Missed First Half of ‘Gilmore Girls’? Catch Midshow Recap

Seeking to capitalize on NBC’s perceived vulnerability in the Thursday slot following “Friends,” the WB network has employed a novel means of inviting viewers into its new dramatic series “Gilmore Girls”--providing a brief plot synopsis at 8:30 p.m. recounting what they missed during the first half-hour.

The WB introduced the midshow recap a few weeks ago, hoping to make it easier for “Friends” viewers to switch to the series and skip NBC’s 8:30 p.m. comedy, “Cursed.” The idea underscores shifting TV-watching patterns in which viewers increasingly program their own night, flitting from show to show instead of staying fixed on one particular channel.

WB Executive Vice President Jordan Levin said the network saw an opportunity to attract “Friends” viewers to sample “Gilmore Girls,” hoping those who come over will like what they see. Television viewers--especially those within the younger demographics who constitute a large portion of the WB’s audience--”have grown up with a remote in their hands . . . [and] feel very empowered about what it is they want to watch,” Levin said. (The WB is part-owned by Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times.)

Prime-time ratings on Thursday offered a clear demonstration of this trend. ABC’s improvisational comedy “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” featuring a guest appearance by Robin Williams, picked up 4.5 million viewers once “Friends” ended, surging to 17.2 million viewers from 8:30 to 9 p.m. opposite “Cursed.

In fact, every network except NBC posted at least marginal viewership gains at 8:30 p.m., with more people tuning in to the CBS newsmagazine “48 Hours,” Fox’s “Cops” special, UPN’s “WWF Smackdown!” and “Gilmore Girls.”

By contrast, while an estimated 23.7 million people watched “Friends,” 5.4 million viewers--or about 23% of its audience--skipped “Cursed.” NBC then rebounded to 22.3 million viewers at 9 p.m. for “Will & Grace.”

Newsmagazines, sports, so-called “reality” programs and ABC’s quiz show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” all lend themselves to such channel-surfing because they are modular--that is, viewers can tune in at any point and watch a portion of the show without feeling a need for catching up. In a sense, then, these formats cater to the schedules of busy viewers who might find themselves with a free half-hour to kill, precisely what the WB is trying to do for “Gilmore Girls.”

NBC’s post-”Friends” dip was more precipitous in the Los Angeles area. Local ratings are broken down into 15-minute increments, and--based on Nielsen Media Research data--half the audience watching “Friends” from 8:15 to 8:30 p.m. was gone by the time “Cursed” ended, while viewing of “Gilmore Girls” on WB outlet KTLA significantly increased.