MARKETING - World Radio History · 6/11/1990 · Vir ce (witf, peacocks). THE BUSINESS OF...

re Shock for Independents?Keeping Orion in the Hunt

a-q

NBC's John Miler andVir ce (witf, peacocks).

THE BUSINESS OF rr'-'4UNICATIONS JUNE 11, 1990

MARKETING

MANIANew marketing chiefJohn Miller has atough job - protectingNBC's first -place perch.With low-key promomaven Vince Manzi,Miller is overhaulingthe network's pitch.

Holy movie lineup!

Ask people from Gotham City to Los Angeles

what they want most from a premium cable

service, and tell you it's Simply the Best

movies - and lots of them. This year, Batman

sits atop the strongest roster of movies ever to

hit HICK.. perhaps ever to hit cable. A list that

includes the popular box office hits Lethal

Weapon 2, Steal Magnolias, Black Rain, Look

Who's Talking and The Fabulous Baker Boys,

to name a few.

This powerhouse of big -movie muscle from

your dynamic Farther in pay is the best way to

beef up your raster of new subscribers, while

remaining a hero to those you already serve.

0Simply The Best

'Exclusive titles are exclu,ve on national pay-cable television to HBO and/or Cinemax during Me tern of tteir license Barman TMs d 019890 C Comics. Inc 01990 Home Box Office, Inc All rights reserved ® Service mark of Home Box Office. Inc

CHANNELSTHE BUSINESS OF COMMUNICATIONS

VOLUME 10, NUMBER 8

FEATURES

COMPANIES

>BACK IN THE HUNT

JUNE 11, 1990

22Orion has always been known more for movies than television. The chairman of Orion

Television Entertainment, Gary Nardino, and his team have something to prove.BY ALEX BEN BLOCK

INDEPENDENT TV

k -WHAT'S AN INDIE TO Do?Is there a future for Fox -free independents? While some plan to stick to the tried and

true, others eye an indie-to-come heavily laden with original programming.BY ELIZABETH JENSEN

COVERSTORY

IN FOCUS: CHANGING TV'S IMAGE

MILLER GOES TO MARKET

28

31John Miller's appointment to the newly created position of executive vice president

of marketing signals NBC's recognition that things have changed.BY NEAL KOCH

-HOIVEE TO BOOSTPlaying to the local community's strengths spells success for marketers

at cable systems in California, Florida, Iowa and Mississippi.BY RICHARD KATZ

-MARKETING LIKE A FoxIt takes more than accepting the Fox feed to turn anindependent station into a successful Fox affiliate.

BY FRANK SOMMERFIELD

34

36

OPERATIONS

SALES 16No Kidding With KidvidMix cartoons with Costa Rican rain forest and you've got anupdated twist on the kids club concept. TV stations in New Yorkand Boston attract advertisers by appealing to their corporateconsciences BY JACK LOFRJS

DEPARTMENTS

EDITOR'S NOTE 4REPORTS 10Comic books turn to TV . . . New Orleans stations havea sales boom in sight . . . War in Orange County.

WHAT'S ON 14A monthly calendar.

WASHINGTON 18Big Three TurnaroundThe broadcast networks are finally righting past wrongs onCapitol Hill. BY PENNY PAGANO

RUNNING THE NUMBERS 40What's Hot and What's NotA look at the demographics media buyers want most.

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID STRICIVONYX

2 CHANNELS /JUNE 11, 1990

THE CABLE INDUSTRY HAS ALREADY

SOLVED ONE IMAGE PROBLEM. NOW ITS

TIME WE SOLVED ANOTHER.

We got rid of the static on TV. Now let's get rid of the static from cable bashers who accuse ourindustry of being "anti -consumer"

How? By pointing to CNBC.CNBC was created as a champion for consumers. Everyday, CNBC offers in-depth information on

topics such as health, family, finance and buying power. With shows like "The Consumer Survival Special"that aired during National Consumers Week, CNBC addresses the issues consumerscare about most.

So the next time someone calls you " anti -consumer," call their attention to CNBC. CFor information call Caroline Vanderlip, VP Affiliate Relations, at (201) 585-6425. Consumer News & Business Channel

cc, 1990 CNBC. A joint venture of NBC and Cablevision Systems.

EDITOR'S NOTE

ARE YOURECEIVINGCHANNELS

ON THEDOUBLE?

You should bereceiving two issuesof CHANNELS every

month, except inJuly and August.

If you're not, pleaselet us know.

Call 1-800-346-0085,extension #202.

CI-MINN/EIS

The Hard SellThe plight of NBC's John Miller sounds like the setup to one of those "weshould all have such troubles" tales. Miller is charged with marketing thenumber -one network to its viewers, advertisers and affiliates. Two years

ago that would have seemed a perfectly effortless task. With The Cosby Show,Family Ties, Cheers, L.A. Law and other shows at the peak of their power,NBC's sales department could have borrowed a pitch from Honda: They had theshows that sold themselves. But now Family Ties is gone, Cosby appears to haveforfeited the top ratings spot to ABC's Roseanne, and Cheers heads into eachnew season with the cast making noises that it may be the last.

Without new hits to juice up its audience, NBC is watching its ratings base growolder and smaller. That's where Miller comes in. Until Brandon Tartikoff and hisprogrammers come up with the next Cosby, Miller must work his magic to bringnew viewers back to NBC's old programs, and convince advertisers to stick withits diminishing but still dominant audience. Our cover story this month goesinside the NBC marketing machine, with Miller at the controls and veteran pro-motion man Vmce Manzi (that's him with the peacocks on the front) taking overthe network's on -air efforts.

The NBC story is part of this month's "In Focus" special section, timed for theupcoming meeting of the Broadcast Promotion and Marketing Executives(BPME) in Las Vegas. Elsewhere in the section we detail the delicate process of"Foxification" (Fox's term) at stations that for years carefully crafted an image oflocal independence-relying on movies, sports, off -network sitcoms-and nowfind themselves part-time affiliates. We also take a look at the state of local cablepromotion, and report back on some systems that are raising standards for a seg-ment of the TV industry not known for distinguished local marketing efforts.

At Channels, coverage of trends in marketing and promotion, whether at televi-sion stations, networks, or cable systems, is a central part of every issue. In fact,the most recent addition to the Channels staff, senior editor Andrew Grossman,will be spending most of his time reporting on television marketing and promo-tion. Andy was most recently at Cable World, where he reported on cable pro-gramming, marketing and advertising, and before that he was a syndicationreporter with Multichannel News. Andy joins assistant editor Richard Katz, whobegan covering marketing for us last year, in writing our Marketing & Promotioncolumn and tracking down marketing stories from every corner of the business.

Rounding out our local coverage is senior editor Steven Beschloss, who joinedChannels late last year from Crain's New York Business. In addition to reportingon the broadcast networks from New York, Steve has taken over our Market Eyedepartment, which focuses on a single local TV market and its unique competitiveenvironment.

These editors, and the rest of the Channels editorial team, are committed tofinding stories-in marketing and promotion, sales, research, local news-thatuncover new ways of doing business in television.

Jra-- YA-

InternationalElectronic Cinema Festival

Tokyo -Montreux 1990November 5-9, 1990

Tokyo, Japan

SECOND CALL FOR ENTRIES

The festival is a competitive event exhibiting new worksproduced or postproduced using high -definition televisiontechnology. Theatrical and Television productions can be

submitted in the following categories:

dramas news and documentaries sports and events music, variety, light entertainment commercial advertising and

promotional announcements applications for science, education

and libraries of still pictures

An International Nomination Committee has been formedto pre-screen all entrants. The International Jury will be

composed of distinguished leaders in the film and televisionindustries who will determine Festival awards and citations.

ENTRY DEADLINE - JUNE 30, 1990

The following items are required for entry:

a completed entry form list of credits plot summary in English

Please send the above information to:

INTERNATIONAL ELECTRONIC CINEMA FESTIVAL 1990

P.O. Box 97CH -1820 Montreux

SwitzerlandTel: 41-21-963-32-20Fax: 41-21-963-78-95

To obtain an entry form contact:(212) 688-5429

CHANNELS

Editor -in -ChiefJOHN FLINN

Managing EditorMARK SCHONE

Senior EditorsSTEVEN BESCHLOSS, ANDREW GROSSMANNEAL KOCH (West Coast), JANET STILSON

Assistant EditorsMICHAEL BURGI, RICHARD KATZ

Washington EditorPENNY PAGANOContributing Editors

JOHN F. BERRY, ALEX BEN BLOCKDAVID BOLLIER, CECILIA CAPUZZI

L.J. DAVIS, MERYL GORDONWILLIAM A. HENRY III, DAVID LACHENBRUCH

MICHAEL POLLANJAY ROSEN, HARVEY D. SHAPIRO

ADAM SNYDER, JAMES TRAUBInterns

DAVID KASDAN, MATTHEW NATALE

Art DirectorSUE NG

Assistant Art DirectorDAVID SPERANZA

Photo ResearchLAURIE WINFREY/CAROUSEL INC.

PublisherJOEL A. BERGER

Advertising Sales ManagersNELDA H. CHAMBERS, ISAAC DANNER JR.

RICHARD J. PETRALIAAdvertising Services ManagerJEANMARIE McFADDEN

Assistant to the PublisherJACQUELINE ALTAMOREAdvertising Sales Assistants

JULIE HARRIS, STACEY ROSOFFPromotion Manager

SANDI EZELL

Production ManagerRACHEL COHEN

Advertising Sales OfficesNew York: 401 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016,212-545-5100; Fax 212-696-4215, West Coast: 19725 Sher-man Way, Suite 380, Canoga Park, CA 91306, 818-709-9816;

Fax 818-709-5314

ACT III PUBLISHINGPresident

PAUL DAVID SCHAEFFERChief Operating OfficerROBERT C. GARDNER

Senior Vice President & Group Publisher,Media & Television Groups

DAVID PERSSONSenior Vice President,Operations & Planning

MARTHA A. LORINIVice President, Finance & Administration

SAM SCHECTERDirector of Marketing & Communications

JENNIFER WAREDirector of Circulation

STEPHEN F. WIGGINTONDirector of Manufacturing

CRAIG C. BALICK

CHANNELS The Business of Communications (ISSN0895-643X) is published twice monthly except monthly in July andAugust by C.C. Publishing LP, an affiliate of Act III Publishing, 401Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016. Second class postage paidNew York, NY and additional mailing offices. Volume 10, Number 8,June 11, 1990. Copyright 1990 by C.C. Publishing Inc. All rightsreserved. Subscriptions: $65 per year; all foreign countries add $18.Please address all subscription mail to CHANNELS TheBusiness of Communications, Subscription ServiceDept., P.O. Box 6438, Duluth, MN 55806, or call 218-723-9202. Postmaster: Send address changes to CHANNELS, TheBusiness of Communications, Subscription Services Dept., P.O. Box6438, Duluth, MN 55806. Editorial and business offices: 401Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016; 212-545-5100.Unsolicited manuscripts cannot be considered or returnedunless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed enve-lope. No part of this magazine may be repro-duced in any form without written consent.

iSSeDDIP ul-

ApetumNiompuin

UP umAluo mop I J1

1990 ELP Commun..leen,. All Rights Reserved.

MARRIED

The face of television has changed.

Columbia Pictures TelevisionA min n1C olmribia Picturvs F.nlertamrnent. Inc

The

non-network

'off-network"com

edy.

11111REPORTS11111Comic -book HeroesDrafted for TV

But who will play The Silver Surfer?

It was inevitable. First Bat-man, now Dick Traey-howlong could it take before

network television began theserious task of plunderingcomic -book history?

Sure, Batman had alreadylaunched an illustrious small -screen career before Holly-wood made him a mega -moviestar. Superman had done thesame years earlier. Yet in abusiness that rides on tidalwaves, television is about tolaunch a flood of comic -bookspinoffs with flesh -and -bloodactors.

CBS has signed up for a two-hour pilot of The Flash, andABC bought a one -hour pilotbased on The Human Target.NBC last month aired a two-hour live -action made -forbased on characters fromArchie Comics. Both CBS andNBC have committed toscripts for other projects.

It would be a mistake to sim-ply give the credit-or theblame-to the networks inthese cases. Because in a clearillustration of-yes-synergy,each of these deals are theoutcome of the combinedresources of Warner Bros.Television, Lorimar Televisionand D.C. Comics, all of whichare divisions of superpowerTime Warner Inc.

Norman Stephens, v.p. ofdramatic development atWarner Bros. TV, says thattwo years ago, prior to therelease of Batman, he metwith writers Danny Bilson andPaul DeMeo, who insisted thatBatman was going to create a"revolution." Stephens wastaken by their thinking andcommissioned a script draw-ing on several D.C. super-heroes, including The GreenArrow, Dr. Occult and TheFlash.

CBS bought the project, butby the time it got to KimLeMasters, then president of

divvied up the properties.Lorimar is developing twoscripts, Justice League ofAmerica for NBC and SuicideSquad for CBS, while WarnerBros. has pursued The HumanTarget, The Flash and TheGreen Arrow.

"We like the group, A -Team -

The comics version of The Flash: synergized for the small screen.

CBS Entertainment, Batmanhad opened and LeMastersopted for a series based on asingle character, The Flash.

That project only greasedthe cogs within Warner Com-munications, Stephens notes.After D.C. Comics presidentJenette Kahn assigned herstaff last year to write one -page synopses of more than 50D.C. Comics characters, exec-utives at Warner and Lorimar

type heroes," says LeslieMoonves, Lorimar executivev.p. of creative affairs."Warner Bros. went for themore individual ones."

In the post -Batman era,Stephens is reluctant to pushtoo many of these heroes onthe American public. "Wehave to be careful how wemanage these resources," hesays. There's always the nextwave. STEVEN BESCHLOSS

WWL Sale May MeanA Local Ad Boon

Nonprofit status kept everybody poor.

The New Orleans market,buffeted in recent years bya slew of TV station sales

and rep -firm switches, is aboutto be hit with the most signifi-cant change yet.

Television executives at BigEasy stations predict the mar-ket's deflated TV economycould eventually be lifted bythe sale of CBS affiliate WWL-TV, whose ratings routinely

leave the competition coughingin the dust.

