For a cable network with a four-year-old branding campaign called “We Know Drama,” the top-rated TNT has a problem with dramatic series.
   Certainly a ratings upswing and a lineup of reruns that include mega-hits “Law & Order,” “NYPD Blue,” “ER” and a handful of original movies like “14 Hours” suggest TNT is far from being problem-plagued. 
   But sports like NBA games and NASCAR races, while highly rated, cloud its image. And, more to the point of what TNT will talk about at its upfront presentation today, it still falls short in one area that makes viewers and advertisers pay attention to rivals like USA, FX and Sci Fi Channel: a memorable original series.
   This summer, TNT will go out of its way to find a hit to call its own, notably with Steven Spielberg’s six-part “Into the West.” The limited-run series about a colonial family and a Native American family will run multiple times during weekends in June and July.
   TNT also has seven other programs in development, including a limited-run series based on Stephen King short stories and an FBI drama from Stephen J. Cannell.
   “We have always been in the movie business, and last year we had our first limited series, ‘The Grid,’ which did extremely well,” says Steven Koonin, executive vice president and chief operating officer of TBS and TNT.
   “But this is the first time in four years that we have built a foundation strong enough to launch an original series. It will help us define our drama brand, and it’s a terrific way to bring in new viewers and extend the reach of the network.”


The network's identity
    TNT re-branded itself a network for dramas in 2001 after growing into a top-tier network with shows that were all over the map, both in terms of target audience and TNT’s image.
   It has since grown its ratings among women with movies like this month’s “14 Hours” and among men with sports like NBA games and golf tournaments.
   Yet the dual genres blur the TNT brand. Koonin says the network will keep its sports programs but he’s also hoping original programs like police drama “The Closer” with Kyra Sedgwick, which premieres this June and comes from the producers of FX’s “Nip/Tuck,” will solidify the TNT brand.
   “To get people talking about your network you need original programming,” says Shari Anne Brill, vice president and director of programming at Carat. “Many of these networks start out being like syndication, and there was a time when TNT, FX and USA were indistinguishable. And then along came [FX’s] ‘The Shield,’ which changed everything. And Sci Fi reached out to a larger audience with [Spielberg’s] ‘Taken.’ TNT needs a show that will get people talking."


The network's target audience
   With a median age of 46 years old, TNT’s viewers are solidly in the adult 25-54 demographic, though its stated target audience is adults 18-49. TNT was the most-watched network in both demos in first quarter, with a 25-54 audience of 1.26 million in primetime. That was up 5 percent from the same time last year.
   Its audience is essentially evenly split by gender, with women targeted with movies like this past weekend’s “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” and men targeted with movies such as this weekend’s “The Fugitive.”


The network's ratings
   More than any other cable network, TNT provides ample proof that the distinction between cable and broadcast networks is getting blurrier by the moment.
   In fact, it’s more than conceivable that in a few years TNT will rival broadcast networks UPN and the WB when it comes to the sheer number of people tuning in during primetime. In first quarter, for example, TNT averaged 2.6 million viewers. That compares to roughly 3.4 million people this season for each of the smallest broadcasters.
   TNT’s audience was up 7 percent over first quarter 2004.
   The network also ranked No. 1 among adults 25-54 and adults 18-49. It was up 9 percent in that demo, to 1.2 million people. As a point of comparison, the WB and UPN each average 1.8 million viewers this season in the 18-49 demographic.


The network's competitive set
   Outside its intentional lack of sitcoms, TNT is programmed much like broadcast networks used to be: lots of dramas, major sporting events, original movies and now original series.
   While TNT’s programming strategy makes it a top-tier and growing network, it’s not altogether unique in cable TV. In fact, networks like USA and FX have much the same strategy and, factoring out sports, so do Lifetime and Sci Fi Channel.


What’s new for 2005/06
    TNT made a mark in original movies with William H. Macy starring in 2002’s Emmy-winning “Door to Door” and last year’s “The Wool Cap.”
    But its first dip into limited-run series with “The Grid,” though high-rated, was largely forgettable.
   Now the network is rolling out a slew of originals, reminiscent of Lifetime’s strategy a few years back with programs like “Any Day Now” and USA’s push with “Monk” and “Dead Zone” and FX’s success with shows like “The Shield” and “Nip/Tuck.”
   At this point it’s almost a cliché for networks to move to the next level, ratings wise, with original shows. But while predictable, it’s also a strategy that works.
   TNT will try its luck this summer with originals like “The Closer,” “Wanted,” a cop drama with Gary Cole, and “Into the West.”
   The network will also continue airing movies like “Saving Private Ryan” and sports, which typically run on Thursdays.


The network's upfront outlook
   TNT will underscore its long standing as a top-rated network while focusing on its redoubled effort to build its brand with original movies and series. TNT will also mention its sports programs, which Koonin maintains are to men what dramatic movies are to women.


The final prognosis
    On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being excellent: 3.5.
   TNT is a bit late to the game when it comes to developing its own shows. But it recognizes that a slew of other networks are vying for rights to the broadcast network’s highest-rated dramas. And, creating a problem for TNT’s continued growth, programs like “Law & Order” don’t exactly come into play every year.
   Rolling out original movies has proven successful for the network, now it needs a series that will bring viewers back week after week.