CULVER CITY, CALIF. - On the set of "Las Vegas," NBC told advertisers it was rolling the dice, green-lighting two dramas for fall, and directing them to place bets on some surprising DVR research data
concerning their commercials.
Seemingly defying current conventional wisdom, Alan Wurtzel, president of NBC Universal Television Research and Media Development, said the problems
with commercial avoidance were worse in non-DVR homes than in DVR homes. For some time, advertisers have been concerned that DVR users who fast-forward through commercials will become a major problem
for advertisers' media plans in the future.
Wurtzel said the loss in commercial effectiveness was currently just under 7 percent in non-DVR homes, as compared to about 3 percent in DVR homes.
The explanation focuses on old technology--regular TV remote devices. Television viewers have used TV remotes for years to avoid commercials--changing channels, muting, etc.--and TV remotes are in
many more homes than DVR machines.
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While DVRs are used to skip commercials, Wurtzel says they should be put into perspective. DVRs--now in 8 percent of all U.S. TV households--would need to get
to 35 percent U.S. penetration, expected by the 2009-2010 season, before they cause a 10 percent drop in commercial effectiveness. Wurtzel also repeated the positive for DVRs--also a positive for
advertisers--that viewers watch more TV because of these devices.
The meeting with advertisers--NBC's annual spring program development get-together--gave executives plenty of videotape to view
and mull over. Other networks' program meetings offered far less. Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment for NBC, told advertisers the network was further along in its development process than a
year ago.
New for the fall schedule will be "The Black Donnellys," a drama about tough-minded Irish-American brothers on the West Side of New York City who work their way into a life of crime.
It comes from co-creators Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, who just came off of the Oscar-winning movie "Crash."
Also making the fall cut, "Kidnapped" is another drama staring Timothy Hutton,
Dana Delaney, and Delroy Lindo, about a wealthy NYC family whose 15-year-old son is kidnapped. "Donnellys" and "Kidnapped" have not been given specific time slots on the schedule.
Other shows
in development: A half-hour comedy from "Saturday Night Live" writer/performer Tina Fey about the background stories of a sketch comedy show--like "Saturday Night Live." In a similar vein, but as a
dramatic hour, veteran NBC executive producers Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme are creating "Studio 60-On the Sunset Strip," a series that provides a behind-the-scenes look at a sketch comedy TV
show. It stars Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, D.L. Hughley, and Timothy Busfield.
For the summer, NBC is starting up "Windfall," about how the lives of 20 friends change after winning a big
lottery jackpot. Other summer stuff: "Last Comic Standing" will make a return; "America's Got Talent" is a Simon Cowell reality talent show; and "Body of Desire" is an English-language telenovela that
will be stripped Monday through Friday.
Also for the summer, as previously announced, NBC has reality show "Treasure Hunters," where teams of people scour the United States and the world for
treasure. A mobile component will be included, where viewers at home can use messaging technology to play along. Media executives say Toyota Motor Co., Dell Computer, and Ask.com are three major
advertisers that have bought branded entertainment deals in the show.
Other projects in development include "Friday Night Lights," a drama series from the Universal Pictures theatrical movie,
directed by Peter Berg, and "Raines," which stars Jeff Goldblum as a Los Angeles homicide detective who talks psychically and spiritually to dead victims to help solve crimes.