Network
News Corp.s Fox will add four comedies in September, the network said at annual meetings with advertisers this week in New York. NBC is moving Jay Leno to a prime-time slot for five nights. Walt Disney Co.s ABC gathered ad buyers at Lincoln Center to highlight two hours of laughs planned for Wednesdays.
The networks, facing a battered economy and losing audiences to the Web, cable TV and video games, are taking a cue from marketers in betting that laughter may cure advertising declines. Advance ad sales for the 2009-2010 season may drop 15 percent to $7.4 billion, estimates Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente in New York.
“Our business is selling advertising, and advertisers at the moment like comedies,” Kelly Kahl, the chief scheduler at CBS, said in an interview.
CBS, the only major broadcaster to increase its audience during the TV season ending this month, added one new comedy to its September lineup. “Accidentally on Purpose,” starring Jenna Elfman as a single journalist who gets pregnant by a younger man, gives CBS six comedies on its new schedule.
General Electric Co.s NBC, last in ratings among the big four networks, already had comedy as a focus on Thursday nights with “The Office” and “30 Rock.” It is adding to that by moving late-night comedian Leno to 10 p.m. five nights a week.
NBC has three additional comedies that will start in September, and two that will begin mid-season, including “The Marriage Ref,” a comic reality-show for which executive producer Jerry Seinfeld will give marriage advice. His “Seinfeld” was one of the biggest shows of the 1990s.
Night of Comedy
NBC highlighted its commitment to comedy by hosting — in lieu of the typical party for advertisers — “A Night of Comedy” in New York. Leno and other network stars such as Amy Poehler and Tracy Morgan performed stand-up routines for marketers.
“Were incredibly excited about our new and returning series and have more comedy programming than anyone else,” Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, said in a statement.
First-quarter ad sales declined at all four networks. New York-based CBS Corp. climbed 6 cents to $7.28 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading and is off 69 percent in the past year.
General Electric, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, gained 7 cents to $13.77 and has lost 57 percent in 12 months. That compares with drops of 31 percent for Burbank, California-based Disney, and 53 percent at Rupert Murdochs News Corp.
Able to Laugh
“The comedy genre has for a few years been considered dead, but we want diversity in the schedule and we want shows that deliver the audience,” Sam Armando, a senior vice president at Chicago-based media agency Starcom Worldwide, said in an interview. “There is the belief that in these times people want to be entertained and they want to be able to laugh.”
To showcase its slate, Fox followed the May 19 broadcast of “American Idol,” the top-rated show on television, with a one- hour preview of the musical comedy “Glee.”
“Its the biggest screening ever,” Kevin Reilly, the president of entertainment at Fox broadcasting, said at his networks May 18 presentation.
The preview of “Glee,” about a teacher who tries to restore glory to a faded high school glee club, was watched by 10 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings.
ABC is introducing four new comedy shows on Wednesday nights. The sitcoms showcase veterans of past hits: Kelsey Grammer of “Frasier” fame will star in “Hank”; Patricia Heaton, formerly of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” will anchor “The Middle”; and former “Friends” star Courteney Cox stars in “Cougar Town,” about a newly single divorcee.
Crap Shoot