Films that fill a cable niche

In the beginning, there was the Movie. It survived and flourished, drawing viewers out of their homes and into theaters. Then, starting in the late ‘60s, everything changed. Instead of going out to see major movie productions, people could sit in their living rooms and watch ambitious network efforts like “Brian’s Song” and, later, “Sarah Plain and Tall.”

During the past decade, things have changed even more, as HBO became the showcase for costly yet important films, from “And the Band Played On” to “Live From Baghdad.” At the same time, coincidentally or not, the broadcast networks have pulled back sharply. Where once ABC, CBS and NBC all had Sunday night movie franchises -- showing original films as well as theatrical releases -- now only CBS remains with a weekly presence, and they’ve got to be wondering why they even bother.

Competition from regular series like NBC’s “Law & Order Criminal Intent” and HBO’s “The Sopranos,” coupled with overall movie-format fatigue, has meant that all but a few CBS movies have drawn poor ratings, as have those from ABC on Sunday. All of this has led to chatter that the TV movie genre was all but dead, except on the pay cable channels HBO and Showtime.

However, the third phase in the evolution of TV movies has arrived; even as the networks pull back, the made-for-TV movie has been born again on even some of the most narrowly focused cable networks. Now it’s not simply Lifetime, USA or TNT that are in the game; even niche cable outlets not generally thought of as homes for original fictional movies are getting into the business.

Animal Planet, ESPN and Court TV are just some of the unexpected channels where original movies are cropping up.

“I can remember in the mid-’90s, when channels like USA and TNT announced they were going to be doing movies, and it seemed like such an out-there proposition,” recalls MTV and VH1 Entertainment President Brian Graden. “TV movies were what the networks did. But now, all of cable really is the predominant home for the genre.”

Earlier this month, for instance, Court TV aired its second original film, “The Interrogation of Michael Crowe.” This weekend, ESPN was to premiere its second movie, “The Junction Boys.” On Jan. 5, Animal Planet will show “Gentle Ben II,” a sequel to an original film it aired last year. Comedy Central joined the trend earlier this fall with the fact-based film “Porn ‘N Chicken.” Even the Oxygen Network, which seldom has dabbled with much fictional, scripted programming, has recently completed production on its first movie, set to air next summer.

The movies are all quite different, but their networks have one goal in mind: These shouldn’t just be good films, they should also be good advertising.

“When we started thinking about doing it, we realized that the last thing any viewer really needed was another TV movie,” explains Henry Schlieff, chairman and chief executive of Court TV Network. “But there are diverse reasons to get into this. HBO’s agenda is to distinguish itself. For Lifetime, it’s a volume business that helps with ad sales. From our perspective, we’re still defining our brand, and a long-form program -- specifically a movie -- is the single most useful tool with which to do that.”

In other words, if you want to know the core mission of a particular channel, just check out its original movies.

“The movies serve two purposes,” says Animal Planet executive vice president and general manager Michael Cascio. “They bring in a bigger audience because they are a familiar form of entertainment for viewers. But they are also the chance to carry the message of your network to that audience.”

Whereas a broadcast network TV movie has to appeal to as large an audience as possible to lure in the maximum amount of viewers and advertisers, smaller cable outlets can be more selective about what they put on. And, since their networks are built around a narrow, easily definable interest -- sports, criminal justice, etc. -- they can produce projects their viewers are almost certain to want.

“In cable, you have so much more freedom to really focus on one audience and super-serve that group,” explains Debby Beece, president of programming for the Oxygen network. “You can go more in-depth with what your viewers want and not worry about appealing to big groups.”

This means the original movies on Cascio’s channel must be “family-friendly and celebrate the relationship between humans and animals,” he adds. For the Oxygen network, which primarily targets female viewers, that means mining the romantic comedy genre. Court TV movies are fact-based legal dramas that “are activist. When you see them, you want to get up out of your chair and do something,” Schlieff says.

