|
|
to lead a comeback
Programming whiz back from exile after Fox boot
By Gabriel Spitzer
Doug Herzog, kicked out a year ago as president of Fox, is returning to television as president of USA Network.
Herzog joins a cadre of new personnel charged with reinventing the network following the departure of professional wrestling last fall.
Widely acknowledged as a programming wizard, Herzog hopes to reinvigorate USA without taking away from what's made it a top cable network.
"The idea is not to rip apart what has historically been a pretty good business at USA. The idea is to take it to the next level. The network could use a shot of adrenaline in the arm," Herzog, on the way to his first programming meeting at USA, told Media Life.
Herzog’s most recent position was as entertainment president at Fox, where he is credited with bringing in hot new shows "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Titus."
In spite of his successes, Herzog’s career at Fox ended after a year and a half. Many believe that Herzog became a sacrificial lamb at Fox, taking the heat for a slow-starting season in 1999 and the "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire" fiasco.
Before his stint at Fox, Herzog made a career out of launching blockbuster programs for a variety of networks.
At Comedy Central, where Herzog served as president and chief executive officer from 1995 to 1998, he ushered in such career-makers as "South Park," "The Daily Show" and "Win Ben Stein’s Money."
Prior to that Herzog did double-duty at MTV, as executive vice president of programming for the network and president of MTV productions. There he developed such programs as "Road Rules," Unplugged" and the "MTV Video Music Awards."
Herzog can also take credit, in some respects, for inventing that modern hype-machine we know as reality TV: at MTV, it was Herzog who brought in pioneering reality show "The Real World."
Herzog would, of course, like to bring some shows of that caliber to his new job at USA.
"It’s nice to be well balanced, but I don’t think anything replaces true hit programming," he says.
But Herzog also knows he won’t find that marquee program on USA’s current slate.
"We’ve got to go out and find it. We do a good job, but from a series standpoint, with ‘La Femme Nikita’ headed toward retirement, we need to find a big hit show for this network."
When Vince McMahon took the WWF to Viacom last fall, USA slid from first place to the middle of the pack among the major cable networks. In recent months USA has begun assembling a fresh group of top executives who have already begun to sketch what the new USA will look like.
USA argues that wrestling, while it was the top-rated show on cable, did little to promote the rest of the network’s programs and loyalty to the network. Now USA top brass say they’re going after the 25-54 demo, hoping to build around shows like "Jag" and "Walker, Texas Ranger."
As USA retools, it is faced with increased competition from a crowded field of general-interest networks.
Its newest rival is The National Network, the WWF’s new home and the beneficiary of all the clout Viacom-CBS has to offer.
According to Herzog, USA still enjoys competitive advantages over its rivals.
"USA has 20 years of history and a certain amount of loyalty from viewers. It’s the only one of the general-interest cable networks that’s ever had successful original series. TNT, FX, TNN—they haven’t got there yet," says Herzog.
USA was back on top last month, for the first time since the WWF took a hike.
But some observers caution that USA still has work to do.
"I think they’ve caught their breath," says Paul Benjou, group media director at Draft Worldwide.
"They’ve retrenched, and now they’re putting into position the players who are going to make the difference. But if they expect to make it right away, they can expect to lose it right away too."
Benjou sees encouraging signs in the hiring of a president with such strong programming credentials. But he believes it’s premature to say that USA has completed the turnaround.
"Yeah, he’s brilliant—but we’ll see. You don’t just walk into a company and start programming without giving some thought to what the network is and where it’s been. What’s brilliant at one place may be a dud elsewhere," says Benjou.
-Gabriel Spitzer is a staff writer for Media Life.
Printer-Friendly
Version | Send
to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact
Us
© 2001 Media Life
