Post-Sweeps Fare Has Original Look

After the hoopla surrounding the November rating sweeps, which concluded Wednesday, it’s been customary for the major networks to catch their collective breath by throwing on a few reruns.

As a result, Sunday’s menu of programming is notable for the wide assortment of original fare making its debut, including ABC’s “Brian’s Song” and the CBS miniseries “Jack and the Beanstalk,” as well as an installment of PBS’ “Great Performances” in addition to a wave of newly minted cable offerings.

The A&E; network, for example, premieres the World War I film “The Lost Battalion” at 8 p.m.; TNT counters with the Whoopi Goldberg made-for-TV holiday movie “Call Me Claus” (following a telecast of “The Wizard of Oz”); and HBO launches its making-of-a-movie documentary series “Project Greenlight.” Discovery, meanwhile, weighs in with “Pearl Harbor: Death of the Arizona” and the “My VH1 Music Awards Show” plays on that cable channel.

One explanation for the crush is the major networks appear to have lost faith in movies and miniseries as reliable ammunition for their sweeps arsenal; an example, sources say, is CBS’ expensive production of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” which stars Matthew Modine, that didn’t run during November even though it was initially ordered with a sweeps airdate in mind. A network spokesman said post-production work on the special effects-oriented project also made it difficult to ensure the miniseries would be ready in time for sweeps.

The producers of “Brian’s Song,” meanwhile, maintain they actually lobbied ABC to play the movie after sweeps, hoping the competition would be less intense and afford them a better chance of being seen.

The aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes has also helped pad the networks’ stash of programming, having delayed the start of the current television season and caused additional preemptions. ABC, for example, pulled “The Practice” and “Alias” from the first week of sweeps to avoid competing with the postponed World Series and Emmy Awards. Both shows will offer new episodes Sunday.

Brian Lowry