Meanwhile, ESPN movies are going to have something to do with guys and glory. “When it comes to sports TV movies, there really is a void,” explains Marc Shapiro, executive vice president of programming and production at ESPN. “If somebody is going to fill that void, why wouldn’t it be us?”

Not surprisingly, the niche channels’ desire for niche movies seems to be working. When Court TV aired its first original film, “Guilt by Association,” last March, Schlieff saw “a significant increase in new viewers in that time slot. It was a seminal moment for our network, proving to everyone that we were no longer just the place to go for trial coverage.”

The average rating for each of Animal Planet’s film premieres was 167% of what the network normally received in that time period. Of the audience that tuned in ESPN’s first made-for-TV movie effort last March, “A Season on the Brink,” 20% “either didn’t watch the channel or used to and turned away from it,” according to Shapiro.

Meanwhile, “Porn ‘N Chicken” became the highest-rated movie Comedy Central has ever aired, and that includes major theatrical releases like “Private Benjamin” and “Blazing Saddles.”

“It’s important to bring new viewers to the network, but we can’t go off-brand to do it,” says Bill Hilary, executive vice president and general manager of Comedy Central. “The temptation is there to make movies safer, to be like a network movie and go for the broad audience, but we’re niche networks. That’s never been what we’re in the business for.”

Taking some risks

It’s a tricky balance, though. Networks have to give their faithful audience something familiar, but they also want to lure viewers who wouldn’t ordinarily have a big interest in their channel.

“You have to take some risks, and doing movies is one of them,” Shapiro says. “We’ve always been the place for sports fans to go for news and information, and that will still dominate our schedule. But if you’re truly going to bring in new viewers, younger viewers and female viewers, you have to stretch into new territories.”

According to Beece, it’s no accident that these channels have taken a page from the major network playbooks by cramming the commercial breaks during their movies with countless promotional spots for the channel’s other programs. “From a marketing standpoint, it’s a good hook. You throw a lot of promotion out there so people can see what else you’ve got. It becomes a vehicle to bring people into the network.”

The trend toward producing films isn’t strictly about bringing in more viewers, though. It’s also often done to save money. Traditionally, cable channels have turned to former theatrical and network fare to fill their schedules. By making their own product, however, they are more in control of their own destiny and their own budget.

“Making a movie can cost around $2 million or $3 million, but we can make a lot of that back in international sales,” Hilary says. “The actual cost can end up around $1.4 million, which is a lot less than theatrical movies you can buy that have already been around the block a few times. So obviously, we’d like to do a few more of our own and build a library. After all, there’s only a certain amount of times you can play ‘Ferris Bueller’ before it gets old.”

Adds Cascio: “Any time you can make the statement that you’re about original programming, that’s preferable to just buying the first run of ‘Dr. Dolittle,’ even though we’d like to have that movie too. But when you have to spend half of your budget on one theatrical release, it’s not going to be worth it. Still, economics are not the main reason for doing this. It’s just another tool to get an audience in and show the uniqueness of your channel.”

As much of a bargain as home-grown movies may be for niche networks, none of them seem to be rushing too many projects into development. Court TV has started work on its next film, “Political Asylum,” about the immigration system. Comedy Central is working on a trio of films, one of which it is also planning on turning into a weekly series. Animal Planet would like to do four to six movies a year and has recently finished “Big Spender,” set to air later next year.

Even larger channels like MTV and VH1 have come to realize that movies should be just one key element in a programmer’s arsenal.

“You have to look at them through a branding, not a commodity, prism,” Graden says. “For us, doing movies just creates a more interesting tapestry across the channels. When you mix them in, you have yet another personality you can put forth, and the goal for a channel is to be as rich and varied as possible.”

The production list may be relatively small, but if these movies continue to succeed, there’s no telling how far this trend could go. Perhaps it’s best to prepare now for a made-for-the-Weather-Channel film about a problematic cumulus cloud that eventually reforms or a very special Food Network presentation -- “Eggs Florentine: The Movie.”