ABC Looks to Lure Advertisers With 'Roseanne' and 'American Idol' as Bait
17 May 2017 - 4:42AM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
Walt Disney Co.'s ABC is launching 10 new sitcoms and dramas, a
new version of the musical talent show "American Idol," and
spinoffs of "The Bachelor" and "Dancing With the Stars" for the
2017-18 television season.
The network is also taking a trip down memory lane as it unveils
its lineup to advertisers, with an eight-episode reboot of
"Roseanne," featuring the original cast of the hit comedy that was
canceled in 1997.
The overhaul of ABC's prime-time schedule comes after a season
in which it was down 8% in viewers and 11% in the key advertising
demographic of adults aged 18-49, according to Nielsen.
Despite those declines, ABC will still likely finish the season
tied with Comcast Corp.'s NBC for first place in adults 18-49, if
sports programming isnt included in the ratings.
Bringing back "American Idol" next year is ABC's biggest bet.
The show ended its 15-season run on Fox just over a year ago, after
years of declining ratings and increased production costs. In its
final season, "American Idol" averaged just over 11 million
viewers, down from a peak of 30 million.
"This is a show viewers love to watch live," said ABC
Entertainment President Channing Dungey on a conference call
Thursday, adding that it will be a strong platform to promote the
network's other shows.
As for whether "American Idol" will be profitable for ABC, Ms.
Channing joked that the TV business is "full of red ink," before
adding that the show's budget is still "a work in progress."
The return of "American Idol" so soon after its heavily promoted
final season on Fox left that network somewhat irritated. On a
conference call with reporters Monday, Fox TV Group Chairman Dana
Walden said the network spent $25 million promoting the final
season and felt it would be "extremely fraudulent" to bring the
show back so quickly.
Asked about the quick comeback for "American Idol," Ms. Dungey
said, "We think it's a good time to bring the series back." She
added that the show is a good fit with ABC's other unscripted
programs "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Bachelor."
Both of those programs are also growing. Next year ABC is
launching "The Bachelor Winter Games," a competitive dating show
featuring members of previous seasons of "The Bachelor" and "The
Bachelorette." The network will also debut "Dancing with the Stars
Junior," in which celebrity children and children of celebrities
will compete on the dance floor.
In the fall, ABC will premiere four new dramas and one comedy.
Dramas include "The Good Doctor," about a surgeon with autism and
savant syndrome; "The Gospel of Kevin," about a self-obsessed man
who finds salvation after a celestial being encourages him to make
the world better; and "Ten Days in the Valley" starring Kyra
Sedgwick as a single mother whose daughter goes missing.
ABC also has a new drama from Marvel Television called "Marvel's
Inhumans" based on the comic book series of the same name. The
network's new fall comedy is "The Mayor" about a rapper whose
publicity stunt of running for mayor of his town backfires when he
wins.
Midseason shows from ABC include "For the People," a legal drama
executive produced by Shonda Rhimes whose production company
Shondaland is behind ABC's hits "Scandal," which will enter its
final season, and "How to Get Away With Murder."
Returning shows include "Blackish," "American Housewife" and
"Speechless." Canceled shows include the comedies "Dr. Ken" and
"Last Man Standing."
Asked about criticism that "Last Man Standing" was canceled over
lead actor Tim Allen's Republican political leanings, Ms. Dungey
said the decision was based on the fact that ABC chose to get out
of comedies altogether on Friday nights.
ABC also said its late-night host Jimmy Kimmel will again host
the Oscars next year.
Disney's ESPN also made its case to advertisers Tuesday. ESPN
has faced challenges from consumers cutting the cord to their cable
subscriptions and increased competition from rivals including Fox
Sports. Last month, ESPN laid off around 100 staffers including
several high-profile on-air personalities.
"We are making changes from the most dramatic position of
strength," said ESPN Chief Executive John Skipper. He noted that
the flagship channel is on new over-the-top live video services
including those launched by Google's YouTube and Hulu, which is
"good news for our ecosystem."
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 16, 2017 14:27 ET (18:27 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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