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CBS: We've Got Ratings, Now We Want Buzz!
Lloyd Owen in Viva Laughlin by Robert Voets/CBS
It isn't enough for CBS to be the most-watched network. At the presentation of its new fall schedule, network execs announced they want their shows to be talked about, too.
It's a new version of an old tune. For years, CBS has had the largest number of viewers, but many of them were old and not as desirable to advertisers. Recently, the network has gotten much more competitive for the 18-to-49-year-old crowd that Madison Avenue pays most for. Yet shows such as ABC's Ugly Betty get a lot more ink and watercooler chatter than the higher-rated Two and a Half Men or Survivor (CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler drove the point home to the audience at Carnegie Hall by citing how Betty's ratings have dropped 40 percent since its premiere).
With a solid foundation of dependable hits, Tassler says this is the year she can afford to take a few programming risks to improve her share of buzz. Even if CBS' new shows fail, its regular program lineup will deliver ratings close to what it did this past season. A close look at the schedule reveals it's really not that risky. Hey, perception is everything.
The network's boldest bid is on Sunday night, where it's launching Viva Laughlin after 60 Minutes. The musical drama about a businessman with a dream of opening a casino will draw the inevitable comparisons to the famous ABC flop Cop Rock (a Steven Bochco series from 1990 — think Hill Street Blues on Broadway). CBS chairman Les Moonves insists Viva Laughlin is no Cop Rock, but the network soft-pedaled the show's musical aspects in the clips it showed at the presentation.
The network's other potential attention-getter, Swingtown, won't debut until mid-season. But that series, a retro look at alternative lifestyles in the '70s, seemed more intriguing.
CBS is also trying to stir things up with Kid Nation, a new reality show which has 40 kids starting up their own town with no adult supervision. The network's Survivor has always been popular with children, and Kid Nation also has the potential for family viewing. But it has one glaring weakness in that the stakes aren't all that high: The kids only go home if they want to.
Cane, the soapy drama with Jimmy Smits, has some Latino cast members who are muy caliente. But the show looks like it could have been in the CBS lineup in any of the last five years. Ditto for Moonlight, the Friday series about a vampire detective, which should do just fine after Ghost Whisperer. And on Monday, the network turned to Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre for another comedy, The Big Bang Theory.
The one surprise move on the schedule was the return of Without a Trace to Thursday night (Shark moves to Sunday). CBS execs clearly believe that with ER fading on NBC and ABC trying out a new show (Dylan McDermott's Big Shots) to follow Grey's Anatomy, Trace can dominate the ratings on Thursday at 10 pm. With the high ad rates on that night paid by movie studios, car companies and retailers, that can translate into tens of millions of dollars in revenue for CBS. — Stephen Battaglio
For more TV industry news, visit The Biz.
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May 17, 2007 7:08 AM
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CBS is getting lots of buzz - but not for the right reason. Thousands of Jericho fans bombarded CBS yesterday with telephone calls, emails and blogs regarding CBS's cancellation of Jericho. That is what the buzz at CBS is about - poor programming choices!
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May 17, 2007 8:17 AM
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You got that right JoGirl!
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May 17, 2007 8:56 AM
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Don't mess with the viewers!!!
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May 17, 2007 10:31 AM
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Yeah, funny that they say they want "buzz" but then they cancelled Jericho, which had as much buzz as any CBS show.
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May 17, 2007 12:10 PM
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I'm not sure what I think about CBS right now. They may be the most watched network but I'm not sure they are managed by the brightest programmers.
Honestly the only thing I watch on CBS is Shark. I love it and I'm not really all that disappointed that its been moved to Sundays because that's a good night for me and television. But the reasoning is confusing me.
Supposedly the move was precipitated because Shark skews old(I'm 33) and they want something that appeals to younger people. That makes STANDALONE good sense. But I just finished reading an article about James Woods being very unhappy because he's having to work 80 hours a week. I can't say that I blame him. The thing is that there are four very hot, very appealing 20-30 year old supporting players who barely get a chance to breathe on Shark. It occurs to me that if they took 1/3 of JW's air time and devoted it to developing the younger characters that he'd still be the star of the show, he'd probably be happier because he would have less hours, and there might be more young people watching. That seems like it might be worth a try, at least.
But instead, they move Shark, bring back Without a Trace in hopes of regaining some of the glory of yesteryear when Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy and Michael Vartan/Dillon McDermott(I can't wait.) were not running on the opposite channel. I'll just call it right now: CBS is going to get creamed on Thursday nights. They may still have a lot of viewers, but I think the demos are going to be worse than they were this year.
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May 17, 2007 1:52 PM
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CBS's Viva Laughlin reminds me of a British show that I saw on BBC America last year and it had the gambling house but I have to admit that the drama and singing did not go over very well with me. So this is a show I will not be looking forward to see. I do not know if the British version was a hit over there but from what I have seen, the American version, from the previews it....stinks!
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Jul 9, 2007 8:03 PM
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