The reality of ‘drop-in’ TV

If television networks have traditionally sought to establish long-term relationships with viewers -- such as those faithful masses who have tuned in “The Simpsons” since the first Bush administration -- then so-called reality shows are the programming equivalent of a quick, torrid fling.

Even if the genre’s ratings cool, as many anticipate given the cyclical nature of the TV business, the explosive popularity of such programs as “American Idol,” “The Bachelor” and “Joe Millionaire” reflects a significant change in how people are watching television. It is, ultimately, a shift to a more commitment-phobic kind of viewing, driven by the media-saturated habits of a younger generation.

Not only do the series run for shorter periods -- usually six to 13 weeks -- the way the episodes unfold makes them easy for grazing viewers to join in progress.

An analysis of Nielsen Media Research data, breaking recent telecasts of hourlong programs into quarter-hour segments, found some intriguing patterns.

ABC’s “The Bachelorette” and Fox’s “Joe Millionaire” both add 3 million viewers or more over the course of an hour, as ratings increase until the moment each week when the central characters dismiss one of their bevy of potential mates.

Last Thursday, CBS’ “Star Search” saw its audience grow by a similar amount once NBC’s “Friends” ended. And last week, a staggering 8.5 million more viewers joined “American Idol” from beginning to end -- to nearly 30 million by the conclusion. (The audience levels published in newspapers represent an average of how many people watched a program at any given moment.)

While popular dramas often gain viewers in the second half-hour, none do so that sharply. This season, NBC’s “Ed” and “American Dreams” each are adding almost 2 million viewers by show’s end, the most sizable increase among dramatic programs.

Alternative forms of programming, including newsmagazines and clip shows like “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” have always been attractive for this reason -- especially up against a strong competitor such as “Friends,” noted David Poltrack, CBS’ executive vice president of research.

The new programming appears to be taking that ability to tune in anytime to new extremes by playing to the millions of channel-surfers, particularly in younger age brackets, who like being able to drop in when they feel like it, allowing networks to pick up rating points not just from broadcast rivals but cable as well.

“At any point, there’s a significant audience now that is roaming around,” Poltrack said. “That’s the audience that is most available to you, and these reality shows capture that audience very effectively.”

So while CBS’ “Survivor” regularly exhibits a sizable post-”Friends” bounce, viewers also can wander over from other diversions as well, such as a lopsided basketball game on ESPN or a PTA meeting that ran late.

“They’re so appealing to viewers ... because they’re enabling them to make a short-term commitment,” said Jodi Clancy, vice president of marketing and research at 20th Century Fox Television, regarding staged reality shows’ gambit of building to a suspenseful, and sometimes humiliating, conclusion. “You can watch the last quarter-hour and be satisfied with what you’ve seen.”

The chicken-and-egg question is whether programmers are helping alter viewing patterns by resorting to what they acknowledge are short-term fixes or if the youthful demographics they covet are compelling them to provide such programming, which suits their busy lifestyles.

“If you really are targeting that 18- to 34-year-old audience ... you’re just dealing with a different kind of television viewer today,” said Jack MacKenzie, senior vice president of entertainment at the research and consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates, who called alternative formats “the known antidote for short attention spans and lack of loyalty.”

These changing dynamics are fueling anxiety within the television industry. Although they have become increasingly expensive, hit sitcoms and dramas can run a decade or more and provide stability to a prime-time schedule.

A show like “Joe Millionaire,” by contrast, generally costs less than half as much to produce as a scripted hour. But the network cannot repeat it, and it will air for only eight weeks, meaning Fox has to try to catch lightning in a bottle all over again.

“It gives them this insane shot in the arm, but it’s temporary,” said Jack Dytman, a talent agent who primarily represents writers. “You can’t get [that rating] for the next four or five years, the way a hit series can. You don’t have an emotional attachment.”

Of course, many within the industry say executives have little incentive to think that far ahead, given the pressure to deliver results immediately. Network officials have nevertheless stressed their intent not to become overly reliant on such programs, with the specter of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” -- the quiz show that burned brightly before suffering a rapid ratings slide, dragging ABC along with it -- looming as a reminder.

Executives aren’t alone in their concerns about changing viewing habits. Those who make a living in scripted programming face their own anxieties as they wait to see whether this is a passing fad or a fundamental shift.

Screen Actors Guild President Melissa Gilbert, like many in the creative community, can’t hide her disdain for some of the concepts, which she calls “horrifying.”

The bottom-line concern, however, is that such programs deprive actors of work as they occupy larger parcels of prime-time real estate. It’s a problem compounded because the networks are punching up more short-order reality shows to play this summer, reducing the number of reruns they will air -- and thus the residual payments that go to performers, writers and directors.

“That’s going to hurt in a big way,” Gilbert said, adding that the various guilds need to strengthen their alliances “to try and maintain some kind of a foothold.... We’re going to have to do something, or it’s all going to run away from us.”

Howard Gordon, one of the executive producers of Fox’s “24,” agreed that unscripted shows place fewer demands on viewers, thus making it easier for them to wade in midstream. “It does require less of the audience,” he said. “It’s a simpler narrative.... Between that and TiVo, we’re just relearning how to watch TV.”

By contrast, “24” is a densely plotted, highly serialized thriller. Before its premiere, one fear associated with the show -- which has drawn considerable critical acclaim but modest ratings -- was that it would ask viewers to make too much of a commitment, causing them to think if they missed an episode they wouldn’t be able to catch up.

Despite how easy it is for viewers to fit staged reality shows into their schedules, many expect that the networks’ urge to copy success will reach an inevitable saturation point. CBS Television President Leslie Moonves recently admitted as much, saying that programmers will “probably have overdone it” by the fall.

Based on the fanatical loyalty many viewers exhibit toward favorite programs -- with groups staging aggressive Internet campaigns to save low-rated shows -- there is also evidence that people still want to forge bonds with scripted series. For all the talk about reality, the fictional cases on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” still galvanize more viewers than any other program.

“I don’t feel like it’s the comet that’s going to make us the dinosaurs,” Gordon said.