TV executives have scratched their heads as young male viewers are lured away from the tube by Xboxes, iPods, and other tech gadgets and online entertainment, reports the
Los Angeles Times.
But Spike TV is trying to get them back by pushing heaping helpings of manly fare. "The Rock is Spike," says Spike President Doug Herzog. "Jude Law is not Spike." It has been three years since the
channel proclaimed itself the "first network for men," and Spike has scheduled a slew of original action-oriented programming, including "The Ultimate Fighter" and "Blade." "I think everybody
understood the notion that it's a network for men, but what did that mean?" adds Herzog. "We kind of landed on our notion of what it is: an unapologetic, action-oriented home base for guys." Results
have been mixed. While "The Ultimate Fighter" has been a runaway hit, overall this year, Spike has averaged 1.27 million viewers in prime time--around the same number it drew in 2004. Fifteen percent
of them are men ages 18 to 34. And that means the network draws fewer young men, on average, than Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, TNT, ESPN, USA, or Comedy Central during prime time, according to
Nielsen Media Research.
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