Three other stations havechanged owners in the pastthree years. But "when theWWL sale goes through, it willbe the single most importantthing that's happened in themarketplace in some time,"says John Carpenter, v.p. andgeneral manager of NBC -affili-ate WDSU-TV, which was pur-

chased by Pulitzer Broadcast-ing last December.

WWL is able to save millionsof dollars each year because itsownership by the RomanCatholic Church's Loyola Uni-versity of the South gives itspecial tax exemptions. Histori-cally, much of that money hasbeen plowed back into the sta-tion. But the station's liberalspending on talent and equip-ment is likely to be curbed notonly by the loss of the taxexemption, but by a hefty debtload for the new owners, saysPhilip Nye, president and gen-eral manager of the BurnhamBroadcasting -owned ABC affil-iate, WVUE. "That will makethe playing field a little morelevel," he adds.

Two groups have spent thespring vying for ownership ofLoyola's station: a WWL man-agement group called RampartOperating Partnership and ledby the station's general man-ager, J. Michael Early, and aminority group, United Com-munications, founded by a for-mer New Orleans mayor.The WWL executives in-

WDSU's John Carpenter.

volved in the buyout contendthat no big cutbacks are antici-pated. But Nye maintains,"They can't continue to out-man our news department-and WDSU's-two to one.And they won't be able to con-tinue buying three of everynew piece of equipment thatcomes out."

WWL's competitors say thatthe station's big spending is amajor reason for the wide gapbetween WWL's ratings andeveryone else's. In February,WWL had a 32 share sign -on tosign -off, more than the two

0

10 CHANNELS / JUNE 11, 1990

0

MIIIIREPORTS11111111other network affiliates com-bined. That gap, in turn, hashelped keep down advertisingrates, as the lower -rated sta-tions slashed prices to attractcustomers. For example,according to TV rep sources,national spot rates in NewOrleans, the 36th ranked U.S.market, are 25 percent less thanCincinnati, which ranks 30th.

WWL's director of sales, Jim-mie Phillips, disputes the viewthat her station's wide lead isthe cause of deflated rates. 'Wecan only push so hard," shesays. "If I go [to advertisers]with a cost per point of $100 inlate news, and everybody elsegoes in at $50, what are buyersgoing to do? WWL is theleader, but the other stationsneed to follow." JANET STILSON

Adding CableTo the Arsenal

Lawrence M. Higby, a for-mer fast-food marketer,may be an unlikely general

in a news war, but he's never-theless on the front lines.

The battlefield: California'saffluent Orange County. Theadversaries: the giant TimesMirror Co., publisher of TheLos Angeles Times, and Free-dom Newspapers Inc., pub-lisher of The Orange CountyRegister, which outsells theTimes among the 2 million res-idents of Orange County. Theweapons: news programming,and what the rivals see as anuntapped marketing resourcein cable TV

Higby, who joined the Times'Orange County edition as pres-ident in February 1989 fromTimes Mirror Cable, where hewas senior v.p. of marketing,programming and sales, isused to scrapes. An intense 44 -year -old, he was known for histenacity in the Nixon WhiteHouse, where he served as anaide to H.R. Haldeman.

To win the latest skirmish, hehas struck an alliance withWalt Disney Company'sKCAL -TV similar to dealsbetween TV stations and cablesystems elsewhere in the coun-try. Since April, KCAL and theTimes have been producing alocal news show for two of the

region's 17 cable systems. Inaddition, subscribers to thosetwo systems-Times Mirror -owned Dimension Cable andComcast Cablevision-whopay for a monthly cable TVmagazine now get a weeklyversion in Sunday's Times.Since March, 18,000 cable cus-tomers have become Timessubscribers.

Higby kept the Times' moveunder wraps while Freedom let

it be known it was planning a24 -hour cable news service, setto begin in September.Higby's preemptive strike wasbred by his bosses' frustrationthat their considerable invest-ment in Orange County-$15million over two years, on topof typical operating costs,spent on promotions and a dou-bling of edit staff-failed toboost circulation. "The issueswere beyond editorial," Higby

says. "They are marketing andpromotional issues, and that'swhy I'm down there."

Prior to his stint at TimesMirror Cable, Higby had beena marketing chief for PepsiCo'sTaco Bell chain and presidentof America's Pharmacy, a unitof Caremark. "I love the chal-lenge of competitive market-ing," Higby says. He musthave a huge crush on OrangeCounty. ANDREA ADELSON

MB BROADCAST...YOUR LINKTO THE WORLD

Transmission services for program dis-tribution and remote origination. Two vitalservices in today's world of broadcasting...whether full-time or occasional, make yourlink with IDB.

IDB owns and operates major interna-tional gateway teleports serving both the At-lantic and Pacific Ocean Regions and thelargest fleet of transportable and fly -awayearth stations in the world. IDB also controls16 transponders on 6 satellites.

IDB is the largest US provider of inter-national television transmission services...including all of the major US networks and agrowing number internationally. When doingremotes, IDB also provides connectivity forprivate phone, fax and computer links.

Full-time transmissions are monitored

end -to -end 24 hours a day from IDB's Video

Control Centers. Remotes are tightly con-trolled by trained and experienced person-nel on the job around the clock... readyto re-

spond to your needs.

IDB Broadcast the source fortele-

vision transmission services worldwide!

IDB BROADCASTA DIVISION OF IDS COMMUNICATIONS GROUP. INC

10525 W. Washington Blvd.Culver City, CA 90232(213) 870-9000TELEX: 277458 IDB UR

:111111101111 9

RemoteWorld wide Via Program Private PhoneTransmission Satellite Origination DistributionOrigination Fax/ComputerServices & Fiber Ark_

CHANNELS / JUNE 11, 1990 11

eRAND THEk)/

HE ERSONS

ProducedBy

AMBLINTELEVISION

In Association With

UNIVERSALTELEVISION

FOXTELEVISIONSTATIONS

Thesemarkets,

representingover 70% of

the U.S., havecommitted to the

weekly barter andcash strip runsof this situation

comedy based on thehit family movie.

1111

icpr,oNew YorkLos AngelesChicago PhiladelphiaBoston Washington, D.C.Detroit Dallas/Ft. WorthCleveland Houston SeattleMiami Pittsburgh St. LouisSacramento BaltimoreHartford San Diego OrlandoPortland Milwaukee CincinnatiKansas City Nashville MemphisBuffalo Salt Lake City San AntonioNorfolk Harrisburg LouisvilleWilkes Barre/Scranton AlbuquerqueDayton Charleston/HuntingtonAlbany, NY Little Rock MobileShreveport Greensboro Richmond DistributedGreen Bay Rochester Huntsville exclusively by

Tri-Cities Waco El Paso Ft. SmithCorpus Christi Charleston, SC M CA WSanta Barbara TallahasseeEugene Palm Springs Jackson First i first run.

1390 MCA TV. All Rights Reserved.

Production confirmed for72 half-hours.Premiering January '91.

WHAT'S ON

Women OnThe Wire

BY RICHARD KATZ

JUNE 10-13: The Broadcast Promotion &Marketing Executives association rolls intoBally's Hotel in Vegas for its 35th annual con-ference in conjunction with the BroadcastDesigners' Association. The opening keynotespeaker this year is Howard Stringer, presi-dent of CBS Broadcast Group. McAdory Lip-scomb Jr., senior vice president, corporateaffairs for Showtime Networks, will presentthe cable keynote address on the theme of pro-motion at the local level. "For the past fewyears the networks have done the majority ofthe promotion," says Lispcomb, "and we're notgoing to continue to have the financial where-withal to drive all the marketing that needs totake place. The cable operators at the systemlevel will have to step forward and consistentlyfund and orchestrate promotion at the DMAlevel." Lipscomb's message may fall largely ondeaf ears: BPME wants to attract more cablemembers, but currently only 146 of its 2,000members work in cable.

JUNE 15: Women in Cable finishes up itsthird annual membership drive today. The2,000 member organization's goal is toincrease the presence and influence ofwomen in the industry. "Management is notgoing to reach down anymore and pull upthat white Anglo-Saxon male for their man-agement roles," says WIC spokespersonChristine Kane. "They're going to be pul-ling up women who are capable for thosepositions. That's where our membership fitsin-to help the industry understand thatwomen are going to be playing an increasingrole and to prepare those women for thoseroles." According to an FCC report, womenmade up 34.5 percent of cable's managersand 87.8 percent of its clerical workers in1988. Home Shopping Network sponsoredthe membership drive, donating 20 stereosystems and two visual telephones as prizesfor the top recruiters.

JUNE 18: Network and syndication develop-ment executives might do well to swoop downon the students in UCLA Extension's "Pro-ducing the Game Show: From First Pitch toDaytime." The six -week class, taught byABC's director of daytime development, BobBoden, ends today. "The game show is anextremely specialized form," says Boden, agame -show fanatic since childhood. In his col-

were covered with game -show tickets. "Itrequires great understanding of what hasgone on in the past, how they've changed,what elements make them work and how tocreate maximum participation of the homeviewer. Only a handful of packagers have theability to create, mount and produce an ideafrom scratch."

JULY 1: The Broadcast Financial Manage-ment Association, another organization insearch of a cable constituency, celebrates its30th birthday by changing its name to theBroadcastCable Financial ManagementAssociation. BCFM president Philip Gior-dano, president of radio station -owner AprilBroadcasting, explains that a fresh name andattitude will attract new members to the orga-nization while providing a much -needed serviceto the cable industry. "In its inception, cablewanted to [be] unorganized when it came tofinances in order to keep the government away,for growth purposes," says Giordano. "Nowthat it's a maturing business, we're going toprovide cable with resources that will helpthem with things like accounting and opera-tions guidelines." Giordano believes the recentelection of three cable executives to the board,Lifetime Cable's Philip La Greca, CoxCable's Don Sepe and ESPN's ChristineDriessen, will greatly increase cable member-ship. Cablers currently account for only 65 ofthe organization's 1,270 members.

JUNE CALENDAR

June 14-16: "Fundamentals ofCable Accounting andBudgeting," cable man-agement program, spon-sored by Women in Cableand the University ofDenver. University ofDenver campus, Denver.Contact: Nancy Ring,(312) 661-1700.

June 14-17: Missouri Broad-casters Associationannual spring meeting.Rock Lane Lodge, Bran-son, Mo. Contact: TedGriffm, (314) 636-6692.

June 21-24: Society of CableTV Engineers' Cable -Tech Expo '90. NashvilleConvention Center,Nashville, Tenn. Contact:Anna Riker, (215) 363-6888.

June 21-24: North CarolinaAssociation of Broadcast-ers summer meeting.Elbow Beach Hotel,Bermuda. Contact: LauraRidgeway, (919) 821-7300.

June 21-24: 20th conference onbroadcast meteorology,sponsored by AmericanMeteorological Society.Clarion Harvest House,Boulder, Colo. Contact:Evelyn Mazur, (617) 227-2425.


Is LocalAdvertising

Becoming anIssue After Issue?

Winning over local newspaper advertiserscan be an important new source of revenue foryour television station. The Local MultimediaReport is a new tool to help you target news-paper advertising dollars and move theminto television.

With the Local Multimedia Report, you canidentify which advertisers are concentratingtheir buys in newspaper, how much they'respending and when they advertise. Using trendsprovided in the Report, you can time your salesproposal to get to advertisers before they make

their media plans.The Local Multimedia Report is just one

more example of the Arbitron commitment tothe business of local market television. So whenyou want local market tools that solve localmarket problems, turn to the champion who'sbeen at it since 1949. Contact your local Arbitronrepresentative for answers to the issues.

ARBITRCINThe Local Market Champion

SALES

No KiddingWith Kidvid

Stations use kids clubs with a message tolure sponsors in New York and Boston.

BY JACK LOFTUS

Most kids would be satisfied with anew bike, a day at the ballparkor maybe a ride on a fire truck.Earth Day may have added a

new dimension to things that turn kidson, as Fox -owned WNYW-TV in NewYork discovered when it started handingout chunks of rain forest. What the kidsget is honorary ownership of an acre ofCosta Rican rain forest, an offer that'sattracted several thousand youngsters toChannel 5's "How to Save the Earth"contest. The station gets publicity, mem-berships and sponsorships for an elabo-rate-and profitable-Kids Club cam-paign, one similar to others that arecapturing the imagination of stationsand advertisers across the country.

The concept isn't new. Stations, mostlyindependents, have had mixed resultspromoting kids clubs for cartoon blocks,sort of a "value-added" sales gimmickfor advertisers. As the TV businessbecomes more marketing -driven, how-ever, stations find that high-minded,high -profile kids clubs closely allied withpopular issues attract big bucks fromimage -conscious advertisers. The chil-dren get in free.

Child World put up just under $700,000for a year's sponsorship on WNYW, andsomewhat less than that for the WLVI-TV Kids Club in Boston. Fox's New Yorkoutlet claims to have signed up morethan 100,000 children and to have cov-ered its 1990 costs, not including airtime,of about $600,000 with one advertiser.The Gannett indie in Boston, which has a$350,000 nut to crack, signed on lastFebruary, two months after WNYW, andhas five sponsors: McDonald's, ChildWorld, The Mass. Bowling Association,Roller Kingdom and Boston Edison.

Ken Zuckerman, director of children'smarketing for WLVI, won't divulge howmuch these advertisers are paying forKids Club sponsorship packages, butsays 26,000 kids have signed up.

Zuckerman calls his a "clean" kidsclub, meaning no hard -sell commercialsinside the locally produced short takesthat are sprinkled throughout the after-noon kidvid schedule. "We know whenwe're inside a Kids Club segment thatchildren's attention is much morefocused," says Zuckerman, "so we havean extra responsibility not to place com-mercials inside these blocks." The 15- to60 -second vignettes concern health, edu-cation, safety and the environment andusually tout such venerable Boston insti-

WNYW's D.J. Kat hosts "The Fox 5 Kids Club."

tutions as the public library, the zoo,museums, hospitals and schools.

