UPN Considers Introducing 15-Minute Series to Lineup

The next step in the race to capture fickle TV viewers may be the equivalent of “short attention span” theater, as the UPN network contemplates courting the same young men and teenage boys flocking to its wrestling show, “WWF Smackdown!,” with 15-minute prime-time programs.

Plans for such an experiment, confirmed by UPN executives, recognize shifting viewing patterns as well as research showing those sought-after male and teen demographics are most apt to flit around from channel to channel.

Three 15-minute concepts are being considered for next season, each featuring broad comedy and slapstick--two other proven elements in attracting young males. The network is toying with airing two of them together or even scheduling a more conventional sitcom between them--that is, run 15-minute programs at 8 and 8:45 p.m., with a half-hour comedy filling out the hour.

“The audience we’re going after--young people, and young guys in particular--wants to see something else in their comedy,” UPN Entertainment President Tom Nunan said. “We just said, ‘How can we change it up?’ Let’s try something different.”

The sketch-style projects being developed include John Crane as Choppy, a nerdy character he created as part of the Groundlings improv troupe; an accident-prone messenger dreamed up by writer Harris Goldberg, whose credits include the upcoming film “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,” starring “Saturday Night Live’s” Rob Schneider; and a buddy comedy from Chris Cox and Matt Sloan, part of the trio behind “Swing Blade,” a film short spoof that blended “Swingers” and “Sling Blade.”

Several networks have acknowledged this season’s general ratings malaise surrounding sitcoms as well as the merits of “modular” programming--that is, shows broken up into segments viewers can readily drop in and out of, such as video clip programs, sporting events and newsmagazines.

The remote control, in fact, has challenged the basic notion of “audience flow,” in which programmers seek to get viewers in the tent and then keep them throughout the evening.

By contrast, some of the formats that have performed best in recent times--among them ABC’s quiz show smash “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”--can be tuned in at any point during the broadcast.

The tendency to channel surf can benefit programs that don’t follow linear story lines. A case in point would be ABC’s “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”--the improvisational comedy hosted by Drew Carey--which has seen its ratings rise roughly 15% in its second half-hour Thursday nights, as people switch over from NBC after “Friends” and prior to “Jesse.”

At the same time, networks find it increasingly difficult to get men, in particular, to commit to watching hourlong dramatic series in a TV environment where the average home receives nearly 60 channels, meaning an alternative is almost always playing somewhere.

“What people in programming get hooked on is half-hour, hour, two-hour, and it doesn’t have to be that way,” said Chuck Bachrach, who evaluates prime-time programming for the Los Angeles ad agency Rubin Postaer & Associates.

In formulating the 15-minute test UPN looked in part to the children’s programming model, where half-hours are frequently broken up into smaller components. Examples include “Disney’s One Saturday Morning,” a two-hour program block featuring cartoons connected by shorter interstitial elements.

UPN also noted the success broad animated comedies such as “The Simpsons” and “South Park” have enjoyed with men and teenagers.

“When you’re dealing with 15-minute episodes it’s obvious that we’re not creating dense character relationships,” Nunan said. “We’re saying, ‘This is just going to be pure entertainment.’ ”

It remains to be seen how viable the idea will be from a business standpoint. Production companies rely on selling reruns to generate their profits, so these 15-minute episodes--although self-contained--would probably have to be combined into half-hour episodes for syndication, as was done with the old Three Stooges shorts.

While networks have talked about exploring new series forms, other than the occasional 90-minute episode of “NYPD Blue,” few have tampered with conventional lengths.

There has been some tinkering with the duration of prime-time shows. In 1970, for example, ABC ran two 45-minute series back-to-back: “The Music Scene,” a variety-music program, followed by “The New People,” a fantasy drama about a group of young Americans stranded on an island.

Fifteen-minute programs were common in television’s infancy, including CBS’ nightly newscast.