ABC Looking to Rebound
By RICHARD HUFF
Daily News TV Editor
aving watched their once-dominant network fall to the Nielsen cellar, ABC executives will gather in Burbank, Calif., today to begin the arduous task of putting together a prime-time schedule for next season.
On the Spot: Susan Lyne, president of ABC Entertainment
At stake are billions of advertising dollars that will come in on the basis of a schedule revealed later this month.
"We need to give the advertising community some confidence that our fall schedule will be stronger than our current schedule," said Susan Lyne, president of ABC Entertainment.
Indeed, industry observers have labeled ABC's current schedule dismal, an opinion backed up by the network's Nielsen performance.
With just a few weeks left in the 2001-02 season, ABC is third in total viewers, down 23% from this point a year ago, when the network was No. 1. More importantly, the network is fourth with its target audience of 18- to 49-year-old viewers.
It's also cost some jobs. ABC Entertainment co-chairman Stu Bloomberg left earlier this year and was replaced by Lyne. And ABC Television President Steve Bornstein yesterday said he was leaving the network after less than a year in the job.
"We are not going into this in a position of strength," Lyne admitted.
Once a popular show, ABCs 'The Practice' (with Kelli Williams, r.) has lost viewers over the season.
ABC's prime-time troubles started late last season and continued this season, when programmers scheduled multiple telecasts of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," which quickly faded. In the process, "Millionaire" masked declining ratings of the network's returning series such as "The Practice" and took attention away from the strong start and rapid dropoff of the new show "Alias."
Now, after several years of ABC programmers creating critically acclaimed series that attracted small audiences think "Once and Again" Lyne wants to broaden ABC's appeal, specifically in the early-evening hours. There, the network will target families with programs that appeal to adults but also have some draw for teens, Lyne said.
That sounds fine on paper, but pulling it off is difficult. ABC dumped its family-friendly "TGIF" programming block a couple seasons ago, and those viewers have moved on to other networks, having become used to looking elsewhere for such fare.
Likewise, ABC may have to launch five hours of new programming this fall, which can be tough. Starting so many new shows spreads a network's promotions efforts thin, making it hard for any of the shows to get much attention.
"We know we've got to get a lot of new shows onto our schedule," Lyne said. "We have looked at shows that could be self-starters for us.
We've also talked about staggering our launches."
Getting the network turned around could take years and it depends on Lyne finding a couple hits. Based on early development presentations, some advertisers think ABC is headed in the right direction, although they've yet to see a completed program.
"Coming out of the development meetings, we had a better feeling than we did going in," said Steve Sternberg, senior partner at ad-buyer Magna Global USA. "That's all they could ask for."
The network doesn't really have much choice but to launch a lot of shows, according to Roy Rothstein, vice president and director of national broadcast research at ad-buyer Zenith Media. "They really need to make a major effort," he said.
ABC's performance this season will mean less money in the network's coffers. Last spring, the network sold $1.68 billion in advance advertising for this season. Next month, ABC is projected to sell $1.4 billion, third overall, according to the Myers Report, an industry newsletter.
To rebound, ABC needs a couple new shows that hit with viewers while its returning series remain stable, Sternberg said.
"Nobody expects me to turn the entire network around and move us from third or fourth place to first in a season," Lyne said. "This is a process to get some strong shows on the air and create a consistent schedule. And to make progress in the ratings."
Original Publication Date: 5/1/02