Sports proved to be the key to network success again last week, as NBC scored big with the NBA finals and U.S. Open golf to lead all other networks. Game four of the NBA Finals ranked first among all shows with an 18 share and 6.1 household rating with 16.5 million viewers. The tip off show for the game was ranked 14th. The U.S. Open didn't make the list of top shows for the week but Sunday's final round scored a 22 share/8.9 household, the highest rating for a Sunday U.S. Open telecast since 1973. The show beat last year's final round by 24 percent, with 38 million viewers. Fox's American Idol: The Search for a Superstar scored big in its debut, with over 20 million viewers tuning in on Tuesday and Wednesday, ranking sixth and 12th overall. Wednesday's episode scored an 11 share/4.2 household. The show, based on the British hit Pop Idol, draws wannabe pop star contestants who viewers vote on until a single star is left. CSI, Everybody Loves Raymond and Becker were ranked two through four for CBS. The rest of the top 10 was Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Crime and Punishment (NBC), 48 Hours (CBS), Dateline Sunday (NBC) and 60 Minutes (CBS). NBC led the way in prime average with a 12 share/6.4 household, followed by CBS (11/6), ABC (7/3.7) and Fox (7/3.6). Cable leaders for the most recent week were the TBS movie Atomic Twister, MTV's Movie Awards and WWE Entertainment, with Twister scoring a 4.9 household with 5.1 million households viewing. Syndicated winners were Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Friends, Seinfeld and The Oprah Winfrey Show, with Wheel getting a 7.7 household with 8.1 million households watching. In other TV news, networks are introducing many new shows for the summer, which make it different from past summers when reruns predominated. NBC's new summer shows make up 40 percent of its lineup, with Crime & Punishment, a real life adaptation of Law & Order, leading the way. Fox's American Idol is one of its new shows. CBS will offer Big Brother III and ABC has Mole II, indicative of the reality shows that are coming back this summer. NBC is also introducing a game show, Dog Eat Dog, reminiscent of ABC's Millionaire, the top rated game show that also started during the summer.
This week, subscribers to Seventeen.com will receive EyeWonder video email blasts from Wal-Mart, the latest segment in a multimedia campaign the nation's largest retailer is running with Primedia. The 30 seconds video blasts come from 20 minute videos that play in stores as part of Wal-Mart's multi media program with Primedia, which publishes Seventeen, the magazine supporting the campaign. While the campaign runs in Seventeen, there are no traditional space ads. Instead, advertorials, online advertising and in store events are being used to reach the teen audience, which Wal-Mart hopes to attract by offering some of the fashions that appear in the magazine. The campaign is based on Trend Alert, a compilation of fashion, beauty, lifestyle and music content tied to Wal-Mart that appears in advertorials, microsites, the video email blasts and in store. "It helps build brand recognition," says Linda Platzner, president of Primedia Teen Properties. "Teens haven't thought of Wal-Mart as a place to shop, but by bringing our brand within their walls we create an incredible relationship with our readers and Wal-Mart." The EyeWonder email blasts come from the Trend Alert videos that started in the stores and also appear online, at Seventeen.com and Gurl.com, another Primedia site. Online advertising includes a Wal-Mart Trend Alert segment on the Seventeen.com home page that links to a microsite that plays the videos along with other fashion tips and store information. Platzner says multi media plans are "part of our business plan. We market and sell and leverage brands through the multi media programs." Ellen Oppenheim, executive vice president/chief marketing officer of the Magazine Publishers of America, says, "Customized programs that meet advertiser objectives are becoming more common." Companies like Primedia succeed because of their size. "With a growth of media assets, companies have a broad array of properties to create partnerships and programs that surround customers with a message."