September 2, 2008, - 2:06 pm
Say Buh-Bye to Classic TV Reruns: Even TV Land Gets Dumbed Down
By Debbie Schlussel
If you like “Sanford and Son” and “The Beverly Hillbillies” reruns–as I do–don’t look for them and other classic TV shows on TV Land.
Soon, Lamont and Mr. Drysdale won’t be living there anymore.
The cable network is getting MTV-ized and will dump many classic TV reruns in favor of reality shows. Because we don’t have enough dumb reality shows on TV. And it will add reruns of newer sitcoms like “Friends” because a gazillion cable networks running re-runs of “Friends” every single moment of the day isn’t enough. We need more.
TV Land–part of the MTV networks–is making this move to attract more younger baby boomer viewers in their mid-40s. But I predict it’ll fail. There are already plenty of networks with this garbage kind of programming on. People watched TV Land for something different and to reminisce back to the day when TV sitcoms were actually entertaining. Now, the network will be a homogenized waste of time.
And it’s a dumb strategy because, right now, TV Land is the only successful cable network among the MTV networks group. If it ain’t broke . . . .
Here’s the lowdown:
Viacom Inc.’s TV Land cable network is set to announce a new programming strategy this week — scaling back its traditional emphasis on nostalgia in pursuit of younger viewers.
The new programming plan, which the network plans to present to advertisers this week, will more than triple the number of hours of original programming on TV Land’s prime-time schedule. By the end of 2009, TV Land — which has for years served baby boomers a diet heavy with shows from their youth — wants to fill half its prime-time lineup with original programming, up from about 15% today and 4% in 2007.
Aimed primarily at people in their mid-40s — the younger end of the boomer spectrum, which spans those born from 1946 through 1964 — the new slate includes reality shows like “The Cougar,” in which a fortysomething woman picks among younger bachelors, and series pilots like “First Love/Second Chance,” which reunites long-lost lovers. The channel’s also importing reruns of more recent shows, like the ’90s-era “Friends.” And it is exploring creating its own sitcom.
Viacom’s investment in the new programming comes as TV Land has put in a robust performance in a challenging advertising climate. Viacom posted disappointing U.S. ad-revenue growth of only 1% in the second quarter. But TV Land’s ad revenue grew faster than that of younger-skewing Viacom channels like MTV. . . .
When it started in 1996, TV Land found quick success as a 24-hour network dedicated entirely to TV throwbacks like “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “M*A*S*H.” But in recent years, old reruns have become old hat. The entirety of “The Andy Griffith Show” is available on DVD; “The A-Team” streams free on hulu.com. And classic-TV viewers have been getting older, pushing the median age of TV Land watchers in prime-time above 55 in 2007, according to Nielsen Media Research. That’s relatively high even for a network targeting baby boomers.
The new strategy, approved by Viacom brass in a series of long-range planning meetings earlier this summer, is intended to help the channel expand its audience, lower its viewers’ median age by increasing the number of shows that attract people in their mid-40s, and pursue new advertisers that will pay higher prices for original fare. . . .
Slowing ad growth at channels with younger audiences didn’t affect the decision to invest in TV Land, says Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman. . . .
One big focus of the new original shows will be dating and romance. (“Your libido doesn’t leave you after 35,” says Mr. Herzog of MTV Networks’ entertainment group.)
Yeah, but your brain and taste doesn’t either.
And people wonder why mine is a cable-free household.
Too bad. That is one of the channels my sister lets her kids watch. They are working their way through all the old Brady Bunch, Green Acres, Gilligan’s Island, etc. All shows already pre-screened by mom when she was kid!!
LoveAManInAUniform on September 2, 2008 at 2:49 pm