• by Paul Gough , March 12, 2004

With a raft of data showing that it delivers more of the demographics marketers want most, syndicated TV made its pitch to advertisers and agencies in a Thursday filled with presentations on four floors of a midtown Manhattan hotel, followed by a star-studded gala in the evening.

In the New York stop on its coast-to-coast roadshow, the Syndicated National Television Association (SNTA) promoted its message: For programming to deliver quality viewers, double-digit increases in gross ratings points since 2001, and a nearly 52-week original schedule, syndication is the place to be.

"2004 has been a great year for syndication," said Howard Levy, executive vice president of advertising sales at Buena Vista and chairman of the SNTA. He pointed to this year's success with "Ellen," the continued strength of sophomore shows "Dr. Phil" and "Will & Grace," and franchise shows like "Oprah," "Entertainment Tonight," and "Access Hollywood" continuing to grow.

Mitch Burg, newly named as SNTA's president, noted that syndication had gained 20 percent in adult 18-49 GRPs, half of the broadcast networks' decline.

"This is an area where syndication can really help you increase your delivery. Why? Because we have 50 percent higher comps than the six major networks. Because across all programming genres, we have much younger delivery," Burg said. There's a higher concentration of young adults on syndication than network prime, SNTA said.

In a presentation that kicked off the show, SNTA showed slide after slide of data that would resonate with planners targeting adults 18-49: Double-digit year-over-year ratings growth in nine key shows; a higher concentration of young adults than network prime; and sitcoms delivery competitive with networks' total prime.

"Syndication is a reach medium, not a reach extender," Burg said.

He said that the other TV mediums were having increased problems with fragmentation. There are now 339 national networks, according to the FCC, compared to 281 in 2000 and 70 in 1990.

"It's not an issue that is going away," Burg said.

And if syndication's market share is still small compared to network or even cable TV, the initiatives of the big syndication companies and a recently revived SNTA seem to be working. TNS Media Intelligence/CMR said earlier this week that syndication jumped 15.3 percent in 2003 to $3.39 billion compared to $2.94 billion in 2002.

He said that syndication--in every daypart--gives the viewer what they want with the personalities they want.

"From the viewers' side, it's all about the content," Burg said.

Chris Kager, president of MGM-NBC Media Sales, said Thursday that viewers and advertisers know the tremendous value of syndication.

"It's a real flight to quality," he said.

MGM/NBC Media Sales came to New York to talk up its new and existing offerings, including Jane Pauley's new talk show and an off-net run of NBC's "Fear Factor." Pauley's program has been cleared in 98 percent of the nation, with NBC's owned-and-operated stations slotting it into the late afternoon as a lead-in to local news. That five-day-a-week show will begin Aug. 30 as NBC's Olympic coverage begins.

Another hot offering from MGM/NBC is "Fear Factor," which has grown into a high-ranked show among adults ages 18-34 since its debut about four years ago.

The off-net run is signed to run on cable channel FX and on a number of stations around the company, including Fox affiliates. Kager said that it's a different kind of reality show, a genre that doesn't tend to repeat well.

But he noted that "Fear Factor" did well in its repeats.

He acknowledged that some advertisers don't go for "Fear Factor," but he said that others do and that it's PG television without sex or violence.