Was ‘Arsenio’ Bumped or Bumped Up? : Television: KCOP counters logjam of talk shows by moving Hall and using ‘Roseanne’ reruns as a lead-in.

In a strategic move to counter-program the logjam of late-night talk shows on the way, KCOP-TV Channel 13 will bump “The Arsenio Hall Show” to 11:30 p.m. and add reruns of “Roseanne” on weeknights at 11 p.m., beginning Aug. 9.

For the first time in Los Angeles, that will put Hall in direct competition with Jay Leno on NBC and David Letterman’s new late-night show on CBS. The switch will give Chevy Chase, whose show on Fox starts at 11 p.m. on Sept. 7, the half-hour head start on everyone else that Hall used to enjoy.

Is KCOP hanging Hall, whose ratings have been dropping for two years, out to dry?

“Not at all,” said KCOP general manager Rick Feldman. “To us, it’s win, win, win. Because Arsenio is definite counter-programming to Leno and the other guys. He’s much younger, hipper, with more minority appeal. Arsenio to some extent will be able to withstand the other three guys all knocking themselves off. At least, that’s what we’re hoping.”

With a second daily run of “Roseanne,” which also airs on KCOP at 6 p.m., Feldman hopes to grab some of the young viewers who will no longer be watching “Cops.” Fox-owned KTTV-TV Channel 11 has pulled “Cops” to make room for Chase.

*

Furthermore, he believes that “Roseanne” will provide “Arsenio Hall” a significantly better lead-in, in terms of a younger audience, than KCOP’s more staid 10 p.m. newscast did.

“It’s going to be so much easier for Arsenio coming out of ‘Roseanne’ at 11:30,” Feldman said. “And don’t forget, Leno and Letterman don’t start till 11:35. We’re not throwing him to the wolves. We really think this is all upside. He’s not going to do worse at 11:30, and we’re putting him in a position to do better.”

The syndicated “Arsenio” has been hardest hit by the influx of late-night talk shows, because many CBS and Fox affiliates airing Hall had to make room for the new Letterman and Chase entries. Executives at Paramount Television, which produces “Arsenio,” have said repeatedly that they consider Hall a long-term investment because he has managed to retain his core audience.

“Paramount and KCOP made the decision (to move “Arsenio”) together,” said Paramount spokesman John Wentworth. “We feel ‘Roseanne’ is a natural companion to ‘The Arsenio Hall Show,’ as she and Tom Arnold have appeared 15 times together on the show. We believe the stronger lead-in can only be beneficial to Arsenio and the station.”