WLVI launched its membership drivelast February by papering the marketwith almost a million membership appli-cations. Club sponsor Child Worldslipped the Kids Club applications intoits Washington's Birthday newspaperinserts. Zuckerman hired a Boston -based database company, DMT, and anad agency, Cohn Thompson McKayCommunications, to coordinate theclub's huge print needs: the membershippackage, mailing and fulfillment. "Thebiggest mistake most stations make,"says Zuckerman, "is trying to handle allof the member recruiting and fulfillmentin-house under the guise of savingmoney. What usually results is that aninundated promotion manager or salesassistant ends up with hundreds ofunfilled member applications."That must be the way Teresa

Matthews felt at WNYW The executiveproducer and her staff of three havebeen working round the clock sincelaunching the Kids Club last Christmas."Finally, it's starting to run itself," saysMatthews, adding that the station, whichsent out more than 3 million applica-tions, came close to overextending itself.

The New York and Boston stationsboth build their kids clubs around eventsthey create. WNYW is sponsoring fourmajor events a year, including "BalloonDay" at the Brooklyn Children'sMuseum this summer. The station alsoarranged tie-ins with the Ice Capadesand the Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bai-ley Circus at Madison Square Garden,and hired the band New Kids on theBlock to boost the club.

The stations are also alike in their pur-suit of exclusive spon-sorships. WNYW'smost expensive pack-age-$800,000-includes 260 30 -secondspots for the year,including six spots aweek in the 2 F:M. to 7P.M. slot, billboards,customized vignettes,coupons and contests."We can packagesponsorships any waythe client wishes," saysJoanne Cini, WNYW'slocal sales manager.It's more expensive toproduce, she adds, butit's the kind of incen-tive image -consciousadvertisers want.

Jack Loftus is the for-mer editor of MarketShares.


Afrer 73 years, S

mirnoff

Votlia returns to

the Mother

CO

M-

try.B

e -o -e theR

Lssian Revolution,

it wzs the country's

favorite

vodka, selling am

illion bottles a

day. Today, it's becom

ingthe

U.S

.5..ks leading imported

vodl a. consideringS

mirnoff's

heritzve,that's not surprising.

Sc. if ,'ou find yourself toasting

the stir t of Glasnost, you

know

the real spirit 1-ochoose.

Sn rnoff.

TH

E W

OR

LD

SR

EIG

NIN

G V

OD

KA

.

WASHINGTON

Big ThreeTurnaround

After years of blunders with lawmakers, thebroadcast networks have hired some smarts.

BY PENNY PAGANO

In 1983, when the battle over thefinancial interest and syndicationrules (finsyn) was in full swing, Mar-tin Franks was working on Capitol

Hill for the Democratic CongressionalCampaign Committee headed by then -Rep. Tony Coelho (D -Calif.). Not faraway, Mark MacCarthy followed com-munications issues for Rep. John Dingell(D -Mich.).

These were key jobs for both youngmen, with Franks working closely withcongressmen on campaign and financingstrategies, and MacCarthy point man forthe powerful chairman of the HouseEnergy and Commerce Committee.

From their insiders' perspectives, oneof the phenomena Franks and Mac-Carthy observed was something thatothers around them had noted-thethree broadcast TV networks weren'texactly beloved on Capitol Hill. In fact,the networks were viewed largely asenclaves of arrogant media moguls,whose top executives loathed making theone -hour flight to Washington, avoidedpersonal contact with members ofCongress and often treated Hifi stafferswith an air of condescension.

Time and technology have substan-tially altered the TV landscape Franksand MacCarthy knew in the early '80s,changing the size of network audiences,the number of competitors the BigThree face, and the level of confidencewith which the networks predict theirfuture. ABC, CBS, and NBC have allchanged owners. In Washington, theperception of the networks has alsochanged-for the better. So has theirpolitical savvy. Today, both Franks andMacCarthy head network offices inWashington. "They've really done a

turnaround," one political observer saysof the networks.

The changes haven't gone unnoticed bynetwork foes, including the major Holly-wood studios, whose representativesconcede that the creative community iscurrently very much on the defensive.

How the Big Three function in Wash-ington reflects a number

of factors, includingthe changing TVmarketplaceas well as a new

political sensitiv-ity at the

networks,

and the selectionof bright, politi-cally astute insid-ers to run theiroffices here.

CBS head Larry Tisch reached outsidethe company's ranks in 1989 to hireFranks to preach his network's gospel.Franks had left Capitol Hill only a yearearlier to join the lobbying firm ofCharles E. Walker Associates, where herepresented CBS.

"They never had anyone like Franksbefore," says one broadcast executive.Franks, who graduated from Princetonin 1972 with a B.A. in politics, spentseven years working in the Senate,including a job as an administrativeassistant to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)from 1977-79. During the 1980 presiden-tial election Franks worked as national

research and issues director for theCarter/Mondale campaign.

For the next six years, Franks wasexecutive director of the DemocraticCongressional Campaign Committeeheaded by Rep. Coelho. Their success inrunning the DCCC later helped electCoelho to the position of Democraticwhip, the third ranking leadership slot inthe House of Representatives.

Coelho, now director and chief operat-ing officer at Wertheim Schroder Invest-ment Services in New York, givesFranks high marks for his loyalty andhis ability to get things done. "Not onlyis Marty smart intellectually, but he'sstreet smart," Coelho says. "He knowshow to strategize and knows what needsto be put on the table to reach a decision.And he's not afraid to let others shine inorder to get something accomplished."

Coelho notes that aside from lobbying,one important function of the networks'Washington offices is obtaining informa-tion about issues, attitudes and possiblelegislative concerns before theirtelecommunications competitors do, andhe says Franks has that ability.

Franks' years on Capitol Hill and inpolitical campaigns have earned himmyriad valuable contacts. "Marty is onewho believes in networking, and he has atremendous network," Coelho adds.

At ABC, Mark MacCarthy recentlyreplaced longtime network veteranEugene Cowen as vice president, Wash-ington. MacCarthy, who has a B.A. inEnglish and philosophy from FordhamUniversity, a master's in economics fromNotre Dame and a Ph.D. in philosophyfrom Indiana University, taught at NotreDame (1976-78) before coming to Wash-ington to work as an economist at theOccupational Safety and Health Admin-istration. In 1981 he joined the staff ofthe House Energy and Commerce Com-mittee, where he handled communica-tions policy issues for Rep. Dingell. Hewas appointed ABC's vice president,government affairs, in September 1988.

"He's a bright, nice guy who is rela-tively low-key," says a former colleagueon the House Commerce Committee.MacCarthy still has close ties to Dingelland other House members. "He has agood sense of the political temperatureon Capitol Hill," added his colleague."He won't let things get out of hand."

Like Franks, MacCarthy has had toadjust to the changes that come withworking on and then off Capitol Hill."The difference is that when you are onthe Hill, you are a decision -maker or anadviser to a decision -maker. Now youare someone trying to persuade thosedecision -makers or their advisers. Thatis a fundamental shift."

MacCarthy and Franks' counterpart at


NBC is Robert D. Hynes Jr., vice presi-dent, Washington, who joined the net-work as director of government relationsin 1972. In June 1981 he became vicepresident, legislative liaison, and in 1983was appointed vice president of NBC'sgovernment relations office.

Hynes also cut his political teeth onCapitol Hill. From 1964 to 1972 he wasminority counsel for the House RulesCommittee. Hynes graduated from theUniversity of Cincinnati with a degree inhistory and political science, and also hasa law degree from the university. Hetook a three-month leave from NBC in1973 to serve as counsel to Gerald Fordduring his vice presidential confirmationhearing.

CBS's man in Washington, Martin Franks.

All three men are personable, shun-ning the aloofness and arrogance thattypified network attitudes in the pastand still exists among some broadcasterstoday. But the networks are also per-ceived differently in Washington becauseof the style in which their new top man-agements operate-businessmen awareof issues, including regulatory concerns,important to their corporate bottomlines. "At all three networks you havemanagement that is savvier about Wash-ington," Franks says.

That translates into more frequenttrips to the capital by network chiefs,including personal visits to members onCapitol Hill and meetings with commit-tee staffs. "In the old days the networkswere a lot more impressed with them-selves. But what they forgot was thatwhile you might win the battle, you alsohave an enemy for life," says one Hillstaffer.

Management changes aside, the net-works can also argue convincingly thattheir future no longer seems guaranteed.A tougher business climate means addedsupport for the network's position thatunless regulatory constraints are lifted,

free over -the -air television is in peril."It's fairly hard to ignore what has

happened in terms of declining audi-ences," says one network executive."Perhaps there is a dawning of recogni-tion that the government policy that reg-ulates broadcasters and cable, as well asbroadcasters and Hollywood, may bedistorting the network business."

Also in the networks' favor today is thefact that a good deal of the animosityonce directed toward them has beentransferred to cable. With mounting con-stituent complaints about cable ratesand service, and numerous proposals tochange the 1984 Cable Act, Congresshas intensified its scrutiny of cable-thenetworks might have benefited in com-parison even with their old attitudes.

Nevertheless, lawmakers continue toexpress concerns on a variety of issues,ranging from violence on television tocampaign financing. And among thelessons that the networks have learnedin dealing with Washington is that a visitfrom the folks back home to their repre-sentative on Capitol Hill is an effectivelobbying tool.

As a result, the networks have workedto convince the owners and managers oftheir local affiliates to help convinceCongress. With a vested interest in thequality of programming from their dis-tributors-the networks-the affiliatesare increasing their visibility in thenation's capital.

"In this changing competitive market-place that broadcasters find themselvesin today, the interests of the affiliatesand the networks are together on manymajor issues," says NBC's Hynes. "Weare working more closely together thanever before because the free over -the -airbroadcast system is threatened."

Now, as controversies such as finsynhave come to the forefront, the networksare better positioned to present theircase to Congress and to the regulatoryagencies. "The last time [finsyn was onthe agenda] the networks hadn't donetheir homework. This time they have,"says one opponent.

Nor does it hurt matters that the threenetwork CEOs seem to get along witheach other, as do the trio who run thenetwork offices in Washington.

"We're a pretty convivial group," saysCBS's Franks. When people see him andother network lobbyists together onCapitol Hill, he says, they don't alwaysrealize how fiercely the three networkscompete with each other.

"We frequently joke that we are theonly people among network companieswho talk to each other," says Franks.

Penny Pagano is Channels' Washingtoneditor.

ABOUTTOWN

radio and tele-vision stations in

Eastern Europe need thehelp and expertise ofAmerican broadcasters toimprove their program-ming and facilities, saysJohn H. Hoagland Jr.,editor -in -chief of radioand television broad-casting for The ChristianScience Monitor in Bos-ton. Hoagland served ona special U.S. StateDepartment task forcethat spent ten days thisspring visiting Hungary,Czechoslovakia, Romaniaand East Germany.

In addition to discover-ing an urgent need foreplace 20 -year -oldbroadcasting equip-ment -40 -year -oldequipment in the case ofRomania-the task forcefound many state broad-casters to be "poor, ill -trained, dramaticallyoverstaffed, badly orga-nized, ill-equipped anduninformed."

At a recent conferencesponsored by the Centerfor Strategic & Interna-tional Studies, "EasternEurope: Playing Catch-upBall in Communications,"Hoagland said the needsrange from tape editingand a supply of pro-gramming to newsgath-ering and setting upfield units.

"What it needs is theproper soil in which togrow," Hoagland says ofEastern European radioand TV, adding, "There isso much that can be donein a short time."


THE NFL ON TNI

MO' MORE

NFL PRE -SEASON NFL REGULAR SEASON Sunday, October 7th: Los Angeles Raiders at-

Buffalo Bills (7:30 pm)

Sunday, August 19th: Minnesota Vikings Sunday, September 9th: Philadelphia Eagles @ New Sunday, October 14th: Los Angeles Rams @ ChicagoCleveland Browns (8pm) YDrk Giants :8pm) Bears (7.30 pm)

Sunday, August 25th: Denver Broncos @ MiamiDolphins (8pm)

Sunday, September 16th: I-ouston Oilers W PittsburghS eelers (8pm)

Thursday, October 18th: New England Patriots 0,Miami Dolphins (8pm)

Sunday, August 31st: Los Angeles Rams @ Sunday, September 23rd: Cetroit Lions @ Tampa Bay Sunday, October 28th: Cincinnati Bengals @ AtlantaWashington Redskins (8pm) Buccaneers (Elpn) Falcons (8pm)

Sunday, September 30th: Washington Redskins a Sunday, November 4th: Denver Broncos iFloenix Cardinals (8pm) Minnesota Vikings (8pm)

COMPANIES

BACK INTHE

HUNTGary Nardino,

who shepherded

Paramount's televi-

sion division for six

successful years in

the '70s and '80s,

wants to turn Orion

Television Enter-

tainment from an

also-ran into a

network and syndi-

cation contender.

By Alex Ben Block

Equal Justice has won critical praise for Orion.

I. Caught in Los Angeles traffic, GaryNardino, chairman and CEO of Orion

Television Entertainment, is late for an inter-view with a reporter. So Gary Randall,Orion's president of television production,uses the time to fill the visitor in on the stu-dio's history in television prior to Nardino'sarrival on the first day of 1989.

Suddenly Nardino storms in, his round,flushed face framed by mussed gray hair andan open -collared shirt covered by a sports

jacket. Apologizing for his lateness, Nardino asks what has beendiscussed.

"We've been doing the years up to this year," says Randall."That's pretty boring," booms Nardino, as he lets out a loud,

whooping laugh, plops his stocky frame into a stuffed chair andprops his feet up on the coffee table in the center of Randall'soffice.

If there is anything Gary Nardino is determined to keep Orionfrom being, it is boring. In less than two years he has shaken thetelevision division from top to bottom and added Entertainmentto the old name, Orion Television. He's set out to turn what hadbeen a low-key operation into a major producer for the net-works, as well as an important television syndication distributor,both domestically and internationally.

But a hectic agenda isn't necessarily a productive one, andOrion still has a long way to go, at least in the eyes of some onWall Street. "If you're going to be a major [Hollywood produc-tion company]," says Lee Isgur, entertainment analyst atPaineWebber in New York, "you've got to be a factor in televi-sion. Orion hasn't proven to be a real factor.... They get a lot ofpublicity. A lot of people take them seriously. But I don't thinkthey deserve the image they're given."

On top of this, Nardino must cope with the uncertainty sur-rounding the company's future ownership, as rumors continueabout a sale by majority stockholder John W Kluge.

