AMC Hitting the Originals 'Trail'

Cablevision's AMC had a banner year last year and is looking for even better things in 2008.

The network picked up a record 18 Emmy nominations, the most of any basic-cable network, including 16 for its original movie event Broken Trail, which was the highest such total since Roots 30 years ago. The network also premiered its first original series in decades, Mad Men, to abundant critical acclaim and 1.6 million viewers, 77% more than the channel usually draws.

Nexty year, the network is looking to premiere another big movie event and two original dramas, one of which is the nine-part series Breaking Bad, from acclaimed writer/producer/director Vince Gillighan. The show follows a man who turns to crime to take care of his family and will star Emmy-nominated Bryan Cranston.

Once known as American Movie Classics, the channel showed ripe old movies. But in recent years, it began showing newer films, and some viewers didn't like the change.

Now it's gone in an even more radical direction as a producer of original content.

It's been ramping up that pitch to the creative community in Hollywood. Shows in development, designed to piggyback thematically on AMC's library of acquired films, include a miniseries based on the Tim O'Brien Vietnam War book The Things They Carried; a remake of the 1960s TV classic The Prisoner, and a boxing series, Cutman, based on the short stories of trainer F.X. Toole, who wrote the story on which the film Million Dollar Baby was based.

Network executives want both AMC's advertisers and target 25-54-year-old viewers to think of it as a place for distinct and high-quality originals, says Ed Carroll, president of Rainbow Entertainment Services, AMC's parent company.

"Increasingly, the original content needs to stand for the brand," says Carroll. "You're always looking to drive home the message this show is uniquely suited to this network, and at AMC we're developing quality original series that have high production values and work with our movie library." —Anne Becker

Discovery's Three Stars Taking It To The Next Level

While Discovery Communications' established channels usually get attention, the company's trio of emerging networks—Discovery Times, the Military Channel and Discovery HD Theater—are quietly ratcheting up original production and building their audiences.

Military Channel and Discovery Times currently reach about 50 million subscribers and are posting small gains in Nielsen ratings. In August, Military's primetime viewership jumped 56% to 100,000 viewers compared to a year ago, while Discovery Times nearly tripled its audience to 111,000. The audiences are small, but the growth is significant, says Clint Stinchcomb, executive VP/general manager for the three networks, because it shows progress. "We are taking these networks to the next level," he says.

HD Theater is currently in 15 million HD-enabled homes, but ratings are not yet available for high-def channels.

Increasingly, the networks are making their own shows, not repackaging old Discovery fare. But not always. For example, the networks re-air programs, including Discovery's Future Weapons on Military, while Times replays Discovery's Ted Koppel specials.

Military's latest fleet of shows includes Sea Battles: Graveyard of the Atlantic and a second season of Weaponology, which explains how weapons are developed. Next year, it debuts aerial combat show Wild Blue. As Stinchcomb says, "We are unabashedly pro-soldier."

While Discovery Times' ownership has changed—Discovery severed its partnership with The New York Times—the channel's mission remains the same. "We explain the 'why' behind the 'what' in current events and recent history," Stinchcomb explains. Upcoming series include What Happened When, which revisits major news events, and Most Evil, profiling some of the world's most notorious madmen.

HD Theater continues to showcase the best high-def productions from its sister nets, but originals now make up about 40% of the schedule, including programs like Wildlife Man and an upcoming special on helicopter skiing. Discovery is also relaunching another digital network, Discovery Home, as environmentally focused Planet Green early next year. —Allison Romano

Gospel Music Stumping For Carriage

At a time when it is seems nearly impossible to launch a new linear cable channel, the fledgling Gospel Music is slowly gaining a foothold. By year's end, Gospel says it will reach 20 million subscribers in 22 of the top 25 markets.

That is solid progress—particularly for an independent that is not backed by a major media company.

Since its unveiling three years ago, Gospel's top execs, former Turner executive Brad Siegel and Discovery veteran Charlie Humbard, have had to stump for carriage at both the corporate and local levels. After landing deals with most major MSOs, Gospel execs must negotiate launches with the local systems.

To accelerate distribution, Gospel reached a deal in May to take over the now-defunct Black Family Channel's carriage in several markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

There is still plenty more to be done. Along with more system launches, Gospel needs to secure carriage on the two major satellite systems, DirectTV and EchoStar's DISH Network. Siegel says Gospel is close to a deal with EchoStar.

Siegel says 23% of Americans say they're gospel or soul music fans. Gospel programs to different genres each night. Says Siegel, "To appeal to a demographically diverse audience, this channel needs to be very diverse musically."

Along with lots of videos and concerts, the network also beams including Biography-type interview series Faith and Fame and Gospel Dream, an American Idol clone.

For fourth quarter, Gospel plans five Christmas-themed productions shot in Nashville. A new Saturday variety series, Kitchen Sink, will also debut from the network's new Atlanta studio. —Allison Romano

Hallmark Channel Courting Family-Friendly Success

Nearly a year after Henry Schleiff took over, the Hallmark Channel is pushing its way into cable's elite.

