FAST TRACK

A&E to redefine itself with new tagline, original dramas and Tony Soprano

Just what does A&E stand for these days? That's what the cable network has been explaining to ad buyers in advance of the upfronts. Network execs are pitching the former Arts & Entertainment channel as a “focused entertainment network” of original and acquired series whose shows are connected by strong characters. An on-air rebrand, including a new tagline, will be implemented over the next year, and the network is poised to open a Los Angeles office to develop its first batch of scripted dramas in years.

“A&E's gone through so many changes in the last couple of years, it's on us to clarify for everybody who we are and what we stand for,” says Executive VP/General Manager Bob DeBitetto. “Most people still go, 'A&E—Arts and Entertainment.' That is what we need to move beyond.”

What the network stands for, he says, is characters—and that's the message DeBitetto—whose Senior VP of Marketing, Artie Scheff, recently departed—and his ad-sales team have delivered in L.A., Chicago and Detroit over the past few months. Although that message sounds similar to USA's (“Characters Welcome” is the tagline at USA, which has more than twice as many viewers in the 18-49 demo as A&E), DeBitetto says A&E is more focused in its personality-driven programming. A&E hasn't bought the rights to pricey sports franchises or movies like the bigger entertainment networks, he adds, instead focusing on youth-targeting reality series, original movies and acquired dramas.

“The sports franchises and the wrestling deliver huge ratings—I get that,” says DeBitetto. “Those companies also pay dearly for those franchises.”

While original series like Rollergirls and Dallas SWAT haven't emerged as huge ratings draws, they and shows like Dog the Bounty Hunter have lowered A&E's median age in prime from 59 to 45 since DeBitetto joined the network in 2003 as senior VP, programming. DeBitetto has also helped raise A&E's ratings by 40% in 25-54 (579,000 viewers in prime, 2006 to date), and by 75% in 18-49 (559,000), according to Nielsen Media Research.

A&E has scheduled more reality, including a series about rocker Gene Simmons, and is laying the groundwork to produce its own scripted dramas. The network will open its first development and production office in L.A. and is down to a short list of about three to head its West Coast team. A&E, in the next two weeks, expects to fill the top slot and to hire one or two more L.A.-based executives to develop original dramas. The first, a companion to CSI: Miami and The Sopranos, is loosely slated for summer 2007. The new show should share its companions' edgy vibe—“a soft romantic ensemble drama probably is not going to be right,” DeBitetto says.

But until then, much of A&E's plan centers on running CSI: Miami five nights a week in fall 2006 and The Sopranos in January 2007. The network plans to run back-to-back Sopranos at least one night a week, and DeBitetto insists the mobster drama will have “minimal cuts” from its original format on HBO.

A&E has had preliminary conversations with potential advertisers for The Sopranos, hoping the opportunity to buy spots during the previously ad-free show will lure new youth-targeting categories, like videogames, which haven't previously placed spots on A&E.

Sales execs are pitching more than the 30-second spot: a first-run trailer for a studio's upcoming movie, or the exclusive sponsorship of a Sopranos episode. One-third of A&E's clients during last year's upfront were first-time advertisers, and many were in categories new to the network like beer, fast food and Internet service providers.

Buyers see the network as “going through a metamorphosis,” says Kris Magel, senior VP, national broadcast at Zenith Optimedia. A&E's team recently met with Magel and screened a strip-club scene from The Sopranos in both HBO and A&E versions. Magel, who said the scenes were very similar, says he came away better understanding A&E's focus: “In terms of original programming, it's not that they're doing it better than USA, but it's definitely more of a definition of a character-driven strategy.”

The CW began negotiations with potential affiliates last week, seeking compensation from stations and holding out the prospect of expanding CW programming into more dayparts.

Meanwhile, CW owners CBS Corp. and Warner Bros., looking to combine the best of defunct WB and UPN lineups, were under pressure to set a fall prime time schedule. With the upfronts rapidly approaching, they need to have something in place soon to secure advertiser commitments and help cover production deficits.

Warner Bros. racked up huge deficits as the primary supplier of The WB. Now it and CBS' Paramount unit are expected to be the primary suppliers to The CW, although the new network is talking to outside suppliers about filling some of the slots.

In its first official contact last week with prospective affiliates, The CW sent notice of its plans to more than 200 UPN, WB and independent stations. In a separate affiliation proposal, the network is asking station owners to propose dollar amounts that their station would contribute for programming fees, launch support and regular promotion.

The network has said it will seek reverse-compensation fees from affiliates. But many station owners, who do not currently pay their networks, are bristling at the prospect. In some markets, station executives are bracing for bidding wars.

In the proposal mailed last week, The CW outlined some terms on programming and advertising. In prime time, affiliates will have three minutes of commercial inventory and five minutes during daytime programming. CW stations must clear all CW programs in prime time, 3-5 p.m. ET Saturday and 5-7 p.m. Sunday “without time compression, squeezing or alteration in CW signal.”

The network is keeping open the option to expand into other time periods, such as weekday mornings, Saturday nights and weeknights at 11 p.m. ET. The CW would give affiliates one-year written notice, and any new schedule move is subject to stations' preexisting programming commitments. CW affiliates also will be required to broadcast network programming in high-definition.

