CBS and The CW Come on Strong at the Upfronts - Ed Martin - MediaBizBlogger

CBS once again emerged as the class act of Upfront weekAfter a brief stumble in 2008 when the network stripped its presentation down to nearABC proportions and cancelled its traditional afterparty the No 1 broadcaster was back in fine form last Wednesday informing and entertaining its audience of advertisers and journalists at Carnegie Hall in grand style It also revived its postpresentation party in a new locale the nightclub Terminal 5 which wasn39t nearly as conducive to relaxed conversation as longtime CBS hot spot Tavern on the Green but we don39t need to complain about such things while the recession continues to compromise so many treasured media traditions Other networks settle for simply announcing their schedules introducing new series and discussing the ways in which they want to do business with media buyers and planners CBS does all of these things but it also effectively reinforces its position of industry leadership and the value of its brand in a strategically upbeat mannerA network39s Upfront presentation is the one opportunity it has during the year to put everything out there and demonstrate to advertisers why they should want to buy time on its schedule At the same time it can thank those advertisers for their business during the previous season gear them up for the season to come and send out a first wave of publicity and promotion for its future programming through the dozens of journalists scattered throughout the audience CBS this year fired on all fronts filling Carnegie Hall with energy and enthusiasm and certainly getting the most for its Upfront presentation dollarThere wasn39t a misstep or a missed opportunity from start to finish beginning with brief but memorable remarks by CBS Corporation President and CEO Leslie Moonves who brushed aside broadcast doomsayers by declaring quotDespite what you may have heard flat is not the new up At CBS up is the only upquot He then took a shot at certain CBS competitors by adding quotThere39s a difference between the model being broken and not being able to find any hit shows for yearsquot Moonves set the tone for the show that followed which seemed as much a celebration as a presentation Established network stars Simon Baker The Mentalist Laurence Fishburne CSI Crime Scene Investigation and Neil Patrick Harris How I Met Your Mother and network newcomer LL Cool J from the NCIS spinoff NCIS Los Angeles appeared on stage to excitingly promote their shows bringing out the best in CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler or was it the effortlessly outgoing Tassler who brought out the best in them LL Cool J let fly with a performance of his classic Mama Said Knock You Out that shook the floor and had the audience on its feet hands in the air waving like kids at an American Idol tapingIt didn39t hurt that the new shows CBS unveiled looked to be developed and scheduled not simply as companion series to those already on the network39s air but as programs of strong interest to the CBS audience Final judgments cannot be made until complete episodes are screened but the clips shown on that dazzling highdef screen suspended above the stage suggest that the network will have two instant winners in the legal drama The Good Wife starring Juliana Margulies and the NCIS spinoff The sitcom Accidentally on Purpose would seem to be compatible with the comedies it will join on Monday night though I don39t think its star Jenna Elfman is as hugely popular as the network thinks she is Conversely relative newcomer Alex O39Loughlin late of Moonlight and most recently seen in an unforgettable guest turn on Criminal Minds would appear to be as popular as any veteran television star but the series CBS has crafted for him a medical drama titled Three Rivers looks about as original as Fox39s summertime House clone MentalMeanwhile some of that CBS magic rubbed off on its little halfsibling The CW which also mounted a very effective Upfront show Having returned to its former home in the side theater at Madison Square Garden after a bizarre detour last year to a tent at Lincoln Center that was memorable for its apple martinis and holograms if not its message The CW put on a terrific little presentation that included so many stars from so many of its series that it rivaled celebcentric Fox Indeed The CW opened its presentation with the most effective appearance by any star at any Upfront presentation this year as Ed Westwick of Gossip Girl in character as smarmy young billionaire slimeball Chuck Bass took to the stage and encouraged advertisers to join him in investing in the network quotWe39re going to sow the seeds of this network39s delectable fruitquot he said quotThere is no doubt The CW is a must buy I39ll bet my ascot on itquotCW Entertainment president Dawn Ostroff sometimes looked like a kid playing with a new toy as she repeatedly slid her hand across a monitor to her right that controlled graphics on a larger screen to her left but she made clear the network39s mandate to attract empowered young women The parade of pretty young stars across the stage did much to reinforce the network39s potential Referencing The CW39s target demo Ostroff advised quotYour brand is no longer what you say it is amp8211 it39s what they say it isquotThat39s somewhat sad but in The CW39s case it39s totally true Accordingly the network has jettisoned virtually every program on its schedule that does not target chatty wired selfinvolved young females WWE wrestling AfricanAmerican comedies Jericho reruns and replaced them with such likely girlmagnets as The Vampire Diaries based on the books about a teen in love with two Twilighthandsome vampire brothers The Beautiful Life about young models navigating their industry and a continuation of the longgone and notmissed Beverly Hills 90210 spinoff Melrose Place that includes among its characters the late Sydney Andrews who violently died on screen during a later season of the original show How will they get around that one The CW also unveiled an especially promising drama for midseason titled Parental Discretion AdvisedAll in all it was a simple but strong presentation of a sturdy schedule filled with seemingly solid shows It39s a shame there wasn39t a luncheon afterwards because the younger members of the advertising industry and the consumer journalists in attendance were ready to pounce on all that young CW flesh

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CBS and The CW Come on Strong at the Upfronts - Ed Martin - MediaBizBlogger

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