The CW’s Ostroff adds ‘content wraps’ to its menu

Among reporters who cover TV, Dawn Ostroff is known as the corporate version of Sleepytime Tea. No matter what you ask, she can brew an answer formulated to lull you to a deep, home office-approved slumber. Even her off-the-cuff remarks sound as if they were pounded out by committee at a weekend retreat. Like Walt Disney Co.’s Anne Sweeney, another press-conference cyborg, Ostroff must have a teleprompter hard-wired into her brain.

Such a skill is useful for the person now charged with running the CW, the new network forged by CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Television from the remnants of UPN and the WB. But even Ostroff, former chief of UPN, was put to the test by all the skepticism directed at the coming venture on Monday.

Speaking at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Pasadena, Ostroff tried her best to brush off questions about how UPN and WB went about winding down their meager businesses. But the CW’s devotion to a new advertising scheme called “content wraps” -- essentially longer-than-usual commercials that feature stories and are paid for by a single sponsor -- left reporters perplexed and Ostroff struggling to dispel the doubts.

“We’ve been talking to advertisers about how to engage viewers in a different way,” Ostroff said. “They’re looking at more subtle ways of reaching the viewer.” She added that the “wraps” would be “a reason for viewers to stay involved the whole night.”

“I don’t get it,” one reporter objected. “The programs aren’t enough?”

“This is an experiment,” Ostroff said.

Later, another journalist wondered exactly which American viewers want more advertising tossed their way.

Ostroff lost some of her poise, if that’s the right word for her usual demeanor. “Why wouldn’t they want advertisers to reach them in a different way?” she asked, almost pleadingly.

The CW chief was no more persuasive talking about the bottom line. One reporter mentioned that Garth Ancier, chairman of the WB, explained a decision to cancel the drama “7th Heaven” by saying the show’s past season would lose $16 million. So why did the CW reverse that decision?

“We’re not going to lose anything on ‘7th Heaven,’ ” she said. “That show has such incredible support.” That’s true, but it was also true when Ancier made his remarks. Was he wrong?

And why was “Everwood,” a fan favorite, canceled? “It was an agonizing decision,” Ostroff said. “The fans were so devoted.”

So, “7th Heaven” fans were critical in bringing that show back, but somehow the “Everwood” fans weren’t persuasive enough? How does that work?

Ostroff even found herself at odds with reporters over the color used in the CW’s new logo, with one journalist dubbing it “John Deere green.” “I thought the John Deere green was a little darker, but maybe I don’t know,” Ostroff said.

It didn’t take much of this for even a practiced press-spinner to crack. Ostroff noted that Hayley Duff, who is joining the cast of “7th Heaven,” will play a character who enrolls at a seminary. Asked what the character will be studying there, Ostroff seemed to have trouble containing her exasperation.

“Religion,” she said.

When the boss calls you a ‘drag’

You may have noticed last week that General Electric posted a net quarterly income of $4.8 billion, but what bears watching are comments Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and chief executive, made about the underperforming NBC Universal unit. Due in large part to lousy ratings at NBC’s broadcast network, the unit’s profits slipped 10%.

Here’s what Immelt told investors in a conference call: “A lot of good work inside the company was offset by a drag within the company in NBC Universal and plastics.” This might not seem all that significant, but remember that this is GE. Major changes are often telegraphed through winks and nods by the boss. Immelt has always expressed support for NBC in the past.

For example, here he was quoted in a January Newsweek story about NBC’s travails and TV boss Jeff Zucker’s continuing efforts to right the ship: “I think we can drive consistent earnings growth and consistent returns” at NBC Universal, Immelt said when addressing Wall Street.

But now Immelt’s hindquarters are clearly beginning to get chapped by the situation. He actually singled out NBC for public blame in hurting good work done elsewhere by other units.

If that’s what he’s saying in public, you have to wonder how it goes in private. It can’t be good.

Channel Island is a blog about the television industry. For the latest posting, go to latimes.com/channelisland. Contact reporter Scott Collins at channelisland@latimes.com