For Sci Fi Channel, into the unknown

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Cable
For Sci Fi Channel, into the unknown
By Kevin Downey
May 28, 2008 - 1:15:49 AM

With cable upfront presentations wrapping up this month, Media Life will carry a series of network profiles with information important to media buyers and planners heading into negotiations. This is the 20th in the series. Previous articles can be found in the Cable Department.

For most cable networks, growth is a given, with ratings soaring as each year more and more viewers migrate over from the broadcast networks. And that offers one great advantage. They can tinker with their lineups, testing this new show or that, at little risk. If it catches, fine, if not, it's on to some other idea. Their ratings are not going to plunge.

That's less the case with the Sci Fi Channel.

The No. 15 network in 18-49s has hit a plateau, its ratings flat, and to grow further it’s looking to broaden its programming, adding light dramas and comedies, including reruns of the old Robin Williams sitcom “Mork & Mindy,” as it heads into this year's upfront market.

The risk?

“There may be some viewer backlash,” says Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director at Horizon Media, with the new shows turning off hardcore science fiction fans.

Yet it’s a necessary strategy. Competition being what it is among the cable networks, to not grow is to fall behind.

What's unique about Sci Fi is just how tightly defined the brand is. As a genre, science fiction is not like comedy or drama, which can be expanded to include all sorts of programming. Something is sci fi or it's not. Does “Mork & Mindy” qualify?

Viewers will decide. Sci Fi's challenge will be to move quickly where a show is not catching.

"A lot of networks are doing that--running everything up the flagpole to see what sticks,” says Adgate. “It’s more competitive than ever, so they have to keep moving upward.”

The network’s identity
Sci Fi is often thought of as a network for geeks. It's less so these days.

Over the past several years it has changed its image a bit with shows with mass appeal like “Battlestar Galactica," its hit original drama, and the No. 1 cable show on Friday nights, along with unscripted shows like “Ghost Hunters“ and reruns of the British series “Dr. Who.”

The network’s target audience
Sci Fi targets adults 18-49. The median age of its audience is 46 years old with women accounting for 41 percent of viewers.

The network’s ratings
Sci Fi’s ratings were modestly up in first quarter over the same time in 2007. It rose 3 percent in both 18-49s and 25-54s.

In 2007, Sci Fi’s 18-49 audience was up 6 percent over 2006.

The network’s competitive set
Sci Fi competes with networks that do well in 18-49s and 25-54s, including top-rated networks like USA, TNT, FX, Lifetime and truTV.

What’s new for 2008/09
Sci Fi is adding more reruns that stick to its science fiction roots, like “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” which premieres on June 2, and others that will appeal to women such as CBS’s “Ghost Whisperer,” which is set for fall 2009. Other reruns like “Mork & Mindy” and the CW’s “Charmed” aren’t scheduled yet.

The network also has a long list of originals in the works, many of which go beyond pure science fiction.

It’s bringing back the hidden camera show “Scare Tactics” from earlier this decade but now with “30 Rock’s” Tracy Morgan. “Scare” premieres in July. Reality show “Mind Control with Derren Brown,” about a mind reader, is coming back for a second season this fall.

Other reality shows include the returning “Ghost Hunters” and “Destination Truth,” about unsolved mysteries.

In development are the reality competitions “Estate of Panic," in which strangers find hidden money while confronting a mansion's terrors, and “Brain Trust,” about a group of geniuses who help people solve problems.

Scripted series in development mostly veer toward light or humorous dramas, including “True Believer,” about a comic book reader with a superhero friend, and “Deputized,” about a regular guy with super powers.

The network’s upfront outlook
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being excellent: 3.5.

Sci Fi will likely do fairly well in the upfront ad market because it’s a top 15 network in its core 18-49 demographic and ranks ninth in 25-54s. And its audience is still growing, although slowly. The one thing that could work against it is its push into untested new programming that strays from science fiction.

A LOOK AT SCI FI Launched in 1992
Parent Company	NBC Universal
No. of subscribers	93 million
Median viewer age	46 years old
Average primetime viewers	1,189,000
Average total-day viewers	551,000
Avg. primetime 18-49 viewers	568,000
Avg. total-day 18-49 viewers	264,000
Target audience	Adults 18-49
Main Competitors	Sci Fi competes with top-rated networks that do well in 18-49s and 25-54s, including USA, TNT, FX and Lifetime.
Upfront presentation	March 18 in New York
Source: Nielsen Media Research, 1^{st Qtr. 2008}

^{Links to past upfront stories} ^{Comedy Central}
^History
^TBS
^TNT
^A&E
^{Nick at Nite}
^Discovery
^{Animal Planet}
^{Food Network}
^Spike
^Lifetime
^USA
^G4
^HGTV
^DIY ^Hallmark
^truTV
^FX
^AMC