• by Paul Gough , March 29, 2004

When talking about Court TV's programming plans for the next season, it's all about the genre.

At a breakfast presentation in midtown Manhattan, Court TV executives laid out its plans, which include strengthening and expanding its base as "The Investigation Channel." It's also about reaping the financial rewards--in the form of double-digit year-over-year increases for the channel, which recently reached the 80-million subscriber mark--of a turnaround that has focused on the investigative franchise.

Court TV is divided into two channels. The traditional Court TV fare of non-stop trial coverage airs during the day, with a high percentage of older viewers who go in for that sort of thing. But in recent years, the channel has put a lot of effort behind taking advantage of the public's fascination with investigations, forensics, and other crime-related topics to build an original and compelling programming block that takes over in the evening and skews adults ages 18-49.

"This is a broad genre. We think it is compelling," said Henry Schleiff, chairman and chief executive officer of Court TV. "We think our genre is important--and as a subject matter, the way we tell stories, it's a genre that naturally engages our audience."

The network's take was a twist on Carat CEO David Verklin's riff of return on involvement: Return on investigation.

Those investigations deliver what Court TV hopes will be an arresting combination for media planners and buyers: Programming that delivers one of the highest lengths of tune and attention span in TV today.

It's that interesting programming that gives Court TV inroads into further growth. Charlie Collier, executive vice president of ad sales, thinks there's plenty of room to grow.

"Our series, our specials, our movies, which involve essentially mysteries and puzzle-solving--demonstrably, our audience in terms of their specific attention span and length of tune to the degree that makes this network a uniquely attractive advertising venue," Schleiff said.

The network announced a schedule that mixes new and returning series and specials.

Joining such franchise shows as "Forensic Files," "Body of Evidence," and "I, Detective" is a new hour-long program called "Trace Evidence: Case Files from Dr. Henry Lee," the celebrated forensic scientist whose work in Connecticut and elsewhere has drawn a lot of attention. But all of these are the shows that the network has built itself on in prime time in recent years. "Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege and Justice" also returns.

New shows include forays into non-core but related topics in an attempt to expand the genre, including moves into different types of reality series than Court TV is used to programming: -- "House of Clues," where two amateur detectives use the principles of investigation inside someone's house to develop a profile of them. Experts then figure out whether they were right. The six-episode show begins April 30.

-- "Impossible Heists"--what Court TV President Art Bell calls "Ocean's 11 meets Survivor." It replicates the conditions of famous heists in history, adds a lot of high-tech security, and gives two teams 24 hours to complete the tasks. There are six episodes of the series, which will begin next winter.

-- "The Chase" features two people who agree to fake an escape and then try to find $20,000 hidden somewhere while they are tracked by professionals.The premiere of that show is April 11.

Other series renewed include "Psychic Detectives," "Masterminds," and "Extreme Evidence."

The press event was held at Michael's restaurant in midtown Manhattan. Parked out front was the Court TV "Join The Investigation" bus, which will travel to agencies for the network's upfront. The bus is outfitted with Court TV logos, plasma TVs, and other features developed by The Michael Alan Group, a New York City agency.