By Joe Flint and Suzanne Vranica
As ratings fall and viewers decamp to streaming platforms with
fewer or no commercials, broadcasters are embracing the adage that
imitation is the strongest form of television.
The big four U.S. broadcast networks are rehashing existing
material more than ever, banking on familiar content to hold on to
audiences and advertisers. The yearslong surge in remakes and
spinoffs is set to hit new heights this fall, after networks
unveiled their prime-time schedules to advertisers last week.
Reboots "are a safer bet but, on the negative side, it shows the
networks aren't taking any risks," said Garth Tiedje, executive
vice president of video investment for Horizon Media.
While that trend hasn't dazzled Madison Avenue, which will
decide in coming weeks how much to gamble on the next wave of
predictable programming, broadcast networks are expected to benefit
from an uptick in TV ad spending.
After years of ratings erosion, the networks took an especially
big hit during the pandemic, with all of them down double-digit
percentages in total viewers in 2020 from the previous year and
most taking similar hits in viewership among key demographics.
"It's hard for new shows to launch in broadcast," said Channing
Dungey, chairman of AT&T Inc.'s Warner Bros. Television Group,
one of the largest producers of TV programs. She added that a
reboot requires an exciting underlying idea to last long after
opening.
A trade association representing TV networks alleged that
Nielsen undercounted viewership during the pandemic in part because
the measurement giant's method for maintaining its household panels
was inadequate during the crisis. A measurement watchdog's review
found Nielsen undercounted TV viewers by up to 6% in February. The
trade group has called for a full audit.
Nielsen "continues to work with all of our clients closely" as
well as with industry groups and auditors, as it has done through
the pandemic and in recent days, said Mainak Mazumdar, chief data
and research officer.
As corporations gain confidence in the reopening U.S. economy,
networks will likely see a boost from higher ad spending across
most types of media, ad buyers said. Companies are expected to
spend 15% more on U.S. advertising this year than in 2020.
Ad-buying giant GroupM expects national TV advertising to rebound,
growing 6.6% this year and 2% next year, reversing last year's 6.7%
plunge. And with demand for ad space outpacing available supply,
networks are seeking sharply higher prices.
Advertisers are expected to shift more dollars to streaming
services, where a number of new players from ViacomCBS Inc.'s
Paramount Plus, NBCUniveral's Peacock and WarnerMedia's HBO Max
will be fighting for budgets against incumbents like Alphabet
Inc.'s YouTube and Roku Inc. But brands are still pouring money
into television.
"The ad dollars have not caught up with where consumption is
going," said John Swift, Omnicom Media Group's chief operating
officer for North America.
CBS is the most aggressive network in betting on franchises this
fall. The most-viewed network has three "FBI" shows -- "FBI," "FBI
International" and "FBI: Most Wanted." The "NCIS" franchise
jettisoned its New Orleans edition but added one in Hawaii. And
"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," which spawned three spinoffs, is
back with a new version.
"'Franchise' is a bad word only if you do the exact same thing,"
said CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl, who said each show has
its own identity despite sharing source material. CBS is a unit of
ViacomCBS.
NBC has a similar strategy. Wednesday night remains devoted to
Chicago-based action series "Chicago Med," "Chicago Fire" and
"Chicago P.D.," while the new "Law & Order" series "For the
Defense" is joining Thursday's lineup of "Law & Order: SVU" and
"Law & Order: Organized Crime." While fall network slates are
heavy on drama -- a potentially sober offering as many Americans
look to move past a difficult year -- lighter fare is getting
rehashed, too. NBC is developing new versions of 1980s comedies
"Night Court" and "Kate and Allie."
Susan Rovner, chairman of entertainment content for
NBCUniversal, said its franchises are both solid performers and
have strong afterlives on the company's streaming platform,
Peacock, and in reruns. NBCUniversal is a unit of Comcast Corp.
Fox Corp.'s Fox and Walt Disney Co.'s ABC are also mining their
archives. ABC is launching a new version of its 1980s hit "The
Wonder Years," this time about a Black family in Alabama in the
1960s. Fox has a reboot of the 1970s camp classic "Fantasy Island"
and another Gordon Ramsey cooking show in the works.
Not everyone is thrilled with the franchise frenzy. "It becomes
very hard and frustrating when the thing you've been doing most of
your life is coming up with an original idea and turning it into a
TV show," writer-producer Mike Royce, whose credits include
"Everybody Loves Raymond," said of the current landscape.
When Mr. Royce was part of a team making a show about a single
mother and her Hispanic family, it was pitched as a new version of
the 1970s CBS hit "One Day at a Time." All the show shared with the
original was its title and single-mother character, but Mr. Royce
said those factors got it made first for Netflix Inc. and then for
ViacomCBS's Pop TV.
"If we had pitched that same exact show without the IP
[intellectual property] of the old show, we never would have gotten
anywhere," Mr. Royce said.
Warren Littlefield, who headed NBC Entertainment when the
original "Law & Order" premiered in 1990 and is now a producer
with credits including Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," said complex
and serialized shows are a tougher sell for broadcasters.
While a successful franchise can give writers job stability,
many see formulaic procedurals as a creative turnoff.
"The vast majority of writers do not want to work on network
television, " said one senior television agent. NBCUniversal's Ms.
Rovner agreed it can "be a little harder for network television" to
woo top talent.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com and Suzanne Vranica at
suzanne.vranica@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 24, 2021 15:32 ET (19:32 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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