SCHEDULING STRATEGIES

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SCHEDULING STRATEGIES

• LEAD-OFF BRIDGING
• LEAD-IN COUNTER-
• HAMMOCKING PROGRAMMING
• BLOCKING BLUNTING
• TENT-POLING STUNTING
• SEAMLESSNESS

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LEAD-OFF

• BEGINNING THE EVENING WITH AN ESPECIALLY STRONG
  PROGRAM.
• NETWORKS ROUTINELY MOVE POPULAR ESTABLISHED SHOWS
  TO THE 8PM SLOT

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LEAD-IN

• PLACES A STRONG SHOW AHEAD OF A WEAKER (OR NEW)
  SHOW TO GIVE IT A JUMP START

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HAMMOCKING

• PLACING A WEAKER SHOW BETWEEN TWO STRONGER SHOWS

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BLOCKING

• PLACING A NEW PROGRAM WITHIN A SET OF SIMILAR
  DRAMAS, SITCOMS, OR OTHER GENRES TO BUILD A
  BLOCK OF PROGRAMMING APPEALING TO THE SAME
  AUDIENCE

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TENT-POLING

• Used when one strong show is available and is
  surrounded by weak shows.
• The strong show is placed in the center of the
  time period in hopes that it will increase the
  ratings of the lead-in and lead-out
  shows.
• When two strong shows are available, the strategy
  of hammocking would be used.

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BRIDGING

• STARTING AND ENDING PROGRAMS AT ODD TIMES, THUS
  CAUSING THEM TO RUN PAST THE STARTING AND
  STOPPING POINTS ON OTHER NETWORKS

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COUNTERPROGRAMMING

• OFFERING SOMETHING OF COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
  APPEAL THAN THE OTHER SHOWS.
• DONE ON THE BASIS OF GENRE AND
• DEMOGRAPHICS

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BLUNTING

• MATCH THE COMPETITION BY SCHEDULING A SHOW WITH
  IDENTICAL APPEAL.
• IF TWO NETWORKS ARE ALREADY BLUNTING EACH OTHER,
  A THIRD NETWORK WILL USUALLY SUCCEED BY
  COUNTERPROGRAMMING

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STUNTING

• SCHEDULING SPECIALS, ADDDING GUEST STARS, HAVING
  UNUSUAL SERIES PROMOTIONS, SHIFTING HALF HOUR
  SERIES TO LONG FORM.

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SEAMLESSNESS

• RUNNING THE END OF ONE PROGRAM RIGHT UP AGAINST
  THE START OF THE NEXT SHOW.
• TS GOAL IS TO KEEP VIEWERS WATCHING

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PRIME TIME !

• TVS
• LARGEST
• AUDIENCE
• 60 HUT LEVEL
• 8-11pm ET

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7,600 HOURS ANNUALLY

• MON - SAT 8-11PM ET
• SUN 7-11PM ET

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Prime Time Ratings Networks Image/Viability

• Low Prime Ratings
• 50,000 per 30 Sec Spot
• WB, UPN
• High Prime Ratings
• 600,000 per 30 Sec Spt
• NBC ABC CBS FOX

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Who do AdvertisersWant to Reach?

• WOMEN 18-34
• MEN 18-34
• MEN 18-49
• WOMEN 18-49

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YOUNG FEMALE EMPHASIS

• 1970
• All prime time programs should be aimed at
  young females. They control most consumer
  purchasing and succumb more easily to television
  spots

• 2000
• Prime demo women
• 18-49 followed by
• men 18-49
• Advertisers pay prime rates for young
• audiences and edgier
• programs.

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CHANGES IN PRIME TIME AUDIENCES 1970 - 2000

• Homes have a TV set for each family member.
• Decline of the family
• Scores of cable channels competing
• Audiences are deeply divided by age, gender and
  ethnicity.

• Advertisers press the networks to pursue thin
  slices of the audience.
• 18-49 viewers most in demand.