Nevertheless, Nardino is out to prove the doubters wrong. Hesays he's finally assembled the elements for Orion to elbow out abigger position in television. Although Nardino's resourcesremain much more limited than those of his major studio com-petitors, he has persuaded tight-fisted Orion to spend moreheavily than it has in the past. An industry veteran, Nardino'salso drawn on 30 years of contacts and connections throughoutHollywood's creative and business communities. And that expe-rience tells him that every move he makes also has to respectone of Orion's most important assets-its reputation for ahands-off approach to the creative process.

Nardino sums it up this way: "I'm here to do business in a stylethat Orion is well-known for doing business: Protect the down-side jeopardy. Accept mitigation of the upside by having a part-ner to cut the downside risk. Try to do business with Orion Tele-vision the way Orion features has so successfully done business."Above all, he stresses, "Even though you may not have a big hit,remember: You have to feed the pipeline."

22 CHANNELS/JUNE 11, 1990

HUGHES COMMUNICATIONS

HUGHESEXCELLENCE

Hughes Communications' satellite replacement program ensures C -band capacity into the 213t century.

At Hughes Communications, we give you themost advanced technology and we back it withthe most comprehensive service available in satel-lite communications.

That's the Hughes commitment to excellence.Our C -band fleet, led by our Galaxy satellites,

has earned a reputation as the premiere cablesatellite system in orbit today. In addition to ourcable and broadcast services, our audio serviceshave taken a leading role in the industry.

Coupling sound engineering with a team ofdedicated professionals, we ensure the quality and

HUGHES

continuity of our customers' transmissions, 24 hoursa day, 365 days a year.

We will provide even further protection for ourGalaxy/Westar customers with the launch later thisyear of Galaxy VI, our in -orbit satellite spare. Infact, long after the turn of the century, we will con-tinue to deliver the level of excellence in satellitecommunications services that our customers havecome to expect of us.

Hughes Communications. Our commitment toexcellence will continue to make ideas happen-well into the 21st century.

WE MAKE IDEAS HAPPEN.'

HUGHESSubsidiary of GM Hughes Electronics For more information. call Hughes Communications, (213) 607-4128

COMMUNICATIONS11111111tr

Nardino remains bothered by accusations that development was in such a sad statewhen he left Paramount Television in '83 that the company went into a long slump.

But there also appears to be a personal agenda fitting into themix. Nardino has a past, as do others at the top of Orion's televi-sion team. For his part, Nardino remains haunted by critics whocharge that when he quit as head of Paramount Television in1983 with five shows on the air, he left such poor developmentthat Paramount went into a prolonged slump.

Nardino also has selected as senior executives a few otherindustry veterans with something to prove. Robert King, a for-mer King World and Columbia Pictures TV executive hired byNardino last year to head Orion's syndication division, won't dis-cuss why he left King World, where his brothers, Roger andMichael, have gone on to continued success without him. JosephIndelli, hired last year by New York -based King to be his num-ber two, based on the West Coast, has experience at MGM,Metromedia and Columbia Pictures. But shortly before Orionhired him, he had been fired from his post as head of syndicationat faltering MTM Productions.

Founded in 1982 by five former United Artists executives whowanted to run their own show, Orion is known primarily as amovie company, producing and distributing quality films, such asOscar -winner Amadeus, and a handful of popular box-office hits,including Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield. It's a placewhere Woody Allen, Jonathan Demme and other filmmakersmake their home amid a feeling of creative support.

Along the way Orion slipped into television with the 1983 pur-chase of Filmways, a small, independent B -movie and televisionproduction and distribution company. Orion wanted Filmways,put on the block because it ran into financial difficulty, for itsfilm distribution arm. Along for the ride came Filmways' televi-sion division, and its head, Richard M. Rosenbloom. Suddenly,Orion was in the television business.

Under the Orion banner, Rosenbloom quietly built a new repu-

tation for his division as a modest maker ofquality longform dramas and series, much ofit based on what was originally a Filmwaysshow, Cagney & Lacey. It remains probablyOrion's best-known television property.

The television division also had some successin syndication, in particular with a half-hourversion of Saturday Night Live reruns andseveral incarnations of Hollywood Squares.The sales department, however, seemed toexist primarily to maximize the value ofOrion's annual movie package.

As the 1980s came to a close, it was becom-ing clear that Orion couldn't remain justanother medium-sized TV supplier: In thesyndication area, one or two successes wereno longer enough to secure good time periodson stations' schedules. The rapid growth inthe number of independent stations, a majorcontributor to the health of the syndicationmarket, had come to an abrupt end. Prices forall but the hottest shows were falling. Compa-nies needed more deficit funding to keep net-work shows on the air at the same time thathour programs like Cagney & Lacey weren'tselling in syndication. And the big studioswere using their muscle to package blocks ofprogramming in syndication, filling what timeperiods were left. International business wasabout to explode, but that was an area whereOrion was traditionally weak, since it didn'thave its own overseas sales force.

Thus, in 1988, with Cagney & Lacey off CBSand Orion confined mainly to CBS late nightwith Adderly, Orion opted to replace Rosen-bloom with a more dynamic, higher -profileexecutive. They wanted someone who had run

a major studio operation and could make Orion a bigger player.The first step was to seek counsel. One of the company's found-

ing partners, Morris "Mike" Medavoy, the only member ofOrion's top management based on the West Coast, had dinnerwith Bud Grant, the former president of CBS Entertainment,now a producer. Medavoy asked Grant what his advice would beif Orion were to make a big effort in TV Grant told him that thefirst thing he should do is hire Gary Nardino, the former head ofParamount Television and then a producer on that studio's lot.

Robert King (left) headsOrion's syndicationdivision; Gary Randall

(right) is president oftelevision production.

As it turned out, Nardino and Medavoy had once workedtogether at the same talent agency.

The next day Medavoy called Nardino. They met that after-noon. "Every company is made up of its manpower," saysMedavoy, who recently left Orion to head movie production atColumbia Pictures Entertainment's Tri-Star Pictures unit."Gary Nardino is one great piece of manpower."

Nardino built the biggest part of his reputation runningParamount's television division with considerable success from1978 to 1983. Marty Nadler, a producer working on Laverne andShirley during the Nardino era at Paramount, recalls Nardinoas someone willing to champion his creative people, both withinthe studio and at the networks. "He can be a yeller and ascreamer, but if you yell back with logic he responds and lis-

80

24 CHANNELS/ JUNE 11, 1990

HUGHES COMMUNICATIONS

HUGHESSERVICE

c 1990 Hughes CommunIcahons

`1111111111111111-11

V!ZTM

=Ms resiniumento

With the launch of SBS-6, Hughes Communications will ensure Ku -band capacity into the 21st century.

Hughes Communications means satellite ser-vice that's right for your business. No matter whatyou need. Or when you need it.

Private satellite network owners entrust theircommunications to our SBS fleet of Ku -band satel-lites. They know they can count on Hughes for reli-able interactive data, voice, and video services. Andthe launch of SBS-6 later this year will reaffirm ourdedication to meeting increased customer demandfor Ku -band satellite communications.

SBS-6 will expand our capacity for businessnetworks. Additionally, SBS-6 will enable us to inau-gurate services targeted to satellite newsgathering

HUGHES

(SNG) and the occasional use video markets. Theseservices feature a customized transponder reserva-tion system that allows customers to respond to fast -breaking news and special events, quickly and effi-ciently, with more availability and less contentionduring peak periods.

Our mandate is to provide unsurpassed satel-lite communications. That's why Hughes' team ofexperts continuously monitors the entire Ku -bandfleet to ensure quality transmission around theclock. That's service you can count on.

Hughes Communications. We have the servicesto make ideas happen-well into the 21st century.

Subsidiary of GM Hughes Electronics For more information, call Hughes Communications, 1-800-232-8728

WE MAKE IDEAS HAPPEN®

HUGHESCOMMUNICATIONS

lawn

tens," Nadler says of the ex -New Yorker. "He can be emotionaland intimidating, but at the same time once he realizes that youhave a good point, he'll back off and embrace you."

Burned out after six years at the top-an unusually long run inHollywood-Nardino left the executive suite and settled intoproducing. His most successful show was Brothers, which origi-nally aired on Showtime and is now in syndication.

When he agreed to join Orion, Nardino received a quick andbrutal education in the new realities of a marketplace more pres-sure -filled than the one he faced during his days runningParamount's operation. In his first full programming year, Orionfailed to sell any new shows to the networks (for the 1989-90 sea-son-Equal Justice for ABC, already in development, was soldfor midseason). Then two game shows Nardino developed forfirst -run, Name That Tune and Divorce Wars, fell short of suffi-cient clearances in time periods acceptable to Orion and wereaborted.

A first -run show in development when Nardino arrived atOrion, Crimewatch Tonight, did stumble into the market butwas yanked in less than a year due to low ratings and unhappi-ness at stations that felt Orion wasn't doing enough to make theshow a success.

Gary Randall insists Crimewatch never had time or space togrow in a market crowded with established programs like Cur-rent Affair and Entertainment Tonight. "Tocompare a brand new show that's just startingto get its legs to a show that's been on the airfor three years, backed by a studio that'spumping enormous amounts of money into itbecause of its success," says Randall, "moreoften than not it will pale by comparison."

The real killer, however, was the unexpecteddemise of The New Hollywood Squares. Itsfate drove home all the reasons why Nardinohas only a short time to pump Orion up tomajor status. After two relatively successfulyears in syndication, Hollywood Squares wassqueezed out of so many good time periodsthis past winter that Orion had no choice butto cancel the show. Nardino says, with moreapparent respect than anger, that from hispoint of view, "It was destroyed by[Paramount head of syndication sales] LucieSalhany's superior ability to get those stations[to buy Paramount shows]. They just went inand killed us in New York and elsewhere."

After all, he knows how the game is played:A syndicator with powerhouse programs, suchas Paramount with the new Star Trek, Enter-tainment Tonight, Arsenio Hall and off -net-work hits like Cheers, can package them withnew programs and demand the best availabletime slots and stations even for its weakerofferings. For now, all Nardino can say is,"We'll come back with Hollywood Squaresagain in a couple of years."

Hanging on to what he's got, Nardino's headof syndication sales, King, says he's already atwork on a revival of the game show. "We defi-nitely plan to bring it back," insists King.Among game shows, Hollywood Squares,King adds, "is one of the very few formatsproven to work."

For January 1991's National Association ofTelevision Program Executives convention,Orion plans to offer two new first -run five-day -a -week programs to start the followingSeptember. Nardino says one will be a talkand variety show hosted by a high -profile starprimarily associated with television, whom hedeclined to name. "Even now," says Nardino,

"we are bribing this major personality with bags of gold, deliv-ered to all different places in the world." He declined to discussthe second show at all, saying details were still being hammeredout.

While they're stoking Orion's first -run production, Nardinoand Randall have employed a two -pronged approach to crank upOrion's network output. To get off to a fast start, Nardino cutdeals with experienced producers with network commitments.Such deals include Pirates for ABC, from producer DavidBurke; a six -episode commitment by CBS for a half-hour com-edy from Robert Townsend; a one -hour pilot for NBC from pro-ducer Don Ohlmeyer; and a two-hour pilot for NBC about adetective named Parker Cane, the first television project fromfilm producer Joel Silver (Die Hard, Predator, 48 Hours).

Silver was being chased by several distributors, but choseOrion, says a Silver associate, because of past dealings withNardino at Paramount. "Joel really likes Gary, and it was thatrelationship and their pure enthusiasm for the project and theirappreciation of the kind of movies Joel makes that made thisdeal," says Barry Josephberg, senior vice president of produc-tion at Silver Pictures.

Another potentially important outside deal with producerPatrick Hasburgh was also the result of a Nardino connection.Mark Ovitz (brother of Creative Artists Agency head Michael

ORION'S NEW STARAn important element in theevolution of Orion as it triesto grow into a major televi-

sion studio has been the develop-ment of an international sales unit.Until earlier this year, Orion mademost of its foreign television salesthrough its overseas movie salesdivision, licensing sub -distributors inmost countries around the globe.

This past March, Orion created anew, separatedivision, OrionTelevisionInternational."It recognizesthe increase intelevision activ-ity overseaswith the priva-tization ofmany channelsand more chan-

nels coming on," says Eric Pleskow,president of Orion Pictures Corp. "Itis a business now coming into itsown."

It also recognized the success ofJohn Laing, 34, who joined Orion inFebruary 1989 from the interna-tional TV sales division of WarnerBros. "Television [overseas sales]was kind of a side issue at Orion,"says Laing. "It had grown naturally,not because anyone aggressivelymarketed the products."

Laing quickly changed that, andwas named president of the newdivision in March. As contracts

John Laing

expired, he eliminated outsideagents by attrition. "Client -distribu-tor logistics just aren't the samethrough an agent," says Laing. "Hewants the inside scoop from the com-pany. He can't get it from an agent."

Laing, who speaks five languages,began circling the globe, selling toindividual clients and at every TVtrade show. He crossed the Atlantic18 times in his first year.

As a result, according to a companysource, revenues from internationalTV sales have tripled in one year.While that recognizes the growth ofthe market, it also reflects a greatincrease in Orion's activity.

As revenues increased, Laingbegan adding staff. Along with sell-ing library product, they began tofocus on Equal Justice, which hasnow been sold in just over 40 othercountries for initial airing early in1991.Laing is also peddling the ani-

mated version of Bill and Ted'sExcellent Adventure, which beginsits U.S. run this fall on CBS. Heexpects to see the amount of producthe has to sell increase dramaticallynow that Gary Nardino is gearing upfor greater ouput.

More shows will mean more inter-national revenue, and if all goes well,vice versa. "As we get bigger," saysLaing, "the income to the companywill increase and we expect that willlead to a substantially larger TVslate."


Originally a Filmways product, Cagney &Lacey is still probably Orion's best-known television property.

Ovitz), chief executive officer of Hasburgh's new company, wasan assistant to Nardino at Paramount Television. Hasburgh, whodeveloped The A -Team, 21 Jump Street and other shows whileworking for Stephen J. Cannell, had gone out on his own twoyears ago and quickly gotten commitments from ABC, CBS andFox. He had a first -look deal with Disney, but Disney passed onhis first two shows, Sunset Beat for ABC and Glory Years forFox. When it came time to start bargaining seriously with otherproduction companies, Ovitz began with a call to his old mentor,Nardino.

