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The new
TNN: T&A, April 9, 2001
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trekking and sleuths
Firmer identity with media
buyers but a way to go
By Kevin Downey
Exactly what The National Network represents in the
world of cable TV has been a bit fuzzy after its scrapping The Nashville
Network moniker last year and stealing away WWF wrestling from USA.
While still seemingly unfocused, TNN’s brand became a little clearer
with a lineup of shows heavy on T&A and geekdom that were announced to
advertisers at last week’s pre-upfront presentation.
TNN will be the new home of "Baywatch" and the
"Star Trek" series "The Next Generation," "Deep
Space Nine," and "Voyager" starting this fall.
In 2002, the network will add "V.I.P." with "Baywatch"
babe Pamela Anderson. And, with a hats-off to the power of giant media
mergers, TNN has acquired "CSI," the Thursday night companion show to
"Survivor" on CBS, TNN’s sister network under Viacom.
"'CSI' and 'Star Trek' will be good for
them," says Roy Rothstein, vice president and director of national
broadcast research at Zenith Media.
"They haven’t been able to do much with wrestling but
it’s a step in the right direction. But when FX started, they had 'M*A*S*H'
and 'The X-Files' and they went nowhere."
Although the network is clearly no longer the country music
network – Viacom also owns CMT, which covers that territory – it’s
still very much a this-and-that network.
The new shows should go a long
way toward firming up what TNN represents to advertisers and viewers.
The intended target audience is adults 18-49, although it
skews toward men in that age group.
"We’re rebuilding the network as a popular
entertainment channel," says Cheryl Daly, senior vice president of
communications at TNN.
"Since we began rebranding in September, which is when
we launched WWF, we’ve been acquiring and developing new series that
reflect popular culture. That is reflected in the fact that we acquired 'CSI' and
'Star Trek' and movies like 'The Godfather' and 'Top
Gun.'"
TNN’s move away from Nashville, which it did both
literally and figuratively, has resulted in some promising boosts in
ratings.
Its top wrestling shows, though, are running about a point behind
what they were getting on USA, and the XFL football games have done little
to generate ratings.
"The 'CSI' acquisition is great because that show is
so hot right now," says Shari Anne Brill, director of programming
services at Carat.
"They will probably do better than they did before but
they are going to have to do more if they want to be a ratings
contender."
The network, the tenth largest, with 81 million
homes, improved its household rating by 25 percent in the first quarter of
this year, compared to last.
Its primetime rating was up 57 percent and ranked No. 9, while
its 18-49 audience increased by nearly 150 percent.
Most of those increases are the direct result of the WWF. The
wrestling franchise accounted for nine of the top 10 cable shows in that
demo in the first quarter.
Although TNN’s increases are good, what the network
lacks is the type of strong original programming that has moved other
networks, like Lifetime, to the top.
"What they’ve got besides 'Star Trek,' which is a
destination program, are alternatives if nothing else is on," says
Brill.
"Those shows are not enough to build a brand on. It’s a good
foundation and will keep them afloat. But they’ve got to bring something
new to define their franchise."
To that end, TNN is also gearing up for a number of
originals, all of which fall into the reality genre.
"Small Shots" has people re-create scenes from
popular movies, "Lifegame" has an improv group re-create the life
of a real person, and "Pop Across America" is billed as a
traveling talk show.
"Ultimate Revenge" is a reality show in which
people get even and "Robot Wars" is based on a British series
that seems remarkably similar to Comedy Central’s "Battlebots."
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