A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM 20TH TELEVISION

Cynopsis Media Presents: 2013 Upfront Syndication Market
04/18/13

by Rod Granger

It’s still Thursday, April 18th, Ah, spring, when the television industry turns to thoughts of… syndication. And this year, no matter the genre – comedy, drama, talk, reality, game show – one thought in particular common to all is: upfront, yes, but also upbeat? To help ensure a robust season, suppliers and advertisers alike are working diligently together to meet, and exceed, expectations.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM A MESSAGE FROM NBCUniversal TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION

Fortified by a growth in the syndication business to $5.1 billion in 2012 from 2011’s $4.7 billion – a 7% increase, according to Kantar Media – and confidence that the overall economy will continue, however slowly, to improve, the mood in the marketplace can be characterized as guarded but hopeful.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Francois Lee, SVP, Group Client Director at MediaVest Worldwide, whose clients include Microsoft Xbox and TD Ameritrade. “Advertisers may be a bit more comfortable in committing versus a few years back, when the economy was in a different state and advertisers talked about week-to-week scenarios.”

“I expect the market to be up this year – things do feel better than they did a year ago,” said Paul Montoya, President, Media Sales, CBS Television Distribution, which syndicates Judge Judy, Wheel of Fortune, and the forthcoming Arsenio Hall Show, among others. “Whether money is spent upfront or during the year, it will be spent. In the last year or two, advertisers have been holding on to money, which I think they’ll be releasing this year as their businesses improve.”

Fueling the faith is a slate of new and returning shows in a variety of dayparts. Big things are expected from each sector.

A “Good” and “Modern” Marketplace

CBS last month announced a very 21st century roll-out model for The Good Wife, which encompasses on-demand, online, cable, and broadcast TV station windows, in that order. Good Wife? Yes. Non-traditional? Absolutely. “Going forward, the Good Wife scenario – putting a show across multiple platforms – could be the rule rather than the exception in off-net deals,” says Brad Adgate, analyst for Horizon Media, whose clients include Geico and Cap One.

Here’s how the syndication arrangement breaks down: the first three seasons became available on Amazon Prime on March 14th with season four coming later this year; Hulu Plus subscribers will have access to previous seasons in Sept. 2013; The Hallmark Channel comes next with weekday episodes beginning in January 2014, and local TV stations’ weekend window starts in Sept. 2014, currently covering 85% of the country. “CBS did a great job getting the most amount of money for their product,” said Ira Bernstein, co-president of Debmar-Mercury, whose distributes Family Feud and Anger Management, and produces and distributes The Wendy Williams Show.

Modern Family will begin its syndication runs on USA Network and top Fox TV stations this fall, hoping to duplicate the massive successive it has enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, in its ABC network berth. Cleared in 97% of the country, the show will be “in prime real estate” on the Fox Television Stations from 6-8 pm, said Joe Oulvey, EVP, Ad Sales, at Twentieth Television. “The economics of the show means it will air in as high profile a time period as TV stations can put it,” he said. USA has announced it will strip the series Monday through Sunday.

“USA is not going to be shy about what they ask, and that show deserves it,” says Ira Bernstein. “I think what Disney did with Katie in talk is what Twentieth will do with Modern Family in sitcoms, which is basically set new highs for pricing.” But let’s not lose our heads, warns one senior media buyer. “The stage is set for a major pricing battle – USA has really put a stake in the ground for what the network expects the cost of Modern Family to be. It’s a nice show, but it’s not worth what they’re asking. It’s just not,” he says.

Other highly anticipated off-net shows include Twentieth’s Glee and The Cleveland Show, and Warner Bros.’ The Middle.

“Hall” Monitor

On the late-night front, CTD is launching Arsenio Hall, hoping to reengage his former audience base and attract new viewers – and advertisers – to the fold. Cleared in 95% of the country, Arsenio will air mostly in 10 pm and 11 pm time slots. Hall has a built-in audience from his previous show, who are now 35 to 45 years old, “in the bulls-eye of late-night viewership,” Montoya says. The show also broadens CTD’s customer base, “bringing in new categories like spirits and beer, auto, telecom and electronics.”