Negotiating is where Nardino is at his best, alternatingbetween charm and intimidation. When Ovitz called, Nardinodidn't just say that Orion would be interested, he said he wantedto start negotiating immediately, asking only one pre-condi-tion-assurance from Ovitz and Hasburgh that they would nottalk to anyone else until Orion had had its chance. That effec-tively blocked out all other competitors while Orion made its ini-tial deal, which Hasburgh accepted.

As it turned out, despite considerable hype, Sunset Beat wascanceled by ABC after only one airing. A few remainingepisodes will be burned off during the summer, but it is dead asfar as the syndication market goes. Gary Randall notes thatOrion still has Glory Years, for which Fox has already orderedthe pilot and five episodes likely to begin airing this month.

Even with the disappointment of Sunset Beat, Orion has anumber of possibilities for September or mid -season. Shows indevelopment include: Tin Man, from writer/producer LarryHertzog; WIOU, a situation comedy to be coproduced withGrant Tinker's company; and a pair of shows from producerWinifred Hervey-Stallworth, Coppers and Five Up, Two Down.There are also pilots ordered under development deals with LeeMajors, Chuck Norris and Cleavon Little. Set to begin airing onSaturday mornings starting September 15 is an animated ver-sion of the Orion surprise hit movie, Bill and Ted's ExcellentAdventure. It will be produced by Hanna -Barbera and NelsonEntertainment for eventual syndication by Orion.

More than any other program since Cagney & Lacey, EqualJustice, which began airing on ABC this spring, is the kind ofshow that could be the key to a successful Nardino reign atOrion. Critics praised it, dubbing the show a blue-collar L.A.Law. Sporting an interesting ensemble cast and set in a big -cityprosecutor's office;it is a socially significant drama loaded with

action and character conflict."We clearly pushed it," says Robert Iger, president of ABC

Entertainment. "I think the faith we have in the show and in itscreator, Thomas Carter, was in my opinion illustrated by thekind of promotion we gave it." Carter has an impressive recordas a TV director. Prior to Equal Justice, he had directed ninepilots, all of which made it as series, including Hill Street Bluesand Miami Vice. ABC and Orion were also able to spark manynewspaper features about the show by spotlighting Carter, oneof the few black executives in network television.

The show got off to a good, if not spectacular, start in theweekly ratings, winning its time slot for three out of its first fiveweeks on the air. For the spring season, the show posted an 11rating and 20 share, bettering the performance of China Beachin that show's old Wednesday 10 P.M. time slot during the monthof April.With the heavy dose of drama and action in Equal Justice,

Orion has been able to sell it in more than 40 countries, includingmost of Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. 'We couldnot be functioning without what we are doing in foreign televi-sion distribution," says Nardino.

When Nardino arrived at Orion, international sales were stillan afterthought, run through the overseas movie sales unit.Nardino pushed for a restructuring to create a new division,Orion TV International, headed by Warner Bros. TelevisionInternational veteran John Laing (see box).For all Nardino's efforts, though, some things remain beyond

his control. It has been widely rumored in recent months thatthe majority shareholder in Orion, billionaire John Kluge, chair-man of Metromedia, wants to sell his 70 percent stake in thecompany. Orion had an off-year during 1989 both in movies andtelevision, and remains heavily indebted to banks and bond hold-ers. The assumption inside Orion is that Kluge will make a dealthat keeps the present leadership, including Nardino, in place.But that is far from assured.

Orion Pictures Corp. president Eric Pleskow insists the pend-

Orion's hit feature Bill and Ted'sExcellent Adventure becomesan animated show this fall.

ing sale is having no impact on the company's ability to do busi-ness. 'We run our business," says Pleskow. 'We maximize rev-enues for all shareholders, including Mr. Kluge. That is ourbusiness."

To keep Orion growing, and mindful of last year's poor results,the company recently made a $175 million pre -sale to ColumbiaPictures Entertainment for distribution of its movies to overseastheaters. As a sweetener, Columbia was also given foreign televi-sion rights to certain Orion library titles. "It doesn't affect oneiota our distribution of television, features or series," insistsNardino. "It's stuff [mostly from the old Filmways library] thatwe had out of distribution."

Absent coping with a sale of the company, Nardino's main taskappears to be to make Orion's network production and first -runoperations contenders-if he's to be once again considered acontender himself. Nardino concedes as much. "Build library,"he says. "That's what these jobs are all about."

Alex Ben Block is the author of Outfoxed and the editor -in -chiefof Show Biz News.

CHANNELS/ JUNE 11, 1990 27

INDEPENDENT TV

What'sIndie

To Loo?Losing programs and viewers to Fox affiliates and basiccable, old-fashioned independent stations have some new

ideas about how to save prime time.

Tndependents have thrived foryears counterprogramming thenetworks. Now, with more thanthe Big Three to compete with,the traditional independent-that bastion of rerun theatri-cal movies, old sitcoms, kids

programs, local news and sports-seemspoised to die away. Or does it?

The 140 -odd independent stations in thecountry who haven't joined the Fox hunt,picked up a foreign language, boughtshopping or found religion, must confronta dilemma. Like network affiliates, thesestations are seeing their audience defect,mostly to cable, and mostly it's their ownfault. Independents have not paid atten-tion to counterprogramming cable theway they should. They still think over -the -air when they think competition.

Michael Alexander, executive vice presi-dent and general manager of MCA -ownedWWOR-TV in New York, says the issue iswho owns what programming. Indies arerepeating the Big Three's mistakes.

"In the mid -1970s," recounts Alexander,"the Big Three networks started balkingat paying high license fees for theatrical

By Elizabeth Jensenmovies and began making more made -for -TV movies, but neglected to anticipatethat HBO might provide another outletfor these movies. The studios started sell-ing, and that is what made cable morethan a way to get better reception.

"In the early 1980s, along came basiccable, which struggled for a few years.But then TV stations balked at payingsuch license fees for off -network shows,particularly hours. And that allowed basiccable to start picking up hours, whichreally helped to put the basic channels onthe map, to start eating into networkshares, and get over the hump withadvertisers."

Now, he says, local broadcasters, inde-pendents in particular, are repeating theerror. Basic cable is snatching up theatri-cals, the mainstay of independent primetime, because local stations hesitate topay the prices studios want. "That's onlygoing to make cable stronger, and pro-vides a very difficult problem for localstations," he says.

The loss of movies comes after indepen-dents have seen their sports franchiseseaten away by cable. Local cable outlets

have begun to explore the news business,and sitcoms on basic could be next, com-pleting cable's sweep of erstwhile broad-cast niches.

"If the trend extends to sitcoms, localadvertisers have got to ask the question,`What are they going to program at all?' "says Alexander. With most industry ana-lysts predicting just that-sitcoms onbasic cable-many independents are ask-ing themselves the same question: What'sa non -Fox independent to do?

Their widely varied answers suggest anemerging hybrid independent with a highquotient of original shows. While somestations plan to risk obsolescence andstick with the accustomed independentformula, others plan to mix the usualmovies and sports with a lot more first -run. An unforgiving syndication market-place means many of those original pro-grams will have to come from sourcesother than the traditional syndicator.They'll be developed by station groups,by individual stations for the local mar-ket, in ad -hoc consortia, as foreign copro-ductions; in short, any way that spreadsthe costs around.


Alexander, in fact, argues that stationsshould be looking at first -run for theentire prime -time schedule. "What elseare they going to do? Do what [Disney -owned] KCAL -TV is doing? [A three-hourprime -time local newscast.] It's a littlehard in medium markets, even a littlehard in Los Angeles. In smaller marketsit's downright cost -prohibitive."

To the extent that they've banked onfirst -run for prime -time blocks in thepast, independents have relied mostly onsyndication product, from Paramount'sStar Trek: The Next Generation toWarner's Freddy's Nightmares.

The option is less a possibility thesedays given the shake -out in the syndica-tion business. Time periods just aren'tavailable. Fox now has three nights ofprogramming and has received an FCCwaiver to clear still more. An increasinglycompetitive environment, meanwhile,encourages stations to sit on anythingresembling a hit. The result is a high mor-tality rate for new syndicated launches,and fewer shows to choose from at exactlythe time when independents need moreand better programs.

Local stations, therefore, will have totake responsibility for increasing theirschedule options. WWOR has developedprograms on its own, with as many as 11in development at one time, according toAlexander, "paid for on our own, on spec.And then we hope others will come onboard. If enough participate, it can beaffordable."

The station, both in concert with suchother station groups as United/Chris-Craft and on its own, is working with stu-dios-not just WWOR-parent MCA, butanyone who is willing to finance thedeficit.

"If somebody gets enthusiastic about ashow, or a show concept," it's not difficultto find the money, Alexander says. "Themajor studios are people who are used toputting money up at risk. If you're deficit-ing a couple -hundred -thousand dollars anepisode and you want to make 25 episodesout of the box, that's a $5 million risk.They risk $40 million on a movie now. Soyou're spending $5 million in hopes offinding a hit, and let's say the first fourdon't work. But the fifth one does and youcan get your money back."

For the concept to work, he says, sta-tions must commit to more episodes upfront, rather than the increasingly com-mon network deals for a pilot plus sixepisodes. "If you make 25 out of the box,you save a lot of money, because you canmake talent and other commitments at alesser per -episode cost."

Foreign coproductions, long problematicgiven language barriers and the disparatetastes of different markets, also begin tolook more attractive. "You've started tosee from necessity people opening theirminds more," says James Dowdle, presi-dent of Tribune Broadcasting. This springTribune partnered with West Germany'sBeta Taurus Group on a four-hour minis-eries called Voyage of Terror and has sev-eral more in the works, with a goal of oneper quarter.

"European markets are opening upmore, with more outlets," Dowdle says."Therefore, they cannot be, as we cannotbe, as provincial as we've been in the past.We have to try new things, and give in onsome things that we thought were essen-tial in the past."

Another opportunity for independents

CHANNELS/ JUNE 11, 1990 29

may lie with syndicators looking to com-pensate for the decline of their traditionalbusiness. King World Productions, one ofthe least vulnerable syndicators, has beentalldng to station groups about collaborat-ing on first -run. "We've convinced themthat first -run is the answer, not off -net-work," said COO Stephen Palley in aMarch speech in New York. "They wantthe exclusive franchise."

But the problem, as always, is money. Afirst -run movie for prime time costs $2.5million, if it includes the talent necessaryto make it a foreign sell, a necessity inthese days of back -end driven deals. Inorder to satisfy the syndication bartermarket, according to Palley, the companyhas to find a way to get the per -movie costunder $1 million.

Then there's the option of teaming upwith the competition.

In April, Tribune signed a ten-year"cooperative production venture" withbasic cable's Turner Broadcasting Sys-tem. In addition to a CNN affiliation forthe six Tribune stations, the deal includedjoint ventures on documentaries, quar-terly news specials and two miniseriesper year, for airing on Tribune's stationsand TBS SuperStation.

Consorting with the enemy?"You might look at it that way,"says Dowdle. "But I can seemore of that down the line,because of the cost factor. The

more you can spread that cost out, thebetter it is for everybody concerned," andthat includes cable, he says. Despitedeeper pockets than before, cable is alsofinding first -run cost -prohibitive. "Themore first -run they do, they have to lookfor partnerships, too, to spread the win-dows out."

What few in the industry are heardarguing for is a full-fledged fifth network.A fifth network stands a difficult chanceat best of getting off the ground, as MCAand Paramount found late last year whenthey floated the idea for the PremiereNetwork, only to be shot down by the dis-interest of crucial Fox affiliates.

Many stations just don't want anothernetwork of any kind. "I'm not talkingabout a fifth network," says WWOR'sAlexander, although his station was one ofthe those figuring in the MCA -Paramountplan. "I think station operators are doingjust that, running local stations, and itmatters whether they're doing local news,what kind of movie library they build andmaintain. There's not enough to sustainfive and seven nights."

"It's hard enough for three establishednetworks to come up with hit shows sevennights a week," says Michael Eigner,executive vice president and general man-ager of WPIX-TV in New York. "For fournetworks to do it, let alone five, and withcable services investing in first -run pro-duction, you'd have to have a great deal of

Tribune partnered with West Germany's Beta Tau-rus Group on the Voyage of Terror miniseries.

skill and good luck to come up with thesuccessful shows."

"I think the one thing independentshave to do is remain versatile in plan-ning," echoes Dowdle. "Current movies,and also more first -run programming, butwhether it assumes a fifth network frame-work remains to be seen."

In fact, some independents are not con-vinced that they need to change much ifanything at all to compete effectively withFox and basic cable, arguing that the tra-ditional time -tested independent strategywill win out in the long run.

"I'm not sure that original programmingis necessarily and consistently theanswer," says Marty Brantley, presidentand general manager of Chris -Craft'sKPTV in Portland, Ore., a former Foxaffiliate. "Fox in our market sometimesgets a 3 rating. We've had some successwith [Tribune's] 'Operation Prime Time'and some have not been successful. If thatwas obviously the answer then everybodywould be pursuing that area."

"The more Fox becomes a network, themore we'll become successful doing whatwe've traditionally done," says Phil Jones,president of Meredith Corp.'s broadcastgroup, which includes Phoenix's strongVHF indie KPHO. "Movies will continueto be important, and off -network sitcoms,and we'll probably do more live program-ming locally originated, either talk ornews. Nothing is etched in stone until wesee how [Fox] rolls out, but as theybecome more of a network, what we'redoing should continue to work."

The growth of Fox may even protect thenon -Fox independents' niche. With fewerplayers in the bidding for syndicatedmovie packages, the traditionalists argue,the remaining independent in a marketbenefits from dropping prices.

Going prices for first -run features are

50 percent what they were at their heightin the early to mid -'80s, according toJohn Walden, senior vice president, salesand marketing for Turner Program Ser-vices. Proponents of prime -time moviesdiffer nonetheless on the impact ofcable's continuing purchases of syndica-tion packages.

"In my opinion, that's a problem," saysBrantley. "It dilutes those movies evenmore. Unless you get them undiluted,their value keeps going down."

