• by Paul Gough , March 30, 2003

What network wouldn't dip into a seemingly never-ending well of sky-high ratings in adults 18-49, ever-higher CPMs and production costs much lower than the hundreds of millions of dollars it takes to pump out a season of Friends or CSI? And what network, tasting that sweet nectar, wouldn't want to keep going back to the well time and again?

Certainly not CBS, which had the first certified reality hit of the current craze with a show called Survivor. Not NBC, whose Fear Factor anchors Monday nights and consistently hits the top 15. Not ABC, which stopped the bleeding with The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. And definitely not Fox, which won its first sweeps in its 15-year history on the strength of a $19,000-a-year landscaper named Joe Millionaire and American Idol. That's nothing to say of cable channels like MTV, E! and TLC, which have used reality programming for years.

"Quality reality programming has almost become event marketing on TV," said Jes Santoro, VP/director of integrated media at New York-based Earthquake Media. Programmers and other say reality programming is the best of all possible worlds: a network's dream, the answer to advertisers' prayers and to borrow a phrase from the world of scripted programming, must-see TV.

"It's a business trend that clearly at this point makes a whole lot of sense to the networks in that they can, for very little money, make a lot of television," said Richard Dubin, a professor of television at Syracuse University and an Emmy-nominated TV writer, director and producer. "You get a big bang for the buck, you don't have to hire actors, you don't have to hire writers, a huge part of the budget. If you can get the numbers they're getting with these shows with the kind of minimal production expense and also service this whole new idea of embedded advertising - these shows are perfect for that - it makes a hell of a lot of business sense," Dubin said.

The size of the audience drives the price of unscripted programming just as it does in the rest of TV. And for megahits like Survivor, American Idol, The Bachelor and Joe Millionaire, that translates into a premiums the networks crave. "From the pricing standpoint, they may very well hold some higher-than-normal CPMs purely from the fact that it's such a higher audience," said Santoro. In that respect, he and others say, some of the programming can be treated like any other (scripted) programming.

"It's a viable programming genre because when it's a good one, audiences come back," said Steve Kalb, VP/director of broadcast media at Boston-based Mullen.

Cable networks like E!, MTV and TLC have been running reality programming for years. E! finds unscripted programming bridges the gap between the networks' viewers and celebrities they cover. Its shows include The Anna Nicole Show, The Michael Essany Show, Star Date and Nearly Famous.

"E! is all about entertainment and the world of celebrities. It's a way for us to help bring everyday people close to the stars," said Salaam Coleman Smith, VP/programming at E! The Anna Nicole Show follows the days and nights of Anna Nicole Smith, a former Playboy model who's famous for being famous. A recent entry to E!'s unscripted programming - The Michael Essany Show - follows a 20-year-old, his parents and friends in the production of his cable-access talk show in Indiana. Coleman Smith said that show, which just recently ended its first limited run and will start another seven-episode cycle in the summer, shows there's no limits to the unscripted genre.

"Reality can go in so many different directions and encompass such a broad range of programming and comedic styles," said Coleman Smith.

She believes that premium value will match the premium ratings that unscripted programming has earned. She points to the finale of Joe Millionaire, which is so far second only to the Super Bowl in this season's Nielsens. Coleman Smith said it's become a tested way to reach the younger demographic that has been leaking away from network TV.

"Advertisers are slowly embracing and shifting in terms of recognizing the whole appeal of reality programming to a younger demographic. The younger demographic really craves reality programming and it's here to say," Coleman Smith said.

Mullen's Kalb said advertisers and the buying community know that audiences want fresh programming. Though he cautions that there's another kind of fear factor at work: How far should networks go in using reality programming instead of dramas, sitcoms, news magazines and other staples of TV. The networks say they understand the argument and know what to do.

"The television business today, you need to have a multipronged approach: Scripted comedies, scripted dramas, in our case, a fantastic, vibrant news force and alternative programs. And we also have the luxury of a great sports division," ABC Television Chairman Lloyd Braun said in February during the post-sweeps conference call.

"With reality, what we're trying to do from this point on, we're trying out new reality shows mostly in place of repeat programming, taking away as any repeats as we can. In this environment, repeats are really tough," Braun said.

Fox, which more than any other network benefited from the Joe Millionaire and American Idol phenomena, said they're taking it slow but creatively. "Our goals are to do a wide-reaching variety of these programs ... We're exploring every avenue of this kind of programming," said Fox Entertainment Chairman Sandy Grushow, during Fox's February sweeps conference call. Fox said it's using unscripted shows wisely and not sacrificing scripted shows.

Network programmers say some unscripted programming is going to catch fire and others won't do as well. Some will crash and burn. And even though Joe Millionaire is long gone (another version is in the works), everyone agrees that Fox has a long-term hit on its hands with American Idol. Programmers say that instead of relying on relationships or tricks with the audience, American Idol's success rests on its aspirational nature.

"American Idol is a franchise show, much like Survivor, that we expect will be around for any years to come," said Fox Entertainment President Gail Berman.

"American Idol is here to stay," agrees Mullen's Kalb.

Dubin, the veteran TV executive who now teaches at Syracuse University, said that some reality programs really aren't that any much different from what we've seen before. Take Survivor, for instance.

"It's a combination of shows that have been on as long as there have been shows on television: A game show, Beat the Clock meets Wild Kingdom meets Jerry Springer," he said.