Talk of the Town

Anderson, Ricki, and Jeff have left the building, but Disney-ABC’s Katie and NBCUniversal’s Steve Harvey will be returning to the talk fold this fall, having proven that viewers will tune in to see them. “We continue to have interest in the scatter market for (Katie), and we now have a strong product to show, not just a strong product to talk about,” said Howard Levy, EVP, Disney-ABC Syndication Advertising Sales.

As for Steve Harvey, “he’s grown organically, meaning without station upgrades, time periods or double runs,” said Bo Argentino, SVP, Advertising and Media Sales, NBC-Universal TV Distribution, whose talk slate also includes Maury, Jerry Springer, Steve Wilkos, and Trisha Goddard. On a national basis, Argentino says, Harvey improved time periods +27% vs. a year ago in households, and +32% vs. a year ago in W25-54. A good percentage of the stations have already renewed and upgraded for season two, she adds. Harvey has also helped boost Family Feud since becoming host in 2010. “(Family Feud) is close to a 5 rating this season,” confirms Oulvey (Twentieth handles ad sales for the show), “and it’s done as high as a 5.4.”

Also new on the talk scene is The Queen Latifah Show from Sony Pictures Television, launching this September and cleared in over 90% of the country. “This year, with much less clutter, there’s a real opportunity to engage with viewers,” said Amy Carney, President, Advertiser sales, Strategy & Research, Sony Pictures Television. “Interest from our advertisers has only grown stronger as we approach the Upfront. Queen Latifah is already known as a Cover Girl, as a movie star, and a music phenomenon, so they’re excited about the opportunity to embrace her in the show this fall.”

Bethenny, from Warner Bros., makes its national debut this fall following a successful test run on six top market Fox stations. “The results were staggering, with some of the stations achieving 10 or 20 year ratings highs,” said Michael Teicher, EVP, WB Domestic Television Distribution.

Testing continues to be a popular way to help shape shows before their national coming out parties. “Doing a limited test run really has no downside,” said Teicher. “On the one hand, if (a show) doesn’t perform well, we won’t bring it out at the upfront. On the flip side, if it’s very successful, then we have a sales story as evidence to suggest it will work, instilling confidence in our advertisers.”

DNA

MGM Domestic Television Distribution is getting back into the first-run syndication game for the first time since 2004, with Paternity Court, “where science meets the law,” as family attorney Lauren Lake helps resolve legal issues using DNA evidence. Clearances stand at about 85% of the country, according to Jim Mattson, Director of Ad Sales for MGM TV. A DNA hook also anchors CBS’s The Test, which attempts to settle relationship and paternity suits among the guests.

Mattson also provided Cynopsis with some breaking news: MGM will pick up “Right This Minute,” an offbeat video clips program launched in 2011 by MagicDust Television in partnership with Cox Media Group, Raycom, and Scripps.  The program hosts sift through web video content and present it to viewers before it goes viral, Mattson said. Currently running on 61 stations in 25 states, MGM expects to be in 80% of the country when it launches in October.

Cops & Millionaires

Two shows returning with fresh coats of paint are Cops Reloaded from Twentieth, designed to reinvigorate what has always been a successful franchise, with newly edited, thematically grouped, episodes, Oulvey said. Twentieth is also bringing back for a second season Dish Nation, a comedic look at the news featuring morning DJ teams from across the country.

Disney-ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is saying goodbye Meredith Vieira, and hello to Cedric the Entertainer, who will add to the show a more comedic element. “Meredith has done a terrific job, but at some point with shows you want to shake things up a little bit,” said Levy.

Disney-ABC is also going national with On the Red Carpet, the half-hour weekly entertainment news show which began on L.A.’s KABC-TV in 2010.

Live From The U.S… It’s Syndication!

“Ninety percent of syndication is watched live, and those numbers have been consistently high since 2010,” said Mitch Burg, president of the Syndicated Network Television Association. “Contrast that with the fact that today, live network viewership is lower than 60%.”

As the upfront unfolds, all involved will continue to focus not only on strengthening their own businesses, but reinforcing what they see as syndication’s particular value and advantages as screens continue to proliferate, audiences continue to fragment, and models continue to evolve.

Later,
Rod Granger
Editor
04.18.13

Roberta Caploe: Editorial Director
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