An Upfront Week Unlike any Other

By TV / Video Download Archives
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For the first time in the almost 20 years that I have been covering the broadcast networks’ Upfront week presentations, the question on everyone’s mind is not, what shows will be on the networks’ fall schedules, but, how will they present this information to advertisers and the press?

Tellingly, interest in the fates of on-the-bubble-shows seems almost negligible, though a low level of buzz has begun to build on behalf of CBS’ freshman vampire drama Moonlight. Meantime, there is much talk about three new projects: J.J. Abrams’ Fringe and Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, both for Fox, and a continuation of the Nineties hit 90210 for The CW. But pilots for these shows have not even been shot, and as we learn year after year, big buzz for projects from acclaimed creators of series television (including Abrams and Whedon) does not necessarily translate to big hits.

Indeed, the traditionally celebratory atmosphere of Upfront week is heavy this year with a general sense of concern for the future of broadcast television – a concern that was not nearly as palpable in May 2007. Certainly, broadcast (more than reality rich cable) has come under attack from all sides in recent months, sustaining massive financial losses because of the Writers Guild of America strike and the current recession while suffering significant ratings erosion for even the strongest series that have returned from strike-induced interruptions for brief runs during the May sweeps.  On that note, I would like to remind everyone that many of the brightest broadcast series of the 2006-07 season (including Heroes, Jericho, Ugly Betty and even American Idol) suffered ratings losses last year at this time, with no strike to blame. I placed the responsibility last spring on the standard late-winter, multi-week preemptions for most shows and the shift ahead by four weeks of daylight savings time. I believe that the early arrival of daylight savings time has also had a negative impact this year.)

Water-cooler talk these days is also unforgiving. Somehow, in this problematic post-strike period, the act of watching television programs on television has been made to seem uncool when compared to watching television programs online. Last year you weren’t cool if you didn’t own a plasma or LCD flat screen television. Next year you’ll be a loser if you haven’t prepared your home for the big digital television switch. But this year, it seems, you shouldn’t even admit to watching television on a television at all, or at least not as much of it as you may have previously enjoyed, unless it is a significant live event like the Super Bowl.

It is worth noting that this Upfront season has brought with it increased involvement from tantalizing online entities. Two weeks ago today, Warner Bros. announced that The WB would return this summer as an advertiser-supported online television viewing destination, complete with original Web series. (How long will it be, I wonder, before TheWB.com mounts an Upfront presentation at New York City’s Sheraton Hotel, home of The WB’s much-missed presentations during the network’s peak years?) Hulu, the television Web site owned by NBC Universal and News Corp., is hosting a party tonight. It will follow the NBC Universal Experience, the NBC event that is kicking off Upfront week but is not intended as a traditional Upfront event. It has been described as a showcase for all of the networks and digital platforms within NBC Universal, especially its cable networks and digital media.

NBC actually kicked off the Upfront during the first week of April, with a series of advertiser meetings in several cities and a small but effective press conference in New York, referred to collectively as an Infront.  NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman didn’t simply announce details of the network’s Fall 2008 schedule. Instead, he ambitiously laid on the table his plans for 65 weeks of programming beginning later this month.

Advance word these past weeks has indicated that the networks are stripping down and streamlining their 2008 Upfront presentations, the lone exception being Fox, which survived the impact of the WGA strike (and the subsequent forced removal of 24 from its schedule) largely because of its popular reality fare, especially American Idol (which is still the strongest and most profitable series on television even if it, too, is presently losing viewers). Coming at the end of so low-key an Upfront week, Fox with its presentation and party on Thursday should serve to remind everyone of what broadcast television is and can be. In the most dramatic Upfront down-sizing, The CW (which just down-sized its schedule as well, partnering with the independent film, television and digital studio Media Rights Capital to program its Sunday nights) has transitioned from a large event at Madison Square Garden to cocktails and a presentation of some kind under a tent at Lincoln Center. (The intimacy of this environment could actually work to The CW’s advantage.)

I have to believe that ABC and CBS (and The CW) this week are not going to sit back and let anyone else steam-roll over them. Surely they will find ways to make their Upfront audiences of advertisers and journalists feel good about what they each have to offer heading into the new season – one that hopefully will not be compromised by a strike by members of the Screen Actors Guild (another dark cloud currently hanging over the business). I am confident they will do so.

Perhaps sensing that the broadcasters are vulnerable, at least where perception is concerned, Turner Networks, which usually schedules its Upfront event well in advance of the broadcast networks, will aggressively plow into Upfront week with a large presentation on Wednesday morning. MTV Networks, which did not produce an Upfront show last year, mounted an exciting event last Thursday afternoon. Look for more cable networks (and online entities) to move into or adjacent to Upfront week if the broadcasters determine that they will continue to reduce or eliminate their presentations in the years to come.

 
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