Eigner is less pessimistic. "[Cable]can't buy them all," he says. And even ifcable does keep buying up movies, as faras Phil Jones is concerned, "The expo-sure [isn't] that great on cable. It leavesan awful big audience out there thathasn't seen them." While he doesn't likethe idea of settling for a post -cable win-dow, "if that's what's out there to buy andwe think we can win with it, that's whatwe'll do."

"Idiotic," counters WWOR's Alexander.Stations who take the movies that are leftor wait for the post -basic -cable windowwill get one and two ratings, he says."Maybe there are station operators outthere who think that's acceptable, but it'sa mystery to me, stations with the atti-tude that we'll do what indies have alwaysdone, take whatever's left over. If that'sthe correct attitude, then I'm in thewrong business."

The proliferation of viewing options,however, redefines which movies aredesirable. Stations already weigh theprice of a movie against its expected rat-ing, and many opt to pay a low price for alower rating rather than a much higherprice for a somewhat higher anticipatedrating. Because the dial has fragmented,the definition of successful programmingis changing. Says Jones: "In prime time,it won't be as critical to be number one asit is to be the most profitable. Indepen-dents historically have made money from5 P.M. to 8 PM. [Eastern], maybe 3 PM. to 8P.M. It's just icing on the cake to haveprime -time programming without cost."While Tribune is not relying totally on

movies for the future, Eigner sees a bene-fit on the revenue side to sticking with thetraditional focus. "Independent commer-cial inventory is less available, becausethe Fox network takes a good chunk ofit," he says-about 25 percent of the totalbarter inventory once the networkexpands to seven nights. That should"make the marketplace tighter andhealthier rate -wise," he says.

In the end, the most honest answer maybe that most stations simply don't knowwhat the best route for the future is."Everybody is scratching their collectiveheads and trying to figure out what todo," says KPTV's Brantley. "I've gotmore questions than answers."

Elizabeth Jensen writes about televisionfor the New York Daily News.


IN FOCUS

InsideIN FOCUS

Big Three networksclimbing into thetrenches to talk withadvertisers. Cablesystems rethinkingtheir approach todisgruntled custom-

ers. Indepen-dent stationssetting asidetheir localidentityto hook upwith a newnational ser-vice. Business

as usual is over: Enterthe marketer to helporchestrate thechange.Neal Koch opens

this Focus sectionby detailing howNBC's newmarketingchief in-tends tokeep the PAGE 34networkon top. Rich Katzprofiles cable sys-tems that have bol-stered subscriptionsby polishing theircommunity image.Finally, Frank Som-merfield examinesindependent sta-tions, now Fox affili-ates, that have lettheir communitiesknow they are notthe same old animal.

PAGE 31

CHANGING TV'S IMAGE

MILLER GoE S

To MARKETNBC's John Miller reaches out to advertisers.

By Neal Koch

john Miller is running just as fastas he can. As NBC's new mar-keting czar, he's assembling thestaff for the network's marketing

and promotional campaigns withMcDonald's, Toys R' Us and theOlympics. He's busy chatting up adver-tisers and overseeing the entertainmentdivision's marketing plans for newprime -time shows and continuing series.And even though he executive -producedNBC's just -concluded affiliates conven-tion in Washington, D.C., he was notabout to abdicate reviewing on -air spots,print ads and any other significant ele-ment of the network's marketing output.

Miller may hold one of the busiest jobsin television these days, a job he handleswith consistent outward calm. Yet he hasgood reason for nervousness: He recog-nizes that he may be the critical differ-ence in sustaining NBC's perch on top.Suffering a marked loss of viewers andlower ad -sales projections, NBC is bet-ting on a corporate restructuring andMiller's new marketing post-with man-agement oversight unmatched at ABC,CBS or Fox-to bolster the network'sfortunes. In the process, John Millercould well become NBC's next networkpresident.

Miller now heads virtually all of NBC'smarketing, promotion and advertisingfor news, entertainment and sports, plusmarketing to advertisers and affiliatedstations. Prior to his promotion in Marchto executive vice president, marketing,NBC-TV Network, Miller was senior

vice president for the entertainmentdivision's advertising and promotion.

His elevation and broadened role sig-nal the admission by the most successfulof the broadcast networks that the BigThree's years of unrivaled dominanceand complacency are over. "It's a differ-ent focus," says Pierson Mapes, NBC'scurrent network president. "For the last30 years we have not been focused on[the advertising client's] needs. But thisworld, as we move forward, is muchmore fractionalized." To lure and holdadvertisers, Mapes adds, "We're goingto use all the means of the company tomeet their marketing needs."

In some sense, Miller is starting fromscratch. He can draw on his prior expe-rience, including last year's promotionalcampaign with Sears Roebuck & Co.,but he's aiming for nothing less than aredefinition of network marketing andthe relationship between advertisersand NBC.Achieving that goal, says Miller,

demands taking the time to meet withadvertisers, learn their needs and mar-keting plans, and "explore new terri-tory." He cites NBC's announcementlast month of a multi -year agreementwith General Motors Corp., valued atmore than $500 million and orchestratedby NBC network sales, as an example ofwhat close ties to advertisers can breed."If Bob Blackmore and Bill Hoffner [innetwork sales] didn't have a close rela-tionship with Phil Guarascio [G.M. exec-utive director of advertising and strate-

CHANNELS / JUNE 11,1990 31

IN FOCUSCHANGING TVS IMAGE

John Mil* may stand by the aged NBC peacock, but he prefers the updated version-in this case neon.

gic marketing]," Miller noted, "that G.M.deal would not have been made."

Miller points to last fall's tie-in withSears as the first important attempt tobroaden the network's marketing strat-egy. "I began thinking in my old job,`Well, there should be some way to workwith an advertiser to get our messageout to the American public in a differentsort of way," he says.After the campaign broke, Miller

fielded requests from other advertiserslooking for programming tie-ins. He alsolearned of the desire of General Electricmanagement, including G.E. presidentJack Welch, to widen marketing's reachat the network. "I think G.E. felt therewas more to do," Miller says. "[NBCpresident Bob] Wright and Mapes werefor it. I was drafted to sort of come inand figure it out."

Value-added marketing, cross -market-ing and cross -selling are among the newploys NBC is pursuing. The network hasheightened the focus on selling packagesof time across divisions, including enter-tainment, news and sports, as well as its50 percent -owned basic -cable enterprises,CNBC and SportsChannel America. Thisfall NBC takes its second major plungeinto co -promotions with McDonald's."They found out that you can't get away

without aggressive marketing anymore,"says Werner Michel, senior vice presidentof corporate programming for ad agencyBozell Inc. "There's too much at risk."

Clearly, NBC executives and JohnMiller grasped this. But after more thanfive years of relatively well-defined pro-motions and hands-on management of thenetwork's on -air push, Miller is facing themore ambiguous task of determiningwhat network marketing in the '90sentails. One example under consideration:NBC might develop mall tours using theformat of such NBC shows as SaturdayNight Live and Late Night with DavidLetterman, and then seek sponsors tofinance them. This is a time for brain-storming, says Miller. "You do spend afair amount of your efforts figuring outwhat you're going to do rather than justdoing it. Hopefully, we'll develop a libraryof knowledge."

Executives at all four networks haveacknowledged the centrality of marketingto broadcasting's future. Of the four, how-ever, NBC has taken the lead in consoli-dating its efforts. None of the others havegiven a single individual overall responsi-bility for marketing network -wide.

At ABC, Mark Zakarin heads theentertainment division's advertising andpromotion efforts, but has little to do

with marketing for sales or affiliate rela-tions; Alan Wurtzel manages sales mar-keting and research, while affiliate rela-tions runs its own marketingdepartment. At CBS, George Schweitzeroversees promotion, publicity, publicrelations and advertising; ThomasLeahy heads sales marketing and TonyMalara handles affiliate marketing. AtFox, Brad Turell oversees radio promo-tion, creative services and publicity,while Sandy Grushow manages advertis-ing and on -air promotion.

Despite the contrast, NBC's plan hasgarnered competitors' praise. Says Fox'sTurell, "It's not a bad idea to have oneperson know where everything is going."Adds CBS's Schweitzer, "I think it's asmart move. It should yield a much moreconcentrated effort."

No time like the present for concentra-tion, as combined audience shares con-tinue to fall in the face of increasinglyvital and well -financed competition. Notonly did the Big Three's overall viewer-ship fall two share points during the '89-90 season as compared to a year earlier,NBC's prime -time ratings were downsharply for demographic groups adver-tisers covet most, including men aged18-34 (down 15 percent), and womenaged 18-34 (down 12 percent), accordingto ABC. In comparison, ABC's losseswere 1 and 2 percent, respectively, andCBS lost 9 percent in both categories.

Miller estimates that the networkannually spends more than $500 millionof its commercial time to air programpromotions, by far the most significantpiece of the marketing campaign to buildviewership for new and existing shows.Yet new competitors are also spendingheavily on marketing, promotion andadvertising. Miller, in fact, contends thatFox outspends the other networks on aper -hour basis. It spent $12 million lastyear on spot radio alone, Miller says,more than the Big Three combined. Foxcontends that Miller's assessment is mis-leading, because it does not add in thecost of NBC's on -air promotions time;Fox must depend more heavily on adver-tising in other media outlets to push itsproduct and build the audience. "We'renot even in the same league in terms oftheir promotional dollars," says Fox's'Ewell, senior v.p. for publicity and corpo-rate creative services.

Yet Turell would probably concede thatFox has become a significant thorn in thenetwork's side. It's far from the onlyone: executives at NBC, as at a growingnumber of entertainment industry com-panies, have come to view their competi-tion for consumers' attention as extend -

55


IN FOCUSCHANGING TV'S IMAGE

ing beyond the parameters of television."The competition" now means all enter-tainment media, including movie the-aters, music concerts, recordings andbooks. "The choice for the consumer inthe media is enormous," says Mapes."The competition for their leisure time isextraordinary and we have to do every-thing we can to keep our medium asattractive as possible."

To this end, NBC wants to persuadeaffiliates to better promote networkshows and is providing them with freemusic and graphics packages to do so.And Miller expects that a goosed -upeffort to work with advertisers will yieldother ideas. One example could be Day -line, a previously tested 60 -second soap -opera update segment that could aironce or twice a day. NBC is consideringselling ad time within the segment.

Promotional tie-ins are the most visibleof NBC's tactics to boost relations withadvertisers and build viewer sampling of

new shows. Last year's cross -promotionwith Sears, including newspaper supple-ments, TV ads and a flurry of sweep-stakes and prizes, achieved only minimalgains. Miller acknowledges that NBCviewing and Sears sales gained onlyslightly. NBC did get more advertisingdollars from Sears-which moved somespending from newspapers to TV-butso did all the networks.

NBC is nonetheless investing its hopesthis year in McDonald's, counting on aheartier public appetite for hamburgersthan home appliances. "People eat threetimes a day," says Miller. "They don'tbuy a refrigerator three times a day."The network is also developing a Satur-day morning programming tie-in withToys R' Us for the fall season.

Miller will also be busy later this yearmarketing the Winter Olympics. Plansinclude mall tours and the creation ofnewspaper inserts, posters, contests,advertorials and videos. He's working on

VINCE WILL MAKE 'EM LAUGHWith John Miller moving up and toNew York, who better to replace

him, NBC brass thought, than VinceManzi, a former stand-up comic andone of the more imaginative creators ofon -air promotions in TV? Manzi wasthe guy who made stars out of KNBC'sweatherman, Fritz Coleman, andsportscaster, Fred Roggin, with snappyslogans and dazzling shots of lightning,sharks and beautiful babes.Accordingly, NBC hired Manzi in

March as vice president for entertain-ment advertising and promotion, WestCoast. In fact, the network had alreadybeen a client of Manzi, who was execu-tive vice presidentand a partner inSteve Sohmer Inc., atelevision advertisingand promotion com-pany that has movedinto production.

Manzi says hisNBC mandate is toland younger view-ers: "I don't thinkthere is any othergoal for me. We wantto sell demograph-ics." To do that, hesays he'll cut downon the clutter byreverting to longeron -air spots promot-ing individual shows.

Despite jumping Fritz and Fred take the tunny road to success.

right into the post, word has it that anetwork promotion job wasn't enoughto draw to NBC the 39 -year -old Manzi,who entered the business in 1973 atPhiladelphia's KYW. "Vince was proba-bly making more on the outside," saysone highly -placed NBC executive.Although NBC denies it and Manziwon't comment, sources say that hewouldn't have taken the job but for adevelopment deal offered him. Quickerthan anyone expected, Manzi is execu-tive producing a Saturday morningvariety show for fall, Guys Next Door.

Manzi, who says the toughest part ofgoing to NBC was donning a tie,

doesn't hide hisaffection for centerstage. The broadcastmeant to rally sta-tions before March'sOscar -cast on ABC-run just two weeksafter Manzi's debutat NBC-was titled"Seven Ways to WinOscar Week andSave Vince's Job."Says Manzi, "NowI've got 30 peopleworking for me andthey all have tolaugh." Miller helpedmake NBC numberone, but, "I'm goingto get more creditbecause I'm louder."

a radio cross -promotional campaign tobe co -sponsored with a still -to -be -signedadvertiser.

Inevitably, Miller's new role will dis-tance him from the creative process."That's a little hard for me," he says."It's a little removed from the creatingof television, which I love. I still like towrite and produce spots. On the otherhand, there's a lot of creativity that hasto go into these marketing programs."

That said, industry sources whisperthat the creation of Miller's new slot mayrepresent the network's desire to keephim from bolting the company. Theybelieve he is first in line to succeed PierMapes as NBC network president.Mapes, now 52, has made no secret of hisintention to retire when he turns 55 anddevote more time to his family's realestate interests. "I'd like to finish adecade as a network president," saysMapes. "And I'm in my eighth year."While Mapes says there are plenty of

competitors for his job within the execu-tive ranks, Miller is one of three executivevice presidents reporting to him. BobBlackmore, who, sources say, is nearingretirement and looking for a lighterschedule, was recently shifted into a long-range planning spot. Meanwhile, LarryHoffner, who replaced Blackmore in net-work sales, takes over a department witha marketing division that reports toMiller.