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RESULTS OF HEAVY 18-34 PROGRAM TARGETING

• Excessive emphasis on young demo-
• graphics led to an erosion of broadcast
  audiences.
• Copycatprogramming led to a sameness in shows
  that further narrowed network ratings.
• Fox, WB, and UPN targeted young males ignored by
  other broadcast networks

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LEAST OBJECTIONABLE PROGRAM Theory

• VIEWERS FIRST DECIDE TO WATCH TELEVISION.
• THEN THEY WATCH THE LEAST OBJECTIONABLE PROGRAM
• Still works in video store movie selection
• THEORY ASSUMES A LIMITED NUMBER OF PROGRAM
  OPTIONS

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AUDIENCE FLOW

• Network strategies are directed at capturing and
  holding the largest adult audience.
• 4 out of every 10 of a lead-in shows rating
  points will flow to next the program

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NETWORK SEASONSStations demand best shows during
sweeps
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SHOW LIFETIME 5 YEARS ?

• Shorter attention span of viewers
• Syndicating series while still on network
• Scarcity and high cost of writer/producers
• High cost of renewal

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WHICH SHOW GETS CANCELED?

• Based on network profit
• Revenue - Cost Profit
• Revenue directly related to ratings
• Bottom 1/3 canceled - Top 1/3 stay
• Acceptable audience share
• 1980 20 rating, 30 share
• 2000 10 rating, 15 share

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WHICH SHOW GETS RETAINED ?

• MOST LIKELY TO BE RETAINED
• New situation comedies
• Reality-based series
• Shows with lower costs
• Shows with target demographics

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HOW IMPORTANT IS TIME SLOT?

• Over 1/2 of series moved to a new time slot do
  not improve the ratings of that slot.
• 85 placed in low-rated time slot do not improve
  ratings.
• 33 get lower ratings than previous show
• Nets decide quickly and cancel fast

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PROGRAM COSTS

• Escalated wildly in 80s - 90s
• Crime dramas (most expensive) replaced by reality
  and newsmags.
• Most expensive (science fiction/western) totally
  disappeared.
• By 1995, sitcoms/reality were 60 of shows. Cost
  of Malcom in Middle
• 1.2 million per episode.

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MAJOR SHOW GENRES

• SITCOMS
• Friends
• Dharma Greg
• Drew Carey
• CRIME DRAMAS
• E.R.
• Sopranos
• REALITY
• Survivor

• NEWS MAGAZINE
• 60 Minutes
• Dateline NBC
• THEATRICAL MOVIES
• MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES
• SPECIALS SPORTS

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Most new US Shows Are Patterned After Long
Forgotten or Foreign Shows

• Net Program Sources
• Produce their own
• Buy from other studios
• Warner Brothers
• Fox
• Paramount
• Disney

• Top Independent studios have the most experience,
  top writers, clout with stars
• Steven Bochko
• Witt-Thomas
• Carsey-Werner

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THE NETWORK BOTTOM LINE

• Play it safe -
• take few risks
• Resist trailblazing shows unless you have nothing
  to lose.
• Benefits from shows like Survivor.and
• Millionaire are BIG.

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THE STEP DEAL

• 600 Scripts chosen for development at network
  expense.
• Net and Producer do step deal contract
• payments to producer/ control project to net
• Net gets first refusal right. Producer cant
  offer to others until net turndown
• script written to make first cut

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HOW NETS BUY HOW

• New shows 6-10 episodes
• May order another 10 episodes, with each episode
  running twice,
• Episodes declined from 40 in 1960 to 22
• Highest-rated episodes repeated out of ratings
  (Dec/Jan/March/April). Weaker in June/July/Aug)
• cancelable at any time

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EACH NETWORK ORDERS 30-40 PILOTS TO FILL 12-20
ANTICIPATED GAPS IN SCHEDULE_at_ 1 - 3
MILLIONper show
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100 PILOTS SHOT FOR 40-60 OPEN PROGRAM SLOTSMany
pilots are done as made for TV moviesto
recoup pilot investment
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BASIS FOR SELECTING SCRIPT FOR PILOT

• Resemblance between pilot and shows that worked
  in the past.
• Projected ability of show to deliver target
  demos.
• Current viewer tastes as shown by ratings
• cost of pilot
• Appeal of series stars

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BASIS FOR SELECTING SCRIPT

• Types of competing shows on night when show might
  be scheduled.
• Availability of appropriate time period.
• Reputation of writers and producer
• Compatibility of pilot with lead-in/lead- out
• Cost From 500,000 to 1.5 million
• per half hour.

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Promotion as a scheduling strategy

• How do viewers
• find new shows on TV?

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How do you most often find out about new TV
series?
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Jumping the Shark

• When producers of a show
• make a bad decision
• that starts a downturn
• in the shows ratings