• by Paul Gough , November 1, 2002

The most sustaining relationship between cable and broadcast isn’t in primetime. It’s on Saturday mornings, and it’s one that’s proving profitable in some key demographics.

Nickelodeon has been programming the Saturday morning lineup for fellow Viacom subsidiary CBS for three years. But this year another network, NBC, is relying on a separately owned cable channel to help boost its fortunes among the under 12 set. Discovery For Kids kicked off on NBC early last month.

Both still have a long way to go before they reach the undisputed leaders, The WB and Nickelodeon. But the moves have resulted in gains for CBS in key demographics and slight but noticeable increases in Discovery’s fare on NBC.

And the new programming helps the networks and their affiliates fulfill FCC requirements that mandate at least three hours of family-friendly programming during the week. That’s a big reason behind the moves along with any ratings increases they might see, said Stacey Lynn Koerner, senior vice president/director of broadcast research for Initiative Media.

For media planners and buyers, executives say the cable-programmed blocks bring more eyeballs with a reach further than either cable or network can do on their own. It also means there are more choices to reach the kind of audience advertisers desire, Koerner said.

“If you buy Nick and CBS together, you’re hitting 30% of the audience on Saturday morning. It’s a smart buy,” said Cyma Zarghami, executive vice president and general manager of Nickelodeon.

In the first two years of programming on CBS, Nickelodeon focused on the 2- to 5-year-old set with programs like Blue’s Clues and Dora The Explorer. This year marked an effort to snag a slightly older audience, with fewer preschool programs and more shows like Hey Arnold! and As Told By Ginger that appeal to children up to middle school aged. CBS has seen a 43% increase in ratings among kids 6-11 both male and female, according to an Initiative Media analysis of Nielsen Media Research data.

The Nickelodeon offerings on CBS are packaged differently than on the ever-popular cable channel. Even the shows aren’t the same. Nickelodeon differentiates the CBS lineups by not premiering any shows on Saturday. “Because the schedules are so complementary, we’ve seen growth in both places,” Zarghami said.

On the other hand, NBC reached out to a cable channel that it’s worked with in the past. Last year, NBC inked a deal with Discovery Communications to provide its Saturday morning programming. The lineup replaced the nine-year-old Teen NBC’s situation comedies like Saved By The Bell.

“They looked to us as someone who could provide entertaining and educational programming,” said Ken Ripley, vice president of Discovery Kids advertising sales. Discovery Kids is handling programming, marketing and promotion of the NBC block. What Discovery came up with is different from anything else on Saturday morning TV. There’s no animation. What there is are live-action versions of Discovery programs that blend entertainment and education. Many of the programs are hosted by children themselves.

Since the lineup premiered Oct. 5, Discovery Kids on NBC is up 48% over last year’s Teen NBC programming and 112% more children ages 6-11 compared to a year ago. While the numbers are still small – Nielsen Media Research estimates the Discovery programming pulled in an average of 177,000 viewers – Ripley said NBC and Discovery were happy with the results. Ripley said they weren’t distressed by the fact that they’re the only network to have no cartoons on Saturday morning. He said research showed that a portion of the children’s audience hadn’t been counted because they’ve been tuning out cartoons for other programming. Discovery For Kids on NBC plays to their sensibilities, he said.

“We knew what the history has been coming in, that animation has been dominant … We went in with our eyes open. We understand the animation argument. But our credo is real kids, real entertainment, real world,” Ripley said.

And there’s another significant part for Discovery: It helps them publicize their digital network, Discovery For Kids, that offers this type of programming all the time. “To be partnered with NBC … to be on that platform is a dream for Discovery Kids,” Ripley said.