Says one industry observer ofMiller's new job, "I think it's alady-in-waiting job, which positions

him as the next Pier Mapes. I don't thinkhe and his wife had any great desire tomove back to New York," where Miller'snew position requires him to be. Saysanother: "I'm sure he was getting itchyand wanted more. And the way to do it isto put him on the path to be president ofthe network. I understand Miller had tohave that assurance because he was set-tled in California and had his eye onentertainment."

For his part, the 39 -year -old Miller iscandid, but cautious. "I think [this job]was put together to position me for somefuture responsibility . . . [but] I didn'tcome with a guarantee that I would get[Pier's] job." Miller acknowledges thathe explored the opportunities in pro-gramming, but says he came away feel-ing that the prospect of inheriting Bran-don Tartikoff's job was slim: Tartikoffwas unlikely to leave anytime soon.Besides, there were others in line aheadof him-John Agoglia, executive vicepresident of both NBC-TV and NBCProductions; Warren Littlefield, execu-



tive vice president, prime -time pro-grams; and Perry Simon, senior vicepresident of series programs.

Miller denies that he ever gave NBCan ultimatum and says he never "seri-ously" considered leaving the network,where he's worked since 1982. At thesame time, he acknowledges, "I hadbeen doing this job for five years andfelt, 'What's for me next?' "

Already habituated to a whirligig of aworkweek, Miller has become even morepressed for time since taking on newresponsibilities. "The past three or fourmonths have been disruptive," Millersays. Yet despite the frequent trips backand forth between two coasts, juggling afull load of managerial and creative tasks,Miller has maintained his cool. That'searned him respect from his peers.

"To me, he's the unflappable Mr.Miller," says John Agoglia, "and I lovethat part of it because his workday is, tosay the least, hectic." Says one industryobserver: "John's a rare, if not unique,combination of creative talent and man-agerial ability-two things not usuallyfound in one person."

Well -regarded as an executive, ambi-tious and highly competitive by his ownadmission, Miller is typically describedas moderate in style. While his market-ing predecessor Steve Sohmer isremembered by some for his sexy pro-mos and extravagant public persona,mention of Miller is more likely to elicitcomments on his decades -old involve-ment in barbershop quartets. "Sohmer isP.T. Barnum," says one NBC insider,"and John Miller's more of a GeorgeBush."

Miller's corporate conservatism islikely to serve him well at NBC's NewYork headquarters and within the cor-porate culture of NBC parent GeneralElectric. "He's a perfect G.E. guy," saysone NBC insider. "He would fit in per-fectly at a cocktail party in Darien,Connecticut."

Such stylistic instincts may be espe-cially important in the next few years, asMiller faces pressure from above.Already, NBC financial executives havebegun scrutinizing operations for newareas to cut costs and jobs. Marketingwill likely absorb some of the heat ifsales projections continue a downwardtrend. "It could be a very rocky twoyears because the pressure on salesfrom GE could be intense," says theNBC insider. "They're not in the busi-ness of winning Emmies. They're in thebusiness of making money." John Millerknows it. And he's running just as fast ashe can.

HOMETo BOOST

Cable systems serve their cities and themselves.By Richard Katz

W1en

Paragon Cable tookover Group W's four Tampa,Fla., cable systems in June

986, it inherited customerswho had witnessed four name changes inas many years. "It was like, 'Who is itthis time and how long will they bearound?' " says Tony Moreno, vice presi-dent of marketing for the four Paragonsystems. 'We really had to establish thatwe were here for the long term, that wewere part of the community."

Moreno spent the first year and a halfestablishing the Paragon name and try-ing to refurbish the system's tatteredimage. Like cable marketers nationwide,he recognized the necessity of develop-ing effective promotion to publicize hissystem's efforts. Paragon first shot aseries of spots for broadcast and cableshowing warm sunny scenes of Tampaand touting its added channels andenhanced service. 'We wanted to makesure people knew it was Paragon makingthe changes, not Group W," saysMoreno.

For his second campaign, drawing on apromotion created by parent ATC andmarketing consultant Klein &, Morenoorganized a series of spots around theslogan "All the things we are." Theintent was to emphasize Paragon's linkto Tampa. The images: an elderly coupledancing on the beach, a hip -lookingCuban girl strolling down the streetpeering over her shoulder and a LittleLeague baseball team clad in Paragonshirts. "We want to make people feelgood about the area," says Moreno, "andthen, 'Oh by the way, this message isbrought to you by Paragon."

Cable systems, not known for theirfinesse in local promotion and commu-nity relations, and now under fire fromWashington and local governments forhigh prices and inadequate service, areunder pressure to find fresh ways tovitalize their relationship with local resi-dents. The systems that have succeededin pumping up their images share onecrucial characteristic: They havegrasped the unique attributes of theircommunities and the necessity ofresponding to them.

Like Paragon's Moreno, Craig Watson,v.p. of marketing for 16 Cencom systemsin the Los Angeles area, was faced withestablishing a new name. Cencom, a pri-vately held MSO based in St. Louis,bought the systems from Choice TV lastyear. But unlike his counterparts in lessheterogeneous areas, Watson had thechallenge of marketing his system todiverse ethnic communities. He under-stood that traditional broad -based mar-keting strategies wouldn't work. So hehired employees who speak several dif-ferent languages and he targeted hismarketing and programming strategy tocapture the attention of the Chinese,Armenian and Hispanic populations.

In order to better serve Hispanic andChinese residents, Watson hired bilin-gual customer service representativesand set up a separate Chinese hotline.He also has one quadralingual servicerep, fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin,Spanish and English-"My ideal staffmember," Watson says.

To promote cable to the Chinese com-munity, Cencom hired an Asian market-ing specialist who designs campaigns


IN FOCUS

around Chinese holidays. Cencom fre-quently advertises in the several localChinese newspapers, and it was the firstsystem to carry The Jade Channel, a payservice imported from Hong Kong. Sev-eral other systems have since picked upon the service, which has landed 3,000Cencom subs.

Cencom teamed with the ArmenianFilm Foundation to reach out to anotherethnic enclave in its franchise area, twoof the nation's largest communities ofArmenians, in Montabella and Pthadena.In April, the month Armenians com-memorate their 1915 holocaust inTurkey, Cencom aired a series of specialsabout Armenian culture on its local orig-ination channels. Watson advertised theprogramming in the major Armenianpapers.

The MSO owns systems in 11 statesand conducts a customer satisfactionsurvey for each of them. A major com-plaint raised about Watson's system waspoor customer service stemming frominadequate phone service. In response,Cencom launched a 24 -hour, seven -day -a -week phone center, which receives anaverage of 100 calls a night. Previously,all calls went to an answering servicebetween 11 P.M. and 8 A.M.. "Our cus-tomers felt the answering service wasvirtually useless," says Watson, who pro-moted the new center with a completemailing. "Someone would answer thephone and say, 'Look buddy, I don't workfor the company, I can't do anything, callback in the morning.' "

In Meridian, Miss., Ronny Colvin,general manager of the city's 16,000 -sub Comcast system, created a forumfor Meridian's 47,000 residents to keepup with local events and local govern-ment. Since 1985, the system has pro-duced and aired three or four govern-mental meetings and community -oriented happenings per month-mostof them live. The wave of calls beforeevery telecast to find out what's on theday's agenda proves that people makean appointment to watch the local origi-nation programming.

To heighten interest, every televisedevent, be it a debate or a legislativeforum, is plugged prominently with an 8 -by -10 ad in the daily Meridian Star.Major events, such as May's tele-auctionto raise money for a local high-schoolstudent paralyzed by a football injury,are promoted on all ad -insertion chan-nels with a self -produced promo.

As the g.m. of a small system with lim-ited resources, Colvin has created a com-munity production operation that givesnew meaning to the word streamlined.

CHANGING TV'S IMAGE

Cable systems in L.A. and Quad Cities, Iowa, have tailored promotions to the personalities of their towns.

"The beauty of this thing," he says, "is Ionly need one LO [specific] person, andhe's just part-time." Colvin uses hisexisting staff; technicians operate thecameras, the chiefthe engineering work and the ad -produc-tion person directs. Says Colvin, "Itcosts a little overtime, but it's definitelyworth it."

Colvin has also pushed the Comcastname among subscribers and non -sub-scribers with an all-out media blitz.March's "instant install" campaign net-ted an astounding 838 new subs andupgrades, and virtually screamed themessage that Comcast is eager to servethe whole community. Colvin blitzed themarket using broadcast TV, radio, liveradio remotes, newspaper and crosschannel. If you call and place an orderbefore 3 P.M., the offer said, Comcastguarantees you'll be installed within fourhours or you get a free month of HBO.Nine installers and one dispatcher aver-aged 120 completed orders per day, andlet slip only two freebies.

Forget a noisy, all-out attack in QuadCities, Iowa. Dan Mills, v.p. of marketingfor Cox Cable's Quad Cities system,believed that the best marketing policyis a quiet one, heavy on the Americana.He aimed for traditional tie-ins withlocal merchants and institutions toimprove its image and add subscribers.

Nestled along the Mississippi River,the blue-collar Quad Cities were devas-tated by economic depression in the1980s, hurt particularly by the downslidein the farming industry. With the loss of

some 35,000 jobs, Mills' main goal hasbeen to maintain and possibly grow hissubscriber base-not easy in an areawhere cable is often an unaffordable lux-ury item.

Increasingly, Mills has found thatimage marketing plays as vital a role inadding subs as offer -driven acquisitionadvertising. Acquisition -type tacticsused to take up 90 percent of the mar-keting budget, but since Mills shifted toan even split between acquisition andimage three years ago the system hasadded 5,000 subs. That's a 10 -percentgain-and a sign that people are lookingfor more than a special offer. "It's reallya more well rounded and wholesomemarketing approach," says Mills, "asopposed to what cable has been in thepast with its emphasis on acquisition[ads]."

Mills has sought to boost the system'simage with staples of Americana-baseball and fireworks; just the anti-dotes, he thought, for an area strugglingwith depression. Last year's Cox Nightwith the Quad City Angels, a class Aminor-league baseball team, coincidedwith the system's launch of TNT. Inaddition to the usual prize giveaways, aCox staff pre -game softball game andCox executives throwing out the firstballs, Mills used some of the launch sup-port for an elaborate fireworks showafter the game. The event drew over7,000 people, fifth highest gate for theAngels all year. With proper attention toconsumer needs, local cable marketingproduced not a whimper, but a bang.



MARKETINGDiu A Fox

Independent stations decide how Foxy they want to be.By Frank Sommerfield

TXL, channel 40 in Sacra-mento, was late in remakingitself in the image of Fox

roadcasting. Although itwas one of the first stations to sign on asa Fox affiliate in 1986, it waited until lastfall, when Fox introduced a third nightof programming, to display the net-work's on -air graphics and call itself Fox40. The station, which has aired nightlylocal news for the past 15 years and pro-duces a local public affairs show, waswary of obscuring its stature as a strongindependent attuned to local affairs.

So far, the switch has paid off. Not onlydoes Fox 40 have a winning Sundaynight lineup, but it also has a slicknational identity and an old show -bizname on which to hang its promotioncampaigns. "We were reluctant to jumpin," says Michael A. Fisher, the station'sgeneral manager. "For 22 years we werein the market and had been extremelysuccessful. Now I'm kicking myself inthe pants for not doing it sooner."

Yet Harry Delaney, general managerof Fox 40's independent competitor,KSCH, is not so sure that Fisher won'tone day regret the decision to embraceFox-"Foxify" as they like to say at thenetwork. Delaney says that as Foxgrows, its larger lineup could preemptthe popular and often highly profitablelocally programmed movies and rerunsthat are the staples of non -Fox and Foxindependents alike. Clinging to the Foxidentity, he adds, could mean a loss oflocal flavor, something that the nation'sbiggest independents value. "I think theFox affiliates could suffer by not havingthe flexibility and the freedom of pro -

Indies have made the Fox name their own.

gramming they're used to," saysDelaney. He admits, however, that Fox40 is currently enjoying the best of boththe independent and affiliate worlds.Viewership at KSCH increased oneshare point between February 1988 andFebruary 1989, while at Fox 40, whichhas enjoyed a six -fold leap in overallaudience since joining Fox in 1986, theincrease was two share points.

Such is the conundrum faced by Foxaffiliates: how to maximize the powerfulmarketing potential of the Fox connec-tion without relinquishing local identity.Some big -city stations that were theleading independents before Fox havesucceeded by changing their identitiesfrom local but polished independents tosharp fourth network affiliates main-taining regional flair. In the eyes ofadvertising buyers, the new imagemeans more focused demographics andmore valuable airtime. Some affiliatesin smaller markets with limitedresources and one significant indepen-dent competitor are eschewing local

flair; they're attempting to distinguishthemselves by embracing Fox till ithurts, "Foxifying" to the point that allshows-even locally programmedmovies-appear to emanate from FoxCentral.

For their part, Fox executives can'timagine how the network is anythingshort of a marketing blessing. "Thereare a lot of other companies in enter-tainment with big trade names thatwould not have allowed all these UHFstations to appropriate the tradenames," says Preston Padden, a Foxsenior vice president in charge of affili-ates. "We are generous."

With last months's FCC ruling thatpermits Fox to broadcast 18.5 hours ofprogramming this fall, up from ninehours in the current season, the Foxconnection should rise in value. Italready has done wonders for many sta-tions. With just three nights of prime -time programming plus a late Saturdaynight lineup, the network, since its kick-off with The Late Show, Starring JoanRivers, has dramatically boosted itsmarket share with hip, youthful showslike Married . . . With Children, 21Jump Street and this year's hit, TheSimpson. On Sunday nights this year,both Married and The Simpsons havebegun winning their time slots in somemarkets against their Big Three net-work competitors. And on Saturdaynights between February 1989 andFebruary 1990, the 129 Fox stationsexperienced a 50 percent increase inhousehold ratings, including a 73 per-cent rise among people between 18 and49. On Monday nights, the stations



gained a 64 percent increase in house-hold viewing and a 117 percent increasefor persons between 18 and 49. Foxowns and operates six stations, with allbut three of its affiliates on the hard -to -tune UHF dial.

