Tiny UHF Station Carves Niche Among Males : TV: Orange County’s KDOC discovered role two years ago by canceling reruns of ‘Combat.’ It couldn’t believe the howls.

Orange County’s only commercial broadcast station, KDOC-TV (Channel 56), pulled the plug on reruns of “Combat” two years ago. What a mistake.

“You would have thought that I took their firstborn as hostage,” said Chuck Velona, the station’s general manager. “The switchboard lit up for days. We found out that it does draw viewers.”

Velona, 52, immediately returned the black-and-white action series to the weeknight lineup, and in the process discovered the primary prime-time audience for the small UHF outlet: men.

“Combat,” the 1962-67 World War II drama series starring Vic Morrow, fits right into KDOC’s prime-time programming, which now includes a lineup of reruns that appeal to male viewers, such as “Hill Street Blues” and “Hogan’s Heroes,” plus original programs such as daily horse racing highlights from Santa Anita and Hollywood Park.

The irony is that women watch prime-time shows more often than men by a margin of 42% to 33%, according to Nielsen Media Research. (The remainder is children’s programming.) By comparison, 57% of KDOC’s prime-time adult viewers are men.

“It’s something that nurtured itself into this niche of male programming,” Velona said. “We have attracted our share of (advertisers for) the beers, the cars, the men’s hair stuff.”

It could be a wise maneuver, some marketing analysts suggest. Sparked by the growth of cable and satellite channels, advertisers have a growing interest in targeting specific or distinct demographic groups.

“Men are harder to reach,” said John Vrba, senior vice president in the Newport Beach office of Western International Marketing, a media consulting firm. “If Chuck can stay with the approach that more males watch it, it would be a great secondary buy (in the market) for advertisers.”

But some industry observers doubt that a UHF station such as KDOC--which has an audience of fewer than 50,000 regular viewing households--can attract enough male advertisers to justify high ad rates. Media analysts estimate that a station with its audience size in this market charges between $100 and $400 per 30-second spot, depending on the terms of the contract with an advertiser. The station declined to provide financial details.

According to figures gathered by Nielsen Media Research, KDOC’s highest-rated prime-time program in March was “Horse Racing From Santa Anita,” which attracted 35,000 households. That is less than one-tenth of 1% of the nearly 5 million homes in the Southern California television market.

“We’re talking 20,000 men,” said Richard Kurlander, vice president and director of programming at Petry Television Inc., a New York-based media consultant. “That, I suppose, is salable, but it is a very small dollar amount.”

But strong competition from L.A.’s giant independent stations, such as KTLA-TV (Channel 5), KCAL-TV (Channel 9) and KCOP-TV (Channel 13), has forced KDOC to carve a distinct identity throughout its history.

The station premiered in 1982, some 14 years after an investment group that originally included entertainers Pat Boone, Jimmy Durante and Fess Parker applied for a license.

Gradually, the investment group followed through on promises to broadcast large amounts of local programming in addition to black-and-white reruns. That included Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Long Beach football games, locally produced children’s shows and “Hot Seat With Wally George,” featuring the ultraconservative talk show host.

The station had to cancel an expensive, 3-year-old, 30-minute local newscast last fall during a downturn in advertising revenue.

Boone, who originally opposed the idea of dropping the newscast and sought to find corporations willing to spend $250,000 to underwrite it, said he still hopes to bring it back. He also has ideas for a slew of other local programming, such as a morning variety show, a daily teen program and a prime-time talk show with conservative Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove).

“I’ve got some strange formulas ready to go, ideas that are a little offbeat,” Boone said. “Time will work in my favor and eventually we will get these programs activated. I want to be an absolute fingerprint of Orange County.”

KDOC’s latest programming strategy grew out of simple economics: It had to make do with what it had.

“(Chuck Velona) has proven to be a sharp marketer and administrator,” Boone said. “He knows what would get a segment of the audience to us in the evening. Men can sit back, relax, get popcorn and maybe watch two or three action programs. If we can get various segments at one time, maybe we can get them to watch at other times.”

Its sports programming and the horse racing are both strong in male appeal, and media analysts say those programs are also cheaper to produce and require smaller production staffs. The station also found a measure of success in competing for reruns. But it hasn’t been easy, considering that KDOC must bid for exclusive rights against deep-pocket independent stations in Los Angeles. “Murphy Brown,” which airs on KTLA-TV, costs about $4,000 to $5,000 per show, while KDOC’s “The Rifleman” probably costs about $20 per episode.

Not that all of KDOC’s lineup is retro. Velona acquired “Hill Street Blues” in 1991. Although a winner of 26 Emmy awards when it aired on NBC from 1981 to 1987, the series was a disappointment when it began in syndication in 1988. Analysts say KDOC got the show at a much lower price than it was offered at five years ago, when stations in markets such as Los Angeles were paying about $4,000 to $5,000 for each episode aired. And even though the latest numbers show that “Hill Street” attracts fewer viewers than “Perry Mason” reruns, it still has an appeal to an urban male audience.

“For me to get that kind of quality product is a coup,” Velona said. “These are not the best of times in the syndication business. You can get some very, very good and attractive offers.”

Velona also bought reruns of “St. Elsewhere,” another critically acclaimed show, and said he is close to a deal on another show that he refused to identify.

Before joining KDOC, Velona was general manager of KHJ-TV until Disney bought it from RKO General in 1989 and renamed it KCAL. After a couple of years in the syndication business, he joined KDOC, which had a programming budget that was “infinitesimal” compared to that of his previous employer, Velona said. But the new job allowed him to stay in Southern California. He also drew on his syndication contacts to make better deals for reruns.

“There aren’t too many executives with that kind of capability in programming,” Vrba said. “He has done an admirable job. Something like ‘Hill Street Blues’ and ‘St. Elsewhere’--that will stand up to Madison Avenue.”

Even so, analysts say the cost for a 30-second spot at KDOC has not changed much over the years.

Velona said the station is more profitable than in years past, but he would not provide specific figures. However, industry analysts say that a station of its size and with its audience probably has annual sales of about $10 million, compared to about $150 million for a larger independent such as KTLA.

Paid programming, such as religious shows and infomercials, makes up about 25% of KDOC’s schedule and is a major source of revenue for the station.

Velona, meanwhile, said he has no intention of getting carried away in a demographic derby. He is still on the lookout for the latest deals on fairly recent series, regardless of their appeal to men. Reruns of “Newhart,” the 1982-91 comedy starring Bob Newhart, will premiere on KDOC this fall, perhaps taking the place of “Hogan’s Heroes.” If that takes off, the thematic nature of the station could shift again to seeking a broader audience.