So, just what are the new series that Cable is offering this fall ? the bounty hunter reality show on A&E. Oh, that's right: cable largely "competes" with broadcasting by offering lower-quality original shows in limited runs, and tired re-runs of broadcast shows. Yeah, that's the ticket: and just likely to become a more valuable "franchise" when people have Tivo-like devices and have no interest in transmitted repeats. John Willkie -----Original Message----- From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Craig Birkmaier Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 4:59 AM To: OpenDTV Mail List Subject: [opendtv] News: NEW BLOOD ; THE NETWORKS' FALL SHOWS FACE AN UPHILL BATTLE WITH MIGHTY CABLE NEW BLOOD ; THE NETWORKS' FALL SHOWS FACE AN UPHILL BATTLE WITH MIGHTY CABLE September 14, 2004 12:00am Source: ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. Rocky Mountain News : The summer is ending, which means the network's new fall series are taking center stage. But that stage continues to shrink every September. Or to put it into another context, cable networks continue their attempts to upstage the traditional networks. Cable keeps the heat on year-round, programming series in the summer. The warm-weather fare has increasingly pulled viewers from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The WB and UPN and made it more difficult for the six broadcast networks to generate enthusiasm for the fall. Collectively, summer ratings on the six networks were 7 percent lower than they were in 2003. And before NBC's hefty Summer Olympics viewership raised the figures, the networks were off 38 percent from the regular-season (September to May) audience, according to A.C. Nielsen research. And cable's inroads into the networks' audience don't stop in the summer months. Basic cable networks' ratings were up 8 percent in the official September-to-May network season over 2002-03. Dramas, in particular, have boosted cable viewing, with series like Monk, Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me garnering sizable audiences. And some cable series that premiered in spring and summer are going head- to-head with network programs. Also, cable is now big into reality television - once the major province of the networks. It all boils down to more competition in the fall for the networks and a steady erosion of their audiences. Meanwhile, the networks are introducing 32 series, down from 37 in 2003 and 35 two years ago. But put an asterisk by the 32 figure for this fall. Fox, emulating cable's around-the-calendar scheduling, has embarked on a 52-week season (with minimum success). So some "new" shows on Fox actually premiered in July, which would raise the new-series count past the mid-30s. To compete against cable, which has fewer restrictions in the areas of sex, violence and language, some new network offerings will be more risque in content. But that won't automatically draw viewers. Anyone recall NBC's awful Coupling from last fall? The sex comedy, a rip-off of a British success, was canceled after five episodes were aired. From one perspective, the 2004-05 network season will be similar to previous ones: Fewer than a third of the new offerings will survive for a sophomore season. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.