• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, May 15, 2006

On the cusp of upfront ad negotiations for its 2006-07 season, Turner Broadcasting System Friday provided details of its merger of Court TV into its entertainment networks' group, but said it would not consolidate its advertising sales organization with the humongous operation headed by David Levy, president of Turner Entertainment Sales and Marketing. Instead, Turner's top executives said Court TV's advertising sales would continue to report to Charlie Collier, who remains executive vice president-advertising sales for Court TV.

"They will work together. Charlie will work with David Levy in that business to help grow both businesses," Mark Lazarus, president of the Turner Entertainment Group said Friday during a conference call with reporters.

Lazarus implied that Turner is still determining the best way to consolidate its sales organization and strategy for the marketplace. "We're going to work client by client and figure out the best way to work with each client to sell product to them that they find valuable," he said, adding, "Charlie will work within the structure of [the] Turner Sales Group under David."

Lazarus, and Phil Kent, president-CEO of Turner Broadcasting, implied they are still figuring out how to integrate Court TV into the Turner organization, but that at least for the short term, would stay hands off any changes that directly impact the product of the channel, which in recent years has positioned itself largely as a smart alternative to the mass reach of bigger cable TV networks such as Turner's. In particular, Court TV has employed innovative research emphasizing the higher engagement value of its audiences vs. those of broad-based networks at a time when Madison Avenue has been trumpeting engagement as its new ROI, or return on investment, mantra. Folding Court TV's sales message into a swath of broader-based channels such as TBS and TNT would seem destined to negate that.

Otherwise, Lazarus and Kent were sparse on specific details of how they would integrate Court TV with Turner's other programming brands.

"We know very simply that Court TV will make Turner stronger and Turner will make Court TV stronger," emphasized Lazarus, adding, "We don't have all that many specifics. We're doing this together. We're trying to put those cultures together. Not forcing them on one upon another."

The Turner managers implied that most of the initial consolidation would impact back-office functions such as the human resources department, where there is likely to be some consolidation. Cable operator sales and marketing is another likely area of consolidation given Turner's already formidable operations.

On Friday, Time Warner confirmed an agreement to acquire the 50 percent of Court TV it did not already own from Liberty Media for $735 million. The buyout, which was expected as part of a long-term agreement that had an exercise clause, completes a legacy that began when American Lawyer fonder Steven Brill launched Court TV in 1991 with backing from former Time Warner Chairman Steve Ross. The parent structure and programming philosophy of Court TV has changed over the years, especially after Brill sold his stake, and its new owners pushed it more toward entertainment programming that was likely to generate higher numbers.

Court TV and Turner's CNN ironically have competed aggressively in their coverage of high-profile, sensationalistic and highly rated courtroom trials, especially O.J. Simpson's murder trial in the 1990s. As such, it is telling that Turner has opted to place Court TV under the aegis of its entertainment networks and not under CNN. Turner's managers said they were still figuring out how to coordinate or integrate courtroom trial coverage between Court TV and CNN.