• The New York Times, Tuesday, June 10, 2008 9:15 AM

Lately broadcast networks are opting in on shows based on all manner of contests and challenges, with "people dancing, fighting, singing and conniving their way to the top."

To find the dramas, sitcoms and news coverage that once gave the networks their brand identities, viewers now have to go to cable. Channels such as TNT, AMC and FX have carved out niches by showing that narrative, quality and drama have not gone off the grid--they have just switched coordinates.

"Networks are on an endless search for the next big thing," says Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment. "People don't know what to expect when they turn on the broadcast networks. And that means a great big opportunity for cable networks."

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