Upfront & Personal

Broadcast networks brought in a record $9.3 billion at this year’s upfront, the annual spring selling period when the six nets present their fall lineups to advertisers and media buyers. The amount marks a 15% jump over last year — despite a continually weak economy, which begs the question if a robust upfront comes at the expense of other forms of marketing, such as promotions.

Entertainment marketing insiders say no. “Certainly, people are wondering what happens when there is a strong upfront — but [advertising] agencies are being smart and telling their clients that if they spend this much money, they need to maximize their marketing objectives,” says Meredith Momoda, VP-integrated marketing and promotion for ABC Television Network.

Still, the sheer amount of money spent this year was surprising, says Steve Rotterdam, chief creative officer at EastWest Creative, New York City.

“Everything is expanding, the bubble is just getting bigger and bigger,” Rotterdam says. “That means the burst could be that much more powerful, but for now we are hearing and seeing that everyone wants more programming.”

Among the categories that increased TV spending are retail, pharmaceutical and telecommunications, while automotive — the No. 1 ad spenders — was flat.

Automakers are not only cutting back on spending due to the economy, but also have shifted from a brand image to a promotional focus, as exhibited by the steady stream of tours and movie tie-ins released lately.

“Right now you are seeing tours and programs like that because [automakers] have to more aggressively seek out their customer base,” says Sarah O’Leary, VP-strategic development at EastWest Creative.

However, a spokesperson for Chevrolet’s advertising agency of record Campbell-Ewald said the auto company is not cutting back on traditional upfront advertising for fall.

Meanwhile, the threat of TiVo is on marketers’ minds but they are taking a wait-and-see approach, says Patti Regan, president of The Regan Group, Los Angeles.

“The huge spend on upfront drove inventory prices higher so that those who couldn’t get the price they needed are readjusting plans,” Regan says. “There’s a trickle-down effect to cable and other media, such as radio, that need to be supplemented with promotions and more cohesive efforts rather than a wide-blanket network buy.”

But in the meantime, brands are looking to get more involved with networks earlier, rather than later, Regan says. “They are coming up with more ways to have their product seen and exposed, including publicity, online campaigns and in-store programs.”

That urgency may explain what reeled in advertisers and buyers who were underwhelmed by the nets’ 28 new shows for the 2003-2004 season.

While no breakout hits were predicted, there is a noticeable return to scripted comedy, ethnically diverse shows and dramas.

“Everyone is so thrilled [with the outcome of upfront],” says Devery Holmes, president of Norm Marshall & Associates, Sun Valley, CA. “It’s not just reality being offered.”

The success of reality TV, many say, is a result of the weak economy. “It’s less expensive and the risk isn’t there,” Holmes says.

“Scripted shows are so labor intensive,” Momoda says.

But the verdict on reality TV’s future is a mixed bag. The genre’s stronghold is fading, says Mitch Litvak, president of the Los Angeles-based L.A. Office. “The craze isn’t there this year,” he says. “People get it after a while and see that it’s more of a game than reality.”

Still, each of the networks has reality shows lined up as mid-season replacements. And for the fall, there is a focus on less-than-perfect characters. “There is a thirst for reality, meaning real characters that are more relevant,” Rotterdam says. “Viewers want to see characters they can relate to. Look at the success of The George Lopez Show. It’s not knee-jerk, cookie-cutter programs that people are looking for.”

Momoda predicts a mix of scripted and reality shows will find success this fall. Plus, companies that “had been feeling safe with Survivor are now looking to explore new options and differentiate between different types of reality shows,” she says.

Burbank, CA-based ABC is plugging its Extreme Makeover series — showcasing before and after plastic surgeries — into its Thursday-night lineup.

But the network is also taking a more traditional route with the return of America’s Funniest Home Videos on Sunday nights, where it aired from 1990 to 1998. Meanwhile, TGIF comes back to Friday nights along with new and returning domestic comedies.

Couch Potato Report

It’s nearly impossible to judge from the brief promo spots which new shows will take, but here are a few of interest….

NBC is searching for a replacement to Friends and may have it in Coupling, a British import about the busy sex lives of six urban 30-something friends. But before Friends wraps in May 2004, NBC plans to have fans vote for their six favorite episodes of the series; the results will air in the weeks leading up to the finale.

Fox may also be pushing the envelope slightly with The Ortegas, an improvisational sitcom about a young boy from a Mexican-American family who hosts a celebrity talk show from his home, complete with input from his old-fashioned parents and grandmother.

The WB, meanwhile, has Like Family, a show about a black family and a white family living in the same house. Whoopi Goldberg roosts with NBC for Whoopi, in which she stars as a one-hit wonder singer managing a bed-and-breakfast in upstate New York. On ABC, It’s All Relative tells the story a blue-collar bartender who falls for an uptown gal raised by two gay men.

Another attention-grabber is Fox’s Skin, a drama about a teenage boy’s father who is investigating his girlfriend’s father for leading the pornography industry in Los Angeles.

In a more unusual plot twist, WB’s Tarzan and Jane follows an affair between a female New York City detective and a man raised in the wild.

While shows such as Fox’s 24 — with plots revolving around a Middle Eastern terrorist organization’s attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate and detonate a nuclear bomb — once seemed too real after Sept. 11, the networks are now embracing such ideas with a slew of spy and homeland security dramas. ABC’s Threat Matrix, which borrows the namesake of the president’s real daily security risks briefing, chronicles a fictional homeland security agency that reports directly to the Oval Office. Meanwhile, CBS’ The Handler follows an L.A.-based FBI agent training undercover crime-fighting operatives.