To hype the network's September debut, affiliates will be required to buy outside media starting seven weeks before launch through the November sweeps, followed by routine annual outside promotion.

But, with negotiations looming, station owners are also readying alternate plans for their stations. Fox Television Stations already knows that its nine UPNs will not be a part of The CW. Fox is preparing an alternative programming service for itself and other orphaned UPN and WB stations.

At LIN Television, owner of seven UPNs and WBs, executives are evaluating all options. LIN says that prime time on its WBs and UPNs accounts for only 1.5% of the station group's revenue.

“We are also not certain if this [CW] is really the model that we want to go,” said Chairman Gary Chapman last week. “The truth of the matter is these networks ceased operation because it was not a viable business plan. WB lost money. UPN lost money. Neither one of them had great rating success, yet they occupied over 10 hours of prime time on our television stations.”—Allison Romano/Jim Benson

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a frequent critic of cable rates, used a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on video franchising Wednesday to say he would introduce a bill encouraging à la carte cable offerings.

After again laying into the cable industry over rising rates and saying consumers have few competitive options, McCain said he plans to introduce a bill that would free new cable competitors from local franchising regulations if they, in turn, would agree to offer their video channels à la carte. That bill would be one of a growing number of proposals to streamline the video-franchising process to encourage broadband rollout and price and service competition to cable.

McCain's goal is at least twofold: to lower cable bills and to give parents more control over cable indecency, which is beyond the reach of the FCC. —John Eggerton

Turner Broadcasting has snagged network premiere rights to NBC Universal's King Kong for TBS and TNT.

The Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) film has so far brought in about $215 million domestically and more than $500 million worldwide.

The Turner window begins in 2008. As part of the deal, Turner is also licensing the network debuts for NBC Universal's Doom, Two for the Money and The Ice Harvest, as well as a second window for Prime.

Turner already owns the rights to the original King Kong, which its Turner Classic Movies aired last fall to build momentum for the December debut of the film's second remake.—J.E.

Nielsen Media Research will include college students in its national TV ratings early next year, marking the first time that the company has added viewing outside the home to its calculations.

The company will measure viewing for students living in dorms, sorority and fraternity houses, and off-campus apartments. Nielsen considers this to be “extended-home” viewing, since participants are members of Nielsen households that have moved away for college.

Nielsen has been testing its college-student ratings for two years with the support of major broadcast and cable networks, including The WB, CBS, Fox, MTV Networks, ESPN and Turner Broadcasting—A.R.

Kellogg says it will no longer run TV ads putting down apples in favor of the cinnamon in its Apple Jacks cereal, even though it “respectfully disagrees” with the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Better Business Bureau.

After reviewing five commercials, as well as Web and print advertising, CARU recommended the ads be discontinued because they feature a hip cinnamon stick, CinnaMon, and a “devious and grouchy” apple. “The apple is always scheming, but ultimately fails, to beat CinnaMon to the bowl of Apple Jacks,” said CARU.

CARU asked the company to “refrain in the future from denigrating or disparaging apples or other fruits and refrain from stating or implying that cinnamon, by itself, gives Apple Jacks its sweet taste.” (For the record, without sugar, cinnamon is rather bitter).

“While Kellogg disagrees with the conclusions CARU reached in the decision and how it arrived at those conclusions, Kellogg fully supports the self-regulatory process,” said the company in response. “The advertisements complained about in CARU's initial inquiry are no longer running, and because CARU has expressed remaining concerns, Kellogg does not plan to run them in the future.”

CARU, the advertising industry's self-regulatory review unit, has seen increased visibility with the rise in childhood obesity and calls for regulation, and greater self-regulation of food ads targeted to kids.—J.E.

Midway through February sweeps, sports determined the standings, shaking up the broadcast networks' rankings. Through Feb. 15, factoring in the strong Super Bowl numbers, ABC was No. 1 in the key 18-49 demo with a 6.5 rating/16 share and in total viewers with 17.4 million. Without the big game, though, ABC averaged a 3.9/10 in 18-49s, strong but not enough to beat NBC and Fox.

With a big boost from Olympics coverage, NBC averaged a 4.6/11 in the demo and 13.96 million total viewers. But Fox's American Idol proved just as competitive as big-event sports programming. The network averaged nearly the same sweeps ratings as NBC: a 4.5/11 in the demo and 10.7 million total viewers. CBS turned in a steady 3.7/9 and 11.8 million total viewers. The WB and UPN brought up the rear, respectively averaging 1.4/3 in the demo and 3.3 million total viewers and a 1.1/3 in the demo and 2.7 million total viewers.—Anne Becker

ABC News co-anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt, injured in a roadside blast in Iraq last month, “continue to make progress,” according to the latest update from ABC News President David Westin.

In an e-mail to staffers, Westin said the two men remain in Bethesda, Md., for treatment. Woodruff is still in the hospital; Vogt is receiving outpatient treatment.—A.R.

The photo of NFL Head Referee Bill Leavy (Flash!, 2/13, p. 7) should have been credited to Associated Press, AP/Paul Sancya, staff.