have all added reality series and newsmagazines.
One network insider says the result has been a $200 million reduction in entertainment production, which is one way to halt the talent shortage that created such a feeding frenzy and the subsequent wildly inflated prices. When six networks were all expanding their entertainment programming, talent agents could wreak havoc and play off network fears.
But with so few hits emerging the last few seasons, even from the hottest stars and writers, the networks are no longer terrified of losing the next big deal, which is driving talent costs for new shows back down.
"The fear of losing a deal is what you dread most," one network chief says. "When I first got here, I felt like I was the seller because studios would always say, 'We can go to the WB or UPN."'
UPN's schedule is now in dire straits, and few studios are anxious to do business there, except as a last resort. Thus the leverage is shifting back to the bigger network buyers.
Hollywood's talent agencies have been hit the hardest by the talent devaluation. Agencies such as International Creative Management and William Morris, which are dependent on TV packaging fees that give them a cut of license fees even for failing shows, are laying off employees.
The networks are, of course, still paying hefty fees for successful series. The casts of Friends is now banding together to negotiate a new raise, for instance. But networks and studios are becoming less willing to front-load something unproven. "No one's going to make anything less in success," one source says. "But if shows fail, fewer people are going to be able to put in new swimming pools."
With networks committing less to projects sight unseen, studios are forced to rethink the way they do business, too. Studios such as Disney are now structuring overall deals that give writers a bigger piece of a show's backend, but smaller fees upfront.
There will still always be a top tier of writers, such as David E. Kelley and Steven Bochco, who receive large commitments. But the mid-level writers who benefited from price inflation will no longer reap such huge sums to create shows sight unseen.
Last year, nearly any writer who had worked at any level on a hit show could fetch a multimillion overall deal. This year, writers who previously commanded $10 million-$12 million are able to fetch only about half that.
"Companies who would have paid a fortune are not going to bet on them anymore," one network executive says. "Their batting averages are no better than anyone else's."
UPN STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE - Nov 12
By David Bower
The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, the bawdy, downscale satire about life in the Lincoln White House, seemed just what UPN needed this fall.
It was outrageous enough to make more staid broadcasters steer clear. Yet it was the type of show, executives believed, that people would talk about and build a buzz for a plucky network that needed something to stand out.
That was the idea, anyway. In reality, Desmond Pfeiffer became the symbol of UPN's disastrous season. Many viewers were appalled because the show made light of slavery, critics panned it as being moronic, nobody tuned in and the show was shelved after a month.
The young network's downfall this year has been truly spectacular because, frankly, it didn't have far to fall. Through six weeks, UPN's average prime- time audience is 2.7 million, a 41 percent drop from last year's 4.6 million. It's been a lousy year in general for broadcasters, but at least most rivals are losing viewers in moderation.
The WB, the other mini-network that also started in 1995, has passed UPN in both viewers and critical momentum. The WB has increased its viewership to 4.5 million this year with a lineup that appeals chiefly to teen-agers.
To quiet rumblings that UPN's days were numbered, network owners Paramount Pictures and Chris Craft's BHC Communications were compelled to issue a statement that they were "firmly committed to UPN and confident in its future."
UPN executives said they expected some tough times as they tried to change the network's image at the same time they increased programming from three to five nights a week. They caution against writing off UPN.
"It's like a shot glass," said Tom Nunan, UPN entertainment president. "If it's full, big deal. If it's half full, big deal. What's the difference? Our audience is the size of a shot glass. What we're trying to do is increase the size of the glass and get it overflowing."
Prior to this year, UPN was known largely for its Star Trek: Voyager science fiction series and several sitcoms that appealed chiefly to black audiences. UPN's viewership was 43 percent black last season, higher than any other broadcaster. But the poor quality of these so-called black-oriented shows opened UPN to criticism from many blacks -- and whites as well -- that the network was continuing many stereotypes and creating a "television ghetto."
Voyager still sails. Also back are Moesha, the comedy starring pop star Brandy, and Malcolm & Eddie, with former Cosby kid Malcolm-Jamal Warner. But other black-oriented fare like In the House and Good News were stripped from the schedule.
For audiences already upset about losing some favorites, Desmond Pfeiffer only compounded the insult.
Many blacks are upset because they recognize a pattern: startup networks that put on black-oriented shows and later eliminate them in an effort to reach a broader audience, said Tavis Smiley, host of a nightly talk show on Black Entertainment Television.
"I think African-Americans have had it with networks using us to build their networks and then abandoning their black viewership," he said.
Nunan said he didn't believe UPN was leaving its black audience behind. But he doesn't think a network can thrive by appealing to only one segment of the public. Despite the WB's recent success in creating its own young niche, that's not a blueprint UPN wants to follow.
