Shaping Into a Real Brawl

The World Series may be over, but the major broadcast networks still find themselves facing a squeeze play, as smaller channels capitalize on today’s wired world and seek to prove that they too can play in the big leagues.

While niche channels have long catered to narrow tastes, it’s still a relatively recent occurrence to see rivals chipping away quite so ominously at the major networks in the arena of series programming--a scenario underscored by the full-blown scrum that will take place tonight at 9, as five high-profile programs duke it out in the same time slot.

Viewers tuning in on what is not coincidentally the first Tuesday within the four-week November rating sweeps will be presented a menu that includes two Emmy-winning series in their ninth seasons, “Frasier” and “NYPD Blue”; the new dramas “The Guardian,” “24” and “Smallville”; and the WB transplant “Roswell,” whose Tabasco-guzzling extraterrestrials have failed to generate much heat on UPN.

Fox’s heavily promoted action series “24,” starring Kiefer Sutherland, finally premieres after an onslaught of promotion during baseball’s Fall Classic. “The Guardian,” meanwhile, has already drawn strong numbers for CBS sandwiched between “JAG” and “Judging Amy,” while the new Superboy series “Smallville” has set ratings records for the WB.

“It’s shaping up to be the single most competitive hour [in prime time],” said Peter Roth, president of Warner Bros. Television, which produces “Smallville.” “Never have you seen so many outstanding entities in one time period.”

Though Tuesdays may be the most striking example, the impact of smaller networks is hardly confined to one night but rather spreads across the week, as the WB and UPN compete particularly for coveted younger viewers with programs such as the WB’s “7th Heaven,” “Smallville” and “Charmed” as well as, on UPN, the new “Star Trek” spinoff “Enterprise,” “Girlfriends,” WB transplant “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “WWF Smackdown!” (The WB is part-owned by Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times.)

Such competition has essentially caused the bottom to drop out in terms of how low ratings for the major networks can go. ABC’s Tuesday comedy block--a lineup once anchored by the likes of “Home Improvement” and “Roseanne”--has largely collapsed this fall, with ABC’s new Jason Alexander comedy “Bob Patterson” actually attracting fewer viewers than “Smallville” when the WB show made its debut in mid-October.

ABC quickly shifted “Bob” to Wednesdays and relocated its long-running drama “NYPD Blue” into that 9 p.m. slot, beginning with tonight’s two-hour premiere.

The key to how Tuesday shakes out will be whether the current configuration spurs an overall increase in TV watching, said Bill Cella, chief executive of Magna Global USA, a New York-based media-buying firm. Cella noted that each program skews toward a slightly different audience, from teens viewing “Smallville” to an older crowd watching “The Guardian” and “NYPD Blue.”

“It’s a very interesting mosaic of different demographics that these guys are going for,” he said.

The major television networks have long towered over rivals, thanks to their stronger distribution systems and near-ubiquitous reach. In recent years, however, inroads achieved by pay channel Home Box Office as well as the WB and UPN--studio-backed networks launched in the mid-1990s that run on weaker UHF stations in much of the country--have reminded ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox that they no longer have the market cornered on expensive, crowd-pleasing series.

“All you have to do is look at history,” said producer Fred Silverman, whose resume includes stints running ABC, CBS and NBC. “Back when ABC was an also-ran [in the 1950s and ‘60s], they started putting on commercial shows, and in spite of a lousy station lineup, they became very competitive. It’s still a show-driven business. Ultimately, people will seek out shows that they want to see. That’s never going to change.”

Indeed, despite being received by only about a third of U.S. homes, HBO has trumped an even more pronounced distribution handicap with its Sunday-night lineup, which showcases such original series as “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “Six Feet Under” and most recently “Band of Brothers.” Many of those programs play during the summer, but “Band” has faced network premieres and original episodes this fall, siphoning away a significant if relatively small audience.

Smaller networks still face limitations, a point underscored by “Smallville’s” disproportionate success in big cities such as Los Angeles, where it runs on stronger VHF stations. In three flights thus far, the youth-oriented drama has won its time period twice in local-market ratings and ranked second to “Frasier.”

Nevertheless, the clear message from viewers appears to be “It’s the programming, stupid,” making the task of introducing series in such a crowded marketplace even more daunting, with “24” invading a time period that already features a half-dozen series--four of them one-hour dramas--with at least some semblance of a following.

“We are obviously frustrated to have to sit on the sidelines and watch some of the other networks launch and begin to get traction,” said Fox Entertainment President Gail Berman, alluding to the fact that “24” was delayed due to Fox’s baseball coverage.

Still, based on the difficulty networks have coming up with appealing series, most agree someone will likely have to blink if the Tuesday-night showdown finds the viewing pie sliced too narrowly to support the various occupants.

“If the audience wants a show, the network’s obligation is to find the time period when the audience can watch it,” Berman said, calling Tuesdays “a paradise for the audience, but very difficult for programmers.”