New Daytime Shows Struggle to Regain Their Footing

New daytime syndicated shows are scrambling for daylight this season.

“Iyanla,” “Ananda” and “The Other Half” are among new entries in the daytime talk show arena launched into a risky syndication market already clouded by financial and creative uncertainty. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 preempted the nationally syndicated programs--many in their first weeks on the air--for several days as round-the-clock news filled day and evening schedules.

When they returned, producers found that more viewers were watching television overall, but that cable networks with continuous news coverage, such as CNN, had grabbed the lion’s share of viewers. In addition, viewers who were watching syndicated shows had returned to their favorites, such as the Oprah Winfrey and Regis Philbin programs.

Now the new shows are trying to regain momentum during the important November sweeps period, which stations use to determine advertiser rates.

“This has been an incredibly challenging experience,” said Holly Jacobs, senior vice president of programming and development for Buena Vista Productions, which produces “Iyanla,” a talk show hosted by author and speaker Iyanla Vanzant. The series premiered Aug. 13, weeks ahead of most other new syndicated series.

“It’s just very hard to get a new face in the environment after what happened on Sept. 11,” said Jacobs. “We launched early, and we were just beginning to find our way when there was this horrible, tragic disruption. And we tape in New York, so it was difficult for us even to get audiences in the studio.”

Bruce Johansen, president and chief executive of the National Assn. of Television Programming Executives, the umbrella organization for syndicated shows, added, “Sept. 11 compounded what was already a difficult season. It’s a horrible economy, and it’s the worst advertising climate in the the history of television. It’s affected everything in syndication, particularly development.”

According to a recent survey of daytime viewers by Frank Magid and Associates, a research firm, 60% of viewers said they were watching CNN more during the daytime, with the network’s audience between four and eight times larger than it was before the attack.

Also increasing in viewership since Sept. 11 were several syndicated shows such as “Live With Regis and Kelly” and “Oprah Winfrey,” which are up in both household rating and female viewers.

“The tried-and-true programs that have been there before are now defining the syndication environment,” said an industry insider. “The audiences don’t have the emotional room to sample new shows. Between the established shows and the news channels, there just isn’t much left over.”

Alan Winters, executive producer of “The Other Half,” an NBC Enterprises talk show hosted by four male personalities, said his show premiered Sept. 10 and then was off the air for about a week after the attacks.

“When we came back, the show that appeared was not the show we had intended to do,” said Winters of the series, which is designed to take a lighthearted look at the world of women through the eyes of men.

“We had to take a different tone of being more serious, but I think the guys endeared themselves to the audience during that time,” he added.

Ratings for “The Other Half,” which is hosted by Dick Clark, Mario Lopez, Danny Bonaduce and Dr. Jan Adams, have been steadily increasing in the past few weeks.

“We’re getting to know what parts of our show are really working, and it seems like viewers are getting more comfortable with the guys,” Winters said.

“The Ananda Lewis Show,” a series produced by King World and hosted by the former MTV VJ, spent several programs examining the attack and is now focusing on lighter shows aimed at younger audiences.

“It is a new beginning,” said David Armour, executive producer of the series. “We’re doing shows that are fun and capitalizing on Ananda’s skills.”

Focus Shifts to ‘Tangible Information’

“Iyanla” was first seen as a show that would focus on relationships. But Jacobs said the series will now be more informational and service-oriented. Part of the change in focus is due to “routine tweaking,” she said, but other shifts are in response to the terrorist attacks.

“We feel that providing tangible information is the way to go--shows on how people can control their lives,” Jacobs said. “We want to demonstrate how to bring comfort in uncomfortable times and deal with what our viewers are dealing with.”

Johansen of the national programming executives’ group, said that the dire season may extend at least into the middle of next year, even longer if there are more attacks.

“Things are cyclical in this business, and a lot of people are hoping we’re just in a bad cycle,” he said.

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“The Ananda Lewis Show” airs Monday-Friday at 9 a.m. on KTLA. “Iyanla” airs Monday-Friday at 10 a.m. on KNBC, with “The Other Half” at noon weekdays, also on KNBC.