"You can't build an audience exclusively to female teens," he said. "Long-term it's questionable whether that audience, which is particularly trendy, will stick with you and grow up and stick with you."
Nunan and UPN President Dean Valentine both took over late last year. Together, they put out the word that UPN wanted to capture a broad middle-American audience bored with comedies about hip New Yorkers.
That message was misinterpreted to mean UPN was going blue-collar, he said. "It's not like we've got one sitcom and drama after another featuring a bunch of steelworkers," he said.
It's not clear what UPN's identity is, and Nunan acknowledges that viewers -- not executives -- will determine it. The network is trying many different shows in the hope that one or two will catch on. Then, it will build a schedule around those shows.
So far, viewers haven't seemed enthusiastic about much. When Reunited, a comedy starring former Airport actress Julie Haggerty, premiered in late October, it drew a shockingly low Nielsen Media Research rating of 0.9. That's an audience of just over 1 million, or 28 million fewer people than watched ER that week.
UPN tried to make a lot of changes in one year, said Steven Sternberg, a senior partner with broadcast analysts TN Media. The network may also have strategically erred by waiting until October to debut many of its shows. Executives wanted to avoid the September rush, but by then many viewers were in the habit of watching something else, he said.
"By next year at this time if they're not doing any better I'd say no, they're not going to survive," Sternberg said. "But you have to look at this year as a transition year, and that's what they're doing."
For now, Nunan's bosses are downplaying failures like Desmond Pfeiffer. Jonathan Dolgen, chairman of Paramount owner Viacom's entertainment group, noted Mel Brooks failed with When Things Were Rotten on ABC in 1975.
"If Mel Brooks can fail doing farce on TV, I think our people can be excused for failing at doing farce on TV because it's just very hard," Dolgen said.
UPN's fate probably lies with two high-profile series expected early next year: the animated Dilbert, based on the popular comic, and a medical drama produced by Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana, makers of Homicide: Life on the Street. The Jim Henson Co. also has a comedy in the works.
Just one hit can turn a network around, Dolgen noted. Viacom knows from its experience with Comedy Central, whose fortunes soared with South Park.
"We're still searching for a show that will help us ... and we'll continue to search," he said. "If the gods are good to us, we'll find that show earlier. If the gods are less kind, we'll find the show a bit later. But we'll find it."
(Thanks Barbara and Carla)
MORE DETAILS ON SEASON 4 EPISODES - Nov 11
Thanks to The Sentinel's Executive Producers Paul DeMeo and Danny Bilson for the info on these upcoming Season 4 episodes.
Working titles and script outlines have been established for the final three of the current 8 episode order for Season 4. Episode order, details and titles may change.
See September News (Sep 16) for details of the first five episodes filmed for Season 4.
Upcoming episodes info: SPOILERS - Read at own risk!
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Most Wanted
Ellison and Sandburg team up with an escaped felon who was framed by his
partner, when he comes to Cascade in search of his grandchild.
The Waiting Room
Ellison and Sandburg are embroiled in the paranormal when they become fascinated
by the "ghost" of a beautiful woman who appears to be the only witness to a
murder. To solve their homicide investigation, they must first solve the puzzle
of the murdered woman.
The Sentinel: by Blair Sandburg
Sandburg must make the ultimate sacrifice to save Ellison when his Sentinel
research is exposed and Jim's unique abilities are revealed. He must also guide
Jim through the physical, emotional and professional consequences of public
exposure. Features the return of Lee Taylor Young as Naomi Sandburg.
UPN TRIES ANOTHER BRAVE FACE - Nov 9
From The Detroit News - a reprint of an LA Times article
By Brian Lowry
Upstart UPN is still trying to find its niche
HOLLYWOOD -- Announcing this season's lineup last spring, the UPN network's new managers said they wanted to offer programs that appeal to middle America, citing Roseanne and Home Improvement as role models. Executives said they hoped to put on shows that spoke broadly to blue-collar folks instead of just Manhattan yuppies, loosely describing their motto as "UPN for UPS." So far, the network's revised prime-time roster hasn't delivered those UPS workers, or much of anyone else.
Expanding from three to five nights this season, UPN has struggled in the ratings with a programming slate the network began introducing two weeks ago. UPN averaged only 2.5 million viewers a week in October, a 46-percent drop compared with the corresponding period a year ago, and barely more than half the 4.8 million people drawn by the other aspiring "fifth network," the WB. All the major networks have experienced a ratings decline this fall vs. 1997, but dropping from a relatively low base to begin with has made UPN's results appear especially dismal. Even the new sitcom The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer failed to prompt curiosity among viewers, despite generating an inordinate amount of media attention and debate after protests by African American groups.