As he did at Court TV, Schleiff is emphasizing more original programming and heavy marketing and promotion. For Hallmark, he says that means making the most of family-friendly and the blue-chip brand name.

In the next year, the channel plans 30 original movies, up from 12-18 films in recent years. Hallmark is improving its star-quotient, signing bigger names like Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl and Army Wives' Catherine Bell.

New movies also will help stock Hallmark Movie Channel HD, slated to launch early next year.

With successful original and acquired movies, Hallmark is now routinely in cable's upper ratings. In July, for example, the network ranked eighth in prime time with total viewers, besting big name channels like Cartoon, FX and A&E.

Part of Hallmark's success, Schleiff contends, is its continued commitment to family-friendly fare while others chase younger demos with edgier shows. "The demand for compelling, emotionally connecting, family-friendly programming is increasing, but the supply has not expanded," he says.

Subscriber growth is also aiding Hallmark's gains. The six-year-old channel, currently in 83.6 million homes, is rapidly approaching full distribution.

To continue growing, Schleiff emphasizes branding and promotion, much as he did at Court. Hallmark already has a new on-air look and tagline, "Make Yourself at Home."

Hallmark is also partnering with parent company Crown Media's network of 4,000 card stores, Those stores, Schleiff says, are "like having 4,000 billboards for our programming." —Allison Romano

IFC Embracing Indie Culture

Cablevision's IFC is breaking from its roots as the home of just independent film and moving to embrace all of indie culture. The network premiered a slew of original programming in July, including the four-part documentary, Indie Sex, and the second seasons of original comedy series The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman and The Business.

Next year, IFC is looking to run between three and five originals—possible third seasons of its two comedies and some new shows, says Rainbow Entertainment Services president Ed Carroll.

"There's no question going forward that there are more ways for people to avail themselves of independent film so we want the channel to be a bit broader," says Carroll. "We want to use it as a springboard to all independent culture."

Atop the network's development slate is Bollywood Hero, a scripted series that follows comedian/actor Chris Kattan, who plays himself in an otherwise fictional comedy about a rejected Hollywood leading man who looks for the role of his dreams in India. Also coming to the network are seasons one and two of The Whitest Kids U Know, a musical sketch-comedy show from Kids in the Hall executive producer Jim Biederman.

IFC has pumped resources into premiering original and acquired independent content on its Website, IFC.com. That includes this summer's Web exclusive of R. Kelly's mega-hit urban operetta Trapped in the Closet. The premiere shattered IFC.com's viewing records, notching more than 3 million page views and 1.4 million video plays during its premiere week, enough to increase unique visits to the site by 300% since the episodes debuted. Also online, IFC premiered its first Web series, Getting Away with Murder, in May 2007 and increased unique visitors by 144% for the month.

What's next: Parent company Cablevision is planning an HD feed for all of its networks soon. —Anne Becker

Lifetime Reclaiming Its Spot

Like a heroine in one of its movies, after a fall from grace, Lifetime is rising once again. After a well-publicized ratings and creative slump in recent years, Lifetime is reclaiming its place as one of cable's most-watched networks.

The resurgence is thanks in part to three new-hit originals on Sunday nights that sizzled all summer. Lifetime's new marquee show is ensemble-drama Army Wives, which nabbed a blistering 4.1 million viewers for its Aug. 26 finale, making it the most-watched show in network history. For its freshman season, Army Wives averaged 3.7 million viewers and set records for the network in almost every demo.

Also on Sundays, Lifetime scored with two more first-year dramas, Side Order of Life and State of Mind, which are both averaging a solid 1.9 million viewers. Overall, Sunday night ratings are up nearly 10% over last year.

While some networks choose to sprinkle originals across the week, Lifetime loaded up Sundays to "make the evening an event," says President and CEO Andrea Wong, formerly ABC's head of alternative programming. "We want to create a destination on Lifetime." Wong says Lifetime will use Army Wives to launch another new drama next summer.

This season, the network is planning more original movies and lighter reality shows. On tap for fall is a four-hour thriller miniseries The Gathering, about a doctor searching for his missing wife. In January, Lifetime launches new reality show How to Look Good Naked, hosted by Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fashionista Carson Kressley, where women learn to (healthfully) improve their bodies. —Allison Romano

MTVU Connecting On Campus

This fall, as students head back to campus, college-centric MTVU will deliver new programs, specials and digital initiatives to hook students in front ofany screen.

Three-year old MTVU currently reaches 7.5 million college students on about 750 campuses in dorm rooms, lounges and dining halls. MTVU does not, however, have distribution on most cable systems so it can't reach students off campus or visiting back home. To bridge that gap, it's the only MTV network that streams simultaneously online, the only MTV Networks-owned cable channel to offer full streaming. To bolster its online presence, MTVU has acquired College Media Network, which runs college newspapers' Websites.

MTVU is innovating with that asset. It has a new series, Sex Cred with Dr. Ruth, where sex columnists from campus papers will join Dr. Ruth Westheimer (who has taught at Yale and Princeton) to discuss sexy issues on their campuses. In another twist, for its annual Woodie Awards music award show, MTVU will poll the papers' music editors. "These local extensions allow us to connect more deeply with the audience," says general manager Stephen Friedman.