Network executives maintain that theaffiliates' success on both Fox and non -Fox nights is the result of the imagethat the Fox programming provides andthe support that the network gives.While Fox does not require stations toFoxify, it makes the process seem easyand logical. The network uses viewer-ship research to show that Foxificationpays off, and is willing to spend millionson jingles, show introduction promo-tions, logo identification packages andvideo materials that are given or sold toaffiliates at cut rates. Since only 16 ofthe affiliates currently produce localnews shows, Fox is working with affili-ate owners to investigate ways to eco-nomically broadcast news shows featur-ing national Fox feeds. "There is ageneral perception that Fox is per-ceived as hot, contemporary, bold,dynamic and a real winner," says SteveLeblang, vice president for program-ming at Fox TV Stations Inc. "We givethe affiliates help in always having onair that same creative, bold, break-through look."

To the extent that Foxifying meansattaching the Fox name to on -air graph-ics and answering the phone with a"Fox 30" or "Fox 32," nearly all the affil-iates have done it. Grander Foxificationefforts have been made at once strug-gling independents in cities such asPhoenix, Baltimore, Cincinnati andLubbock, Texas. "These stations, whichall existed before, were never the pow-erhouses they are now," says David Fer-rara, Fox's v.p. of affiliate relations,West Coast. Nashville's heavily FoxifiedWZTV saw its viewership soar 340%between February 1989 and February1990. The old VHF independents in SanDiego and Oakland have bolstered theirstature and ratings by coupling theirstrong local identities, created throughnews and public service shows, with theFox identity.

Yet Foxification is not a fail-safe tonic.The UHF Fox -owned station in Dallas,Channel 33, still trails the city's VHFindependent and barely beats anotherUHF independent. Fox 33's followingwas so shaky that it dropped its localnews show.

Still, WAWS-Fox 30, one of two inde-pendents in Jacksonville, Fla., is bank-ing on Fox-so much so that it's all butsacrificing its identity as a Jacksonville

local. Since WAWS currently lacks theresources to produce a local news show,management believes the station can'treally present itself to the public as anaffiliate of a full-fledged, Big -Three -style network. Still, WAWS embodiesFox in every way possible, casting asideany separate identity. "We want tomake sure that the viewing publicthinks that everything we offer is fromFox, even to the point that people thinkArsenio Hall is a Fox show," says gen-eral manager David Godbout.

Godbout only programs movies thatappear as if they'd been selected byFox. "We buy the Crocodile Dundeesand the Wall Streets," he notes, "andwhereas the station used to play roman-tic comedies on weekends to lure thewomen who didn't want to watch sports

telethon, hosted by children, raised$11,000 and garnered 6,000 kids clubmembers. It also provided an opportu-nity to introduce Safari Sam, the localtalent who will represent Fox to theyouth of Jacksonville. During thetelethon, the word Fox was repeatedover and over while the station's owncall letters were kept to a minimum.Says Godbout, "All these kids will bethinking of Fox as a real network, andby the time they're 18, or sooner, it willbe a full-fledged network."

The Fox image and programminghave inspired some strong indepen-dents with the belief that they can com-pete directly with their Big Three net-work rivals. As a UHF station withthree competitors, WTXF, Fox 29 inPhiladelphia, never felt that its status

Jacksonville, Fla.'s WAWS has fused its identity with the Fox network.

on other stations, on weekends we nowshow crisper, fresher things like ElvisPresley movies and Brighton BeachMemoirs." WAWS also has combinedits logo and the Fox logo into one. Onbillboards, print ads and ad salesbrochures, the Fox searchlights risefrom the station's call letters.

The station believes in reinforcingFox's national promotions by spendingits own resources to make Jacksonvilleresidents more familiar with Fox pro-gramming. In conjunction with theannouncement of a Fox Kids Club andnew Fox children's programming toappear in the fall, WAWS staged theFox 30 Kidathon. The five -hour show,which started during the station's 3 P.M.cartoon block, benefited a drug -abuseprogram and was coordinated throughthe Jacksonville school board. The

as the lead independent was as secureas it might be if it were on the VHFdial. So the station is attempting to useFox to pull itself a level higher than itscompetitors-onto the same plane asPhiladelphia's ABC, NBC and CBSaffiliates. "I want to connect with theaudience in the 'This is NBC in Philly'kind of way," says James Boaz, the sta-tion's v.p. and general manager. Thenotion of a big station with big nationalaffiliations is driven home in the open-ing, closing and promotional blips forthe station's public service program,Sharing Together. Friendly action pho-tos of stars from 21 Jump Street andMarried . . . With Children are inter-twined with shots of the local staff. "Itlooks like the characters from Fox areall part of the effort to contribute to theDelaware Valley," he says. Actors from


IN FOCUSCHANGING YIPS IMAGE

Philadelphia's WTXF has encouraged visits from Fox stars, such as Alison La Placa of Open House.

the new Fox series The Outsidersrecently went to Philadelphia to takepart in a local dance -party program.The station also developed a costumedcharacter to represent the station's andFox's kids programming. The characteris making the rounds to museums, thezoos and special events.

To play up Fox's reality -based pro-grams, such as The Reporters, and thestation's local news capabilities, Boaz isexpanding his half-hour 10 P.M. newscastto an hour. "We will cross -promote thatwith the Fox reality -based shows wehave at 7:30 rm.," says Boaz. "This is inline with Fox's becoming the informa-tion network, as well as the entertain-ment network of the 1990s."

Boaz also "pleads, begs and beats" hisadvertising sales staff to think of thestation as a full-fledged network affili-ate rather than just a strong indepen-dent. "Now, with all our changes, Ibelieve they perceive themselves as full,worthy gladiators fighting with theother affiliates," he says. Higher ratesfor advertising time have helped.According to Boaz, the station just solda spot during The Simpsons worthmore than all the commercial time soldbetween 7 P.M. and 11 P.M. on any givenSunday during the past four years.

Yet some frugal affiliates in smalllocales have had trouble harnessingFox's marketing value. They've learnedthat simply placing the word Fox beforethe channel number doesn't immedi-ately boost their image andratings-not without a fine-tuned pro-motion scheme. The Fox affiliate inColumbia, S.C., has managed to walk a

marketing tightrope, promoting itselfas the new, strong local voice that hap-pens to be affiliated with an equallystrong and attractive new programmingservice. Management at WACH worriesthat total immersion in Fox would limitits opportunities in a market without asecond independent; a network identitydoesn't necessarily mean heftier profits.

WACH general manager WalterFlynn has greater freedom to direct hisstation's destiny than Jacksonville'sGodbout has to shape his. As the opera-tor of the only independent inColumbia, Flynn does not feel com-pelled to undertake a wholesale Foxifi-cation campaign simply for the sake ofdifferentiation. He can carve an imagefor his station as Columbia's aggressive,community -minded, viewer -interestedindependent that has chosen to absorbthe offerings of a new, progressive pro-gram service.

Flynn knows that independents havethe ability to create more ad spots thannetwork affiliates, and thus have thepotential to make bigger profits. "We'llhave to really give long, hard thought toclearing any more nights for Fox," hesays. "In a two -independent market, itmight be better to go with Fox becauseof the perception that Fox is new andhot. But if you're the only one, youshould think of the profit margins youhave as an independent."

In that vein, Flynn has mastermindeda marketing campaign touting bothWACH and Fox. And although the cam-paign definitely integrates network andaffiliate, it leaves no doubt that the twoare separate. WACH, which converted

from a little -viewed Christian station toa Fox affiliate in mid -1988, claims to bethe highest -rated UHF independent inthe Southeast.

At first the station barely alluded toits Fox affiliation, but it made sureeveryone was aware of its new, catchycall letters and completely secular ori-entation. "Our marketing thing was topush WACH-TV to the point that yougot nauseated if you worked at the sta-tion," says Flynn. "At that time Foxwasn't the force it is today."

During the WACH push, the stationwould flash a "t"-the missing "t" in theword WATCH"-on the screen, andviewers would call the station, say theyfound the missing "t" and win a prize.The station ran newspaper ads empha-sizing that WACH-TV was Columbia'sstation, including mail -in forms onwhich viewers could vote for shows theywanted on the air. "We wanted people torealize we were programmed here inColumbia, not in Chicago, Los Angelesand New York," says Flynn.

Eventually, the station started a subtleFoxification process that complemented,not overpowered, the WACH promo-tional leitmotiv. The station incorporatedthe 20th Century Fox spotlights into itson -air graphics. During the "WACH-and-win" campaign, the WACH symbolwould appear on -screen and a few notesof the Fox theme music would be played.The seventh caller to the station wouldthen win a dinner or a vacation.

The Fox logo has not been incorpo-rated into the WACH logo, but the twoare side -by -side on billboards and otherads. Banners, t -shirts for sale at localstores and stationery all say, "WACHout," and many say "WACH out for theFox." To promote the new Fox show InLiving Color, the station sent localnewspapers a box with "WACH out"printed on the outside. Inside was apress release that said "WACH for InLiving Color"; there was also a promo-tional video and a can of springingsnakes to play off the show's slogan,"Comedy so wild it can't be contained."

Flynn is sure that he's done the rightthing by preserving the independentidentity. "From sign -on to sign -off,we're tied for third with the ABC affili-ate, and we're number one amongwomen who watch movies," he says."We're dominant during the kids times,between 3 RM. to 5 P.M. and 7 P.M. to 9P.M. And I think we'd be right where weare even if it weren't for Fox."

Frank Sommerfield is a freelancewriter based in New York.


With CHANNELS magazine,

you're front and center in the

television industry.

That's because CHANNELS goes

beyond the headlines to report on

where television is headed and

who's taking it there.

Every month CHANNELSanalyzes the course of theTV industry andhighlights its

key players. It

takes an in-

depth look atsyndication,cable, station rela-

tions, and finance.

No wonder 27,000

television profession-

als turn to CHANNELS

every month.

It's the only business magazine

written by and for them!

AcT mPUBLISHINGACT Ill Publishing, Television Group401 Park Avenue South

New York, New York 10016

Phone: (212) 545-5202

Fax: (212) 696-4215

Your Front

Row Seat to

the Business

of Television

GROWINGCEMOGiAPHIC

Percentage

of requests in

1989

Percentage

of requests I1684

PerfilliDifferenceference

Adu -s 35+ rating 3.2% 1.3% 146.2%

Adu -s18-49 rating 15.4 9.0 71.0

Adu -s 25-49 rating 6.2 3.7 67.6

Adults 25-54 rating 18.9 11.3 67.3Adu.+s 18-49 10.8 10.5 45.9

PE ons 12-24 rating 2.5 1.8 38.9P E ons 12-34 rating 2.4 3.1 26.3

Adu - 18-34 rating 5.1 5.0 2.0

What's Hot and What's Not

1t's not always easy to tell when a show will be a hitwith advertisers. The same can be said fordemographics, which fall in and out of favor withmedia buyers. Comparing 1989 to 1984, the chart

below lists those demographics increasingly requestedby spot buyers and those demos that are losing ground."Adult" demos gained in popularity among buyers;correspondingly, separate male and female categorieswere bought less.

Spot buying on the whole has growr slowly in the pastyear, edging up a mere 2.3 percent over 1988, accordingto the Television Bureau of Ad-ertisirg. Robert J. Coen,senior vice president at McCann-Erickson, estimates thegrowth of national spot since 1984 at about 6.9 percentper year.

SHRINKINGDEMOGRAPHK

Percentage

of requests in

1989

Percentage

of requests in

1984

Percent

Difference

Total Women 2.1 % 7.2% -70.8%Kids 6-11 2.1 i.7 -63.2Men 18-49 rating 2.9 7.4 -60.8Men 18-34 2.1 4.4 -52.3Total Adults 3.5 '.0 -50.0Women 18-49 7.4 14.5 -49.0Total Women rating 1.8 3.8 -47.4Men 25-54 5.6 10.3 -45.6

SCUM: Katz Communications


IT HAS made millionaires out of paupers. It has earned the Nobel Prize.

And by using it wisely, entrepreneurs have ended up running corporations.

I'm referring to believing in yourself and your ideas. Taking a chance on your

own merit and giving the world your best shot. Somebody once said, "Observe

the turtle, he progresses only with his neck out" I think the same

holds true for us two -legged creatures. If you've never taken a

chance on yourself, at least think about it. Unless you do, you may never

know what you're missing out on. And neither will the rest of the world.

Daniels.Boo 3200 Cherry Creek South Dhye Sure 500 Denver. Colorado 80209

iq

WE'RE DELIGHTED WHENWE LOSE OUR AUDIENCE.

Anyone who's ever been aparent knows how hard it is toaccept the fact that kids growup. Their interests change.After a certain point they nolonger want to play the gamesor hear the stories that enchant-ed them in childhood.

At Nickelodeon we feelpossessive about all "our kids"-all the children who have madeus the new #1 channel for kids'programming. We wish wecould keep entertaining andinspiring them forever.

But we recognize howimpossible, and actually unde-sirable, that would be. A trueconcern for the welfare of ourviewers means we have to pro-vide programming that encour-ages them to grow and explore.Even though that means they'llinevitably outgrow us.

Here are some of the ways

we help prepare kids to becomesuccessful young adults:

1. Nickelodeon promotesindependent thinking. FromEureeka's Castle to You Can't DoThat On Television, Nickelodeonteaches kids how to evaluate aproblem, make decisions, andresist peer pressure.

2. Nickelodeon teaches kidsthat learning is fun, with showslike Think Fast, Make TheGrade, and the award -winningMr. Wizard's World.

3. Nickelodeon builds kids'self-confidence, with shows likeDon't Just Sit There, where thekids are in charge-hosting,starring, even making themusic.

4. Nickelodeon helps kidsdevelop values. Everythingthat appears on our channel isaimed at helping kids make

positive choices in life-frompre-school on into adulthood.

We know that at a certainpoint every one of our viewersis going to decide that Nickel-odeon is "kids' stuff" and natave...on to other interests. That's "

okay. We feel confident that as"our kids" grow up and becomeparents themselves, they'llintroduce their children to theirold friend NICK.NICKELODEON* is a registered trademarkowned by MTV Networks, a division of ViacomInternational Inc. © 1990 MTV Networks.

The new #1 network for kids.

Date post:	10-Sep-2021
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	2 times
Download:	0 times

MARKETING - World Radio History · 6/11/1990 · Vir ce (witf, peacocks). THE BUSINESS OF...

Documents