Having already canceled the new drama Mercy Point, UPN pulled Desmond Pfeiffer, opting instead to air the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie twice Mondays through the November sweeps. A network spokesman said the Pfeiffer show hasn't been canceled, however. Based on UPN's initial performance, some within the television industry are wondering if the 4-year-old network tried to go too far too fast and whether its parent companies -- Viacom's Paramount Pictures and Chris-Craft Industries -- will lose patience and bail out on the venture entirely.
"This is just not working," says one veteran television agent. Analysts forecast that UPN -- facing higher programming costs resulting from the five-night expansion and relatively flat advertising revenues -- will lose nearly $200 million this year. The network has lacked the sort of signature programs the WB has developed with Dawson's Creek, 7th Heaven and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or the focus that network has achieved by targeting teen-agers and young adults. "They need to find their own voice, and I don't know that they have yet," says Deana Myers, an associate analyst at Paul Kagan Associates, a media industry market research firm.
UPN officials say they knew adding nights while tossing out much of their existing programming represented a challenge, and they understand it may take time to capture viewers' attention in the current media environment. Still, UPN President Dean Valentine cites WB's success -- as well as the breakthroughs even cable networks have scored with programs such as Comedy Central's South Park -- as proof UPN can quickly turn things around with the right programs. "It's all about having a hit show," he says, adding in regard to the current lineup, "Either the marketing fell short, or the programs did, or both." In fact, UPN called its producers to apologize after their season premieres, blaming the network's marketing for the poor premiere results.
Paramount Television Group Chairman Kerry McCluggage expresses his faith in UPN, saying growing pains were anticipated given the shift in programming philosophy, as the network began "trying to turn the ship around." Valentine notes that even in the face of major losses, building a new enterprise at this point doesn't involve the enormous investment a studio would have to make in order to acquire one of the elder networks.
"As difficult as this road is to start a network from scratch, it makes a lot more sense than buying what are clearly declining assets," Valentine says, referring to audience erosion at the major networks, which, except for NBC, are losing money from their network operations. The WB and UPN, which have smaller staffs, cost far less to maintain than the better-established networks. UPN remains hopeful that viewers will gradually find some of its existing shows, citing the potential of the Monday comedy Guys Like Us, the sci-fi concept 7 Days and the family Western Legacy. The network also has high hopes for an animated version of the popular comic strip Dilbert, which will premiere early next year.
(Thanks Holly)
PFEIFFER REALLY, REALLY, REALLY DEAD - Nov 6
From E! Online
by Joal Ryan
America won't have Desmond Pfeiffer to kick around anymore.
The controversial Civil War-era sitcom -- full, unwieldy name of The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer -- finally has been put out of its misery (and ours).
UPN confirms it has shut down production on the alleged comedy series and (surprise!) has no plans to return it to the schedule, reports say.
It was a fitful, brief life for the sitcom. It premiered just last month--October 5, to be exact. By last week, it was being benched for the November sweeps.
And, now, the other shoe drops--right on its thick head. When the November sweeps end, Desmond Pfeiffer won't return. Ever.
The cancellation isn't likely to prompt many tears. The series was panned by critics, ignored by viewers, dropped by sponsors and reviled by activists who charged that it made light of slavery.
Not a really enviable combo there.
In other UPN news:
Good news for UPN! Ratings for America's Greatest Pets, its cat-terrific new Tuesday night show, were up a tenth of a point over last week's debut -- all the way up to a 1.6.
Bad news for UPN! It broke its own record for the lowest-rated primetime half-hour in history with a cable-esque 0.81 Monday night for subway cop show DiResta.
P-FEIFFER P-FAILS - Nov 6
From ShowBIZData
Email: news@showbizdata.com
UPN confirmed Thursday that it has pulled the plug on The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, which had been the target of black activists who claimed that slavery was not a fit subject for comedy. The show, which never was able to attract an audience, had been pulled off the air for the November sweeps. But on Thursday, according to today's (Friday) Daily Variety, UPN shut down production. Sources told the trade paper that the show will not return to the network's schedule.
(Thanks Mary Ann)
DEANO DUMPS DESMOND'S DIARY - Nov 6
From Yahoo! News Entertainment Headlines
UPN closes book on flailing 'Pfeiffer'
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - UPN has officially pulled the plug on The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, a controversial sitcom set in the Lincoln White House.
The short-lived and low-rated Paramount-produced comedy had drawn the ire of black activists and the Los Angeles City Council, and UPN pulled the show off the air for the November sweeps. On Thursday, UPN sources confirmed that production has ceased and the show will not return to the schedule.
(Thanks Laura)
UPN'S LOW RATINGS DON'T RUFFLE REDSTONE - Nov 5
From New York Post
By John Elsen
UPN boss Dean Valentine has Sumner Redstone's support.
The fledgling network's ratings have dropped significantly so far this season.
