Wall Street Journal
Thursday, Jan. 24, 2003
TV Touchdown: 'Alias' Scores Post-Bowl Slot
Bu Emily Nelson
Sydney Bristow, a CIA agent in leather pants, chases down enemies of the
U.S. government every week on ABC's "Alias." But her biggest conquest yet
was getting ABC to broadcast the show in one of TV's most-coveted time
slots -- right after the Super Bowl.
For advertisers, the Super Bowl is the biggest sampling opportunity of the
year, a chance to put a new product or commercial in front of 80
million-plus viewers at once. Among television executives, the hour
immediately after the Super Bowl has the same appeal. But this year, ABC
surprised many in the industry by handing over the precious estate to
"Alias," a drama now in its second season, whose regular viewers aren't
exactly hardcore football fans.
Some of TV's biggest hits got off to promising starts by playing to a
post-Super Bowl audience, including "The A-Team" and "The Wonder Years."
How "Alias" scored its Super Bowl touchdown reveals much about strategy and
politics in network programming.
"Alias," about a grad student who works for the Central Intelligence
Agency, is popular with young women but otherwise hasn't gained a broad
following. So far this season, it has averaged about 9.3 million viewers
per episode, down 9% from last year -- one of the smallest regular
audiences for any existing show to run post-Super Bowl.
ABC can't afford to squander its Super Bowl opportunity. After losing about
20% of its viewers last year, the Walt Disney Co.-owned network is just
beginning to see a turnaround. It launced a few successful new comedies in
the fall but has canceled all four of its new dramas.
ABC executives worry "Alias" doesn't attract more viewers because of its
dense, complicated plots and double-crossing characters. Indeed, some
industry insiders thought two new ABC shows would have made better
post-Super Bowl fare: "Dragnet," a remake of the classic police drama, and
"Jimmy Kimmel Live," the brash comedian's late-night show. Both shows are
expected to have more appeal to men.
But the creator and executive producer of "Alias," J.J. Abrams, began
waging a campaign to score the post-Bowl slot back in September. He lobbied
ABC "very hard," he says, agreeing to make creative changes tailored to the
marquee audience. Mr. Abrams promised to make the plot of this episode
clearer; he handed in an early draft to the network, and even outlined
future plot lines to show how he would retain fans.
It helped, Mr. Abrams says, that "Alias" is made by Touchstone, a
Disney-owned studio. ABC executives, however, say ownership didn't affect
their decision.
Meanwhile, Dick Wolf, executive producer of "Dragnet" as well as the "Law &
Order" shows, argued that showcasing a new show isn't the best use of the
post-Super Bowl spot. Recent history seems to back him up. Since "The
Wonder Years" in 1988, only one of the five shows to make post-Super Bowl
debuts -- NBC's "Homicide" in 1993 -- has lasted more than two seasons. (As
for the others, remember "Family Guy"? "Extreme"? "Davis Rules"? Few
viewers do.)
"Dragnet" may end up benefitting from ABC's decision to showcase "Alias."
At its usual 9 p.m. Sunday time slot, "Alias" will be the regular lead-in
to "Dragnet" at 10. ABC decided that giving "Alias" the Super Bowl slot
"would have the most ripple effect for us," says Susan Lyne, president of
ABC entertainment.
The networks have successfully used the post-Super Bowl slot to boost
ratings for existing shows. In 2000, when ABC last had the Super Bowl, 27%
of the game's audience, or about 24 million people, stayed with ABC after
the game to watch "The Practice" -- about twice the show's typical
audience. Subsequent episodes had higher ratings, too.
By the time the Super Bowl ends, "the bulk of the audience is mostly guys,
mostly in their 20s, who have had more than a six-pack of beer," says Mr.
Wolf. His advice for "Alias" and its star, Jennifer Garner: "I'd have
Jennifer in as few clothes as possible, as soon as possible. You want an
episode that is really high-action and sexy."
For all his lobbying, there is one thing Mr. Abrams didn't get from ABC:
Super Bowl tickets. He will watch the game from his living room.
Stay Tuned
Percentage of Super Bowl viewers who stayed to watch a network show
after the game
"Malcolm in the Middle" (2002, Fox): 24.7%
"Survivor II" (2001, CBS): 53.8%
"The Practice" (2000, ABC): 27.0%
"Family Guy" (1999, Fox): 26.3%
Source: Nielsen Media Research
© Wall Street Journal
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