FRANK SWERTLOW
They may still call The WB a “weblet,” but the infant network has become the industry’s hottest player thanks mainly to shows like “Felicity” and “Dawson’s Creek” that appeal to the 12-34 crowd. The WB’s upfront sales for the fall season came to a whopping $450 million, up from $292 million last year.
“They are successful at not only recapturing the younger audience that once was Fox’s, but also as a bridge to older viewers,” said Pam McNeely, a media buyer for Dailey & Associates. “I may not watch ‘Dawson’s Creek,’ but I watch ‘Charmed.'”
Industry sources expect The WB, which lost about $60 million last season, to finally break into the black this year.
Of course, the network remains something of a pipsqueak compared to NBC, which is expected to bring in $2.2 billion in advertising during the upfront season. That’s a 5 percent increase over last year. CBS, which was No. 1 in total viewers this season, is expected to bring in $1.45 billion, or a 20.8 percent jump in upfront sales.
“The WB made it clear that it is not out to win ratings by going after viewers 25 to 54,” said Bill Croasdale, a media buyer for Western Initiative Media Worldwide. “They are going after the 12-to-34 niche. Normally, this is the audience you look for in cable, but The WB is delivering it.”
Cher, who seemed to have disappeared for much of the ’90s, could wind up getting an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of a flamboyant American expatriate in MGM’s “Tea with Mussolini.” Even if she doesn’t, her career is now soaring. Her next film, “Breakers,” will find her co-starring opposite “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston. The two will play a mother-daughter grifter team for the MGM film, which is expected to be shot in Florida.
How did the turnaround happen? One multi-platinum record, “Believe.”
“A year ago, the media was torturing her for crying at Sonny’s funeral,” said Cher spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg. “The next year, they are throwing roses at her. Her fans were always her constant.”
Stephen J. Cannell was the word processor behind “The Rockford Files,” “The A-Team, “Hunter” and “21 Jump Street,” but lately he’s turned novelist. His latest, “Devil’s Workshop,” is his fifth. It’s a tale about “ethnic cleansing” that takes the reader from Nazi Germany to the killing fields of Kosovo. Three of his novels are being developed into feature films.
Cannell says he misses the action of grinding out four or five TV series at a time, but doesn’t miss the changes in the business that prompted him to sell his company. Today, he said, he would have to compete with Disney, which owns ABC, and NBC Productions, which is a division of the Peacock network. Buyers and sellers are jumbled together and independent producers are being squeezed out of business.
“Writing a novel is much more complete writing adventure,” he said.
Cannell, who produced 40 TV series, blamed the current state of network television on na & #271;ve politicians in Washington who allowed broadcasting companies greater ownership in the shows they put on the air. The result is fewer voices. Selling his production company set him free.
“I started to look at my dream of being a novelist, which I have wanted since I was 16,” he said.