But Redstone, whose Viacom owns half the network, believes that Valentine can still turn things around.
Redstone also plans to stand behind the struggling network, which by one account is losing some $80 million a year in its fourth season.
Yes, it's a gamble, Redstone said. We think it's going to pay off.
In the week ended Nov. 1, UPN came in last among the top six networks, with a 2 rating. Rival WB, owned by Time Warner and Tribune, got a 3.2 rating and a 5 share. One ratings point represents 994,000 homes.
While UPN has a strong franchise with Star Trek, it hasn't produced much else in the way of hits. And this season, the network aired the much vilified The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, which has since been yanked.
But things are changing, Redstone said.
In the past, Viacom didn't control programming, its partner Chris-Craft did. Now that Viacom and Valentine are in charge, things should turn around.
Valentine's studio chief, Jonathan Dolgen, concurred.
We feel very good about Dean, Dolgen said. The network underwent substantial changes in the last year, he added, replacing most of its programming while going from three to five days a week.
The ratings have been inching up, several nights are doing better, and the network will be adding the animated show Dilbert, he said.
Would we all have preferred that the '98-'99 season started better? Guess, he said.
Edward Hatch, a media analyst at S.G. Cowen, predicted recently that Viacom will give Valentine two years to turn things around, but Dolgen said there is no such timetable.
Redstone said he'd much rather take the risk of investing modestly in UPN than paying a fortune to buy one of the available broadcast networks - CBS and NBC. The Viacom chief said he had zero interest in acquiring either of them.
The only difference between the networks, he said, is what's on it. If Paramount had sold its hot shows to UPN, UPN would be NBC, he said.
Redstone said that before Viacom called the shots at UPN, the network turned down some hot Paramount shows later picked up by others. Among those was Charmed, which went to rival WB.
Redstone said he saw Time Warner Chairman Gerald Levin recently and told him, Don't count on this in the future.
(Thanks Holly)
PRESS REPORT ON FILMING OF SENTINEL, TOO - PART TWO - Nov 1
The following appeared as front page news in the community paper in Crescent
Beach, south of Vancouver, which was transformed into the Yucatan to film scenes
for Sentinel, Too - Part Two. Spoilers for that episode ahead. Read at
your own risk. The "NOW" Community - Oct 21
Crescent Beach
by Doug Alexander
BULLETS FLY AS THE SENTINEL COMES TO TOWN
Three-minute sequence takes hours to shoot
The search for the bad guy has led them to a seaside Yucatan village. The four sit on the small cafe patio, a red umbrella shielding them from the harsh Mexican sun.
"Are you telling me you decided to come here without consulting anyone?" Simon Banks barks angrily at the woman across from him. Megan, an Aussie cop who followed the trio to Mexico, defends her actions. But she's interrupted by trouble.
Detective Jim Ellison (Richard Burgi) a "sentinel" who possesses heightened senses, spots an armoured vehicle tearing along the beach.
"Look out everybody, get down," he shouts.
The four race for cover as bullets spray the patio.
"The characters are attacked by the armoured personnel carrier," says location manager Craig Forrest. "They'll escape in the nick of time."
In reality this is the Semiahmoo Peninsula, not the Yucatan. And this three-minute sequence has taken hours to film at Crescent Beach.
"We only shoot three to four minutes a day of usable footage," Forrest explains.
A crew of 70 from Paramount's The Sentinel TV series converted Crescent Beach into a Yucatan town Monday for Yesterday's shoot. Raf's has become Tio Raf's, disguised by gaudy plastic fringes, pinatas and colourful signs advertising Margaritas, bebidas and pescado. The Charlon Building is the rustic El Mercado Yucatan.
Tropical plants - the pots carefully concealed - line the end of Beecher Street. Giant reflective screens, props and three movie cameras will make this season-opener of The Sentinel's fourth year as convincing as possible.
This episode has the protagonists hunting down an evil "sentinel" - who also has super senses - in Mexico. The film crew was blessed by sunny skies. Work on the set however, still goes on at glacial speed. And even this episode's director, Tony Westman, appears frustrated.
"We're going to be shooting in the dark," he comments to his assistant after a disappointing cut.
The crew has been here since 6 a.m. They expect to finish in the evening. Most of the time is spent setting up and waiting.
"Hurry up and wait," Forrest says. It's like a mantra.
This action sequence involves an armoured vehicle crashing through Raf's patio while fake bullets tear through the crowd. The vehicle charges down Beecher Street, smashing a car and terrorizing everyone in its path.
Some of the scenes can only be shot once: Three cameras shooting different angles ensure they've got something usable. Their biggest blessing has been the weather.
"We are extremely lucky to have the sun, that sells it," Forrest says, adding that they'd have to shoot rain or shine.
"The actors even had lines referring to a great hurricane to make it work."