The network also runs RateMyProfessor.com, a popular site where students rank teachers.

This fall, as part of continuing monthly series Stand In, in which celebrities act as surprise guest lecturers, MTVU will welcome a batch of unexpected teachers, including Ludacris and Annie Lennox. In new episodes of How Do I Say This?, produced by UCLA students, college kids seek advice from peers on personal issues.

MTVU is also launching its inaugural Poet Laureate series, spotlighting the work of poet John Ashbery in 18 promo spots. In a related effort, the network is partnering with publisher Harper Collins in the National Poetry Series to find and publish a young poet. —Allison Romano

NBCU's Chiller, Sleuth Old Shows, New Again

At a time when it's near-impossible to launch a new linear cable network, NBC Universal has a plan: repurpose old content and program it across digital platforms.

The company is bullish on crime-focused Sleuth and horror-themed Chiller, networks that exist as standard and HD cable channels, and VOD packages. At the very least, they are low cost experiments that can serve as incubators for other NBCU netowrks. At the best they are tiny channels that will grow into big ones.

Sleuth, which launched Jan. 1, 2006, and is now in nearly 30 million homes, and Chiller, which launched in March 2007 and is in about 13 million homes, fill their schedules of old crime and horror TV shows and movies from the Universal library and others, including 20th Century Fox TV, Sony, Warner Bros. TV and Lionsgate.

The channels are part of NBCU's Emerging Networks division, overseen by senior VP Dan Harrison. The group also includes Universal HD, which launched Dec. 1, 2004. NBC launched the networks with the hope that someday, it could acquire better programs and eventually get large enough to produce original fare.

The company created a small, in-house on-air promo team to create a distinctive looks for each network.

"We've got to create an environment that's creative and compelling, and lets people know what they are and create as much noise as we can on our limited budgets," says Harrison.

Sleuth and Chiller build brand affinity by creating stunts and packages around their target genres.

Currently, Chiller is running Dare to Direct, a short film competition for viewers that will be judged by a top TV producer. The winners get cash prizes and their work showcased on Chiller on Halloween.—Anne Becker

Oxygen Breathing New Life

After fits and starts since launching seven years ago, women's net Oxygen seems to finally be finding a niche with female viewers. Lighthearted romantic reality shows and crime series—a somewhat unlikely mix—are hooking viewers and more are on the way.

Both genres, it seems, can be equally addictive. "We see sampling and movement between the genres," says Debby Beece, president of programming and marketing. She says the variety helps Oxygen attract a younger audience than its rivals. Oxygen says its median age for viewers is 39 years old—nine years younger than competitor WE and 10 years younger than women's leader Lifetime.

For the romantic types, Oxygen recently debuted a second season of Tori Spelling's reality show Tori & Dean: Inn Love, featuring the actress with her husband Dean McDermott. After two episodes, the show averaged a 1 rating with women 18 to 34, a solid average in a hard-to-reach demo. In February, Oxygen will welcome another celebrity family with Deion & Pilar: Primetime Love show, starring flamboyant NFL star Deion Sanders and his glamorous wife, Pilar.

Returning lighter fare includes a third season of the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency and season two of Bad Girls Club, about a group of women living together.

On the crime side, in October Oxygen will launch Captured, where ordinary women help solve crimes. The show is a companion to true-crime series Snapped, about women who reach a breaking point and commit violent acts, which is entering its sixth season.

For now, Oxygen is heavy on reality series and testing the scripted waters with original movies. Several romantic comedies are slated for next year, including Husband for Hire starring Mario Lopez and Mark Consuelos. —Allison Romano

Showtime Getting Hip to Success

After languishing as the "other" pay channel for years, Showtime is suddenly one of cable's hottest networks—ad-supported or premium. Thanks to a string of successful shows —from the dark-comedy darling Weeds and its new companion Californication to period hit The Tudors and crime drama Brotherhood—Showtime now finds itself on unfamiliar turf—it is a network with hits and momentum.

Explaining Showtime's success, Chairman Matt Blank says, "Our programming is more commercial, broader in appeal and a little hipper. We now have enough strength to launch new series and package nights."

Blank gives much of the credit for Showtime's new arsenal to Entertainment President Bob Greenblatt, a former co-executive producer of HBO's Six Feet Under. Where Showtime once found moderate success with niche shows like Queer as Folk, under Greenblatt's programming direction, the network has a wider appeal now. Better marketing and promotion also helps.

Many cable networks focus their originals on summertime. Showtime puts originals on year-round. Coming up are new seasons of Dexter, Brotherhood, This American Life and Penn & Teller: Bullshit and a sketch comedy show starring Tracey Ullman. New seasons of reality shows are also in the works.

Showtime now reaches about 15 million subscribers; HBO has 28 million. Buzz and ratings are nice but "good programming generates more subscribers," says Blank. "In the end, that is everything to us." —Allison Romano