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cable marathons
For couch potatoes they can be TV at its best
By Elizabeth White
Does a network like TV Land, which is based upon the idea that old broadcast reruns are just as enjoyable as anything else on TV, really need to create a theme week in the summer for its one original show, "Inside TV Land"?
Absolutely, and particularly when the cause for the week is the debut of "Inside TV Land: Get Smart."
But I don’t think so because I’m a behind-the-scenes junkie. I burned out on A&E’s "Biography" after one faithful summer, VH1’s "Behind the Music" after its Fleetwood Mac episode, and Joan London’s "Behind Closed Doors" before it even went to cable.
I’m not even all that interested when the subject is a favorite show like "Get Smart." I could care less about the cast turmoil, early screen tests and career-killing typecasting that inevitably make up these TV-TV documentaries. (Much in the same way drug abuse, an embezzling manager and a comeback tour have become predictable plot points in every episode of VH1’s "Behind the Music.")
What I really love, and why I love this theme week by TV Land, are cable marathons.
They’ve made the next evolution of couch potato possible. I don’t have to read the TV listings or the little program guide that pops up on the screen.
I just have to catch one glorious ad, and I know that for a whole week or day I can catch Clint Eastwood movies on TBS, shark documentaries on Discovery, or "Get Smart" episodes (in order!) on TV Land.
Or, being a betting woman, I know that if I flip around the channels long enough, I'll find a marathon interesting enough to settle down with for a while.
For the networks, marathons have a similar benefit–they simplify the idea of television.
During a marathon, the network only has to worry about one kind of viewer and one kind of advertiser, both of which already know they like the marathon’s product.
And in exchange for disrupting the regular viewing habits of its audience–a disadvantage that makes the weeklong marathon a rarity, even on cable–the network gets a loyal cadre of viewers for however long the marathon lasts.
"The marathons in general allow you, from a scheduling standpoint, to pull in a viewer who likes a certain type of programming. The scheduling strategy allows you to maximize that audience and expand that audience beyond just one special event. It gives the advertiser a chance to go beyond as well," explains Dan Salerno, vice president of programming for the Discovery Channel.
"It starts with the core, kick-off program, and the hope is to build throughout the week. One night is a promotional vehicle for the next."
But even better for the networks is the fact that marathons don’t need new programs to appear special. The same old reruns can seem fresh again when repackaged and re-promoted as part of a marathon. Seen all the "Crocodile Hunter" episodes already? Watch them again, in order!
Things only get complicated when the marathon becomes a stand-alone event, requiring the development of original programming, as is the case with Discovery’s "Shark Week," which will kick off its 14th year later this month.
Now one of the highest-rated weeks of the year for Discovery, "Shark Week" nonetheless requires new programming for the majority of its nights.
"Early on, just having the event was important. Then it became important to develop new programming. Now ‘Shark Week’ has taken on a life of its own, and five of the seven nights are premieres," says Salerno. "But the advantage of ‘Shark Week’ is that it’s become an icon that helps define the network."
As a viewer, I find that these marathons help define my summer.
Like weary European travelers, these marathons are anchors in a sea of reruns and channels. If "Shark Week" is on, then it must be August.
What more do I really want from television anyway?
Here I’ve got quality entertainment, even if some of it is repeats, a vague sense of accomplishment from having completed a "marathon," and the total absence of any reason to get off the couch, even to find the remote.
August 3, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Elizabeth White is a staff writer for Media Life.
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