"We're much larger in the viewers' world than in the advertisers' world. We'd love to have the commercial world catch up with the consumer world."
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When Oxygen was originally launched seven years ago, it was intended to be a multi-platform media company, converging television and online content. Shortly after that launch, however, the Internet crash took the wind out of Oxygen's multi-platform sails and the company quickly re-focused virtually exclusively on television.
'There were good ideas for online that have been on the shelf since then and we've begun reintroducing them," Oxygen Chairman and CEO Gerry Laybourne told me recently at Michael's. "Everyone is promising multi-platform and integration and it's great in concept, but it's all about execution. We have great ideas and we're also looking to do new things that are relevant to engaged, busy and connected young women."
Lisa Gersh, Oxygen president and COO, who joined us at Michael's, pointed out, "women feel good about themselves. They really don't need that much self-help content. They don't want to be preached to." Gerry added, "the Oxygen brand has to be about what young women want. Women want value. On the Internet and wireless, everyone seems to be focused on early adopters and the next thing. Women are typically not early adopters. They want to know how it will help them. We created a profitable independent company run by women when there was tremendous industry consolidation. Cable companies had a big job selling new services to women. They didn't want new cable services just because they're new technologies. It's the same with the Internet."
Over salads at Michael's surrounded by notables including Kerry Kennedy, who lunched with CourtTV executive Henry Schleiff, Jane Friedman, Frank Gifford, Yahoo's Wenda Millard, Diane Taylor and others, Gerry and Lisa outlined several of the innovative plans they have for Oxygen.
With the return of the successful Mo'nique's F.A.T. Chance in July and the premiere last week of The Janice Dickinson's Modeling Agency, Oxygen's summer series are focused on "total women, women who are in control and feel good about themselves," says Lisa. Later this summer, Shannen Doherty's Breaking Up with Shannen will feature insights on breaking up with boyfriends, bosses and others.
"Mo'nique, Janice and Shannen are three truly and totally assertive females," says Gerry, who founded and headed Nickelodeon before launching Oxygen. "Combined with Tyra, Ellen, Oprah and Roseanne they define our network." The three new series all offer robust web opportunities. Oxygen has created an online community of women who identify with the big, beautiful women theme of Mo'nique's F.A.T. Chance, participating in online chats, blogs and interactive features.
For Breaking Up with Shannen, Oxygen is launching a dedicated site, BreakUpGirl.com, which Gerry expects will be the first of many mini-sites under the Oxygen umbrella. "Our re-entry into multi-platform is exciting," she exclaims. "Our voice is right; our programming is right; our new shows are more sure-fire bets."
"We're an undervalued company," Lisa observed. "We have 70 million subscribers with the second highest concentration of women 18 to 49 (behind SOAPnet). We're much larger in the viewers' world than in the advertisers' world. We'd love to have the commercial world catch up with the consumer world. Consumers see us as a strong assertive female network with great programs. From Ellen to Oprah to Janice to movies, we're a full blown network and we'd like our image with advertisers to be more current."
"It's happening," Gerry pointed out. "The trade has a perception that's hard to change but in the past eight months, consumer perceptions have begun to infiltrate the advertising community." She explains that Campus Ladies (executive producer Cheryl Hines) was so well reviewed and recognized, and I had a chance to stand up and talk about it. Breaking Up… is our highest testing show. It feels like we're in a really good place with viewers and we have a very broad base of advertisers."
Lisa announced Oxygen Media is in discussions with several multi-brand advertisers "who want to do truly differentiated things targeting young women. We're also looking for a couple of agency partners who are flexible and want to work with us on big deals. We're a company that was built on partnerships and we have an incredible team." Oxygen was funded originally by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, Oprah Winfrey, Carsey Warner Mandabach Productions and America Online. Several cable operators sit on Oxygen's Board of Directors.
Gerry's son Sam was married in May and her daughter Emy is expecting a second grandchild for Gerry and husband Kit. Sam is a writer on the Fox series The Loop, and was a writer on Arrested Development. "We're the only new network in the past five years to grow beyond 60 million subscribers," she shares over coffee. "We tried to do too much seven years ago and we learned a lot. We've had a disciplined singular focus on television and a stripped down website, but now we're becoming a full multi-platform media company. To be a relevant and important brand for young women we need to be where they are, and they're using the Internet. We'll be working out our content and we'll try a bunch of things, see what works, and evolve."
To contact Gerry Laybourne, Lisa Gersh or Oxygen Media, e-mail contact@mediavillage.com.