Magna Global: NBC Upfront Gets Higher Marks Than Rivals

NBC's show HeroesSo far during this upfront presentation season, NBC has gotten a big thumbs-up from one major media agency. ABC came in with less excitement and CW offered up predictable new offerings.

A report by Magna Global said it was won over by NBC, thanks to the upbeat remarks of the always-positive Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.

"One thing we've learned from the many network presentations we've seen over the years is that it's very difficult to fake enthusiasm," said Magna Global's Steve Sternberg, executive vice president of audience analysis, and Lisa Quan, vice president and director of audience analysis, in a report.

Magna liked that NBC broke down its schedule into three categories: "Family Programming" from 8-9 p.m., "Blockbusters" from 9-10 p.m and "Adult Themes" from 10-11 p.m. Magna has advocated for more family-style programming on networks because about 80% of homes have only one TV set turned on during prime time.

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Magna also likes the fact that 80% of NBC's Monday through Friday schedules will come from original scripted programming, which means NBC will air many reality shows in the summer--"where many of them belong."

It is also positive that NBC wants to continue marketing partnerships with advertisers, such as the Ford Motors/"Knight Rider" and Nissan USA/"Heroes" alliances.

On the downside, the company doesn't like the network's "Sunday Night Football" package. While it brings in new male viewers in the fourth quarter, it also loses large pieces of its audience base because of football.

As for ABC, Magna said "the seeming lack of excitement from top management did little to win us over (an area where NBC excelled this year)," says Brian Hughes, manager of broadcast research at Magna Global.

This lackluster approach was apparent with limited video shown during the upfront presentation. Also, only two new shows made it on the schedule this year. "ABC could have some big problems," said Hughes.

The media agency was also worried that the new, seemingly young-skewing animated show "The Goode Family" at 9:30 on Tuesday night will not have a good lead-in, coming out of the older-skewing "Dancing with the Stars." "This animated comedy already looks a bit out of place on ABC's schedule."

Hughes questions why the ratings-troubled drama "Eli Stone" is making a return next season when it barely kept up with repeats of CBS' "Without a Trace."

Magna said ABC's three new shows of a year ago--"Pushing Daisies" at 8 p.m., "Private Practice" at 9 p.m, and "Dirty Sexy Money" at 10 p.m.--did not return after the writers' strike, another potential area of concern. With viewers of those shows possibly going elsewhere, it means having to effectively re-launch the shows again come fall.

With the CW having a troubled season, the young-skewing network decided to stick more closely with its 18-34 female target demo, offering new shows "Surviving the Filthy Rich", "Stylista", and "90210." From Magna's perspective, it's a smart move.

But Magna didn't see what most marketers want--more innovative ways to keep its young viewers sticking around during commercial breaks, such as last season's CW innovative "content wraps" and "cwickies" (pronounced quickies).

Magna was anxious about the CW finding a balance between more traditional TV shows and shows that attract a larger-than-average streaming audience, such as "Gossip Girl" found this past season. Network executives said the show seemingly was hurt because its young viewers illegally watched episodes on the Internet on other platforms.

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