The level of quality programming, the return of the mega-hit sitcom and the opportunities to work with marketers across multiple platforms in an integrated way has gained enormous momentum.
Daytime darling, and host Ellen DeGeneres is a regular Emmy award winner, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Her show is pure entertainment and provides an hour of escape for viewers to indulge themselves. From a marketer’s standpoint, there is no more advertiser-friendly show with an “A” list talent whose influence as a trusted source is unparalleled. Ellen’s reinvention of the live commercial and smart product integrations have won praise with marketers and their agencies. Syndication clearly dominates talk with perennial first-run winners Oprah, Phil, and Regis & Kelly among others.
On the sitcom front, while our expectations were high for Two and a Half Men, the results have surpassed our wildest dreams. Just when you thought “the sitcom is dead”, this program became a ratings dynamo. Family Guy and George Lopez have also “hit it out of the park”. While it is true the mega-hit on network television for sitcoms may be a bit scarce, Syndication’s sitcoms are riding high.
Syndication’s younger audience skew is a benefit we enjoy. Reaching the elusive young adult demographic has never been more challenging given the fragmentation of television ratings and changing media consumption patterns Fortunately Syndication can boast extremely young demos in Family Guy, a winning daytime talk show in Tyra Banks that reaches women 18-34 plus a groundswell of momentum behind Wizard’s First Rule premiering this fall. Lastly, we are particularly proud to have launched the number one new strip program, and adult 18-34 magnet, in TMZ.
Arguably the most exciting venture for Warner Bros is the aggressive digital slate that we recently announced. Simply put, our strategy is to create broadband destinations that are targeted to an underserved audience or ones where we can have a distinct point of view. Recognizing that the consumer is boss, we distribute our content broadly but discriminately on platforms where consumers want to consume our content and advertisers can devise meaningful marketing communications programs to impact their respective target audiences. We have several destinations where marketers creating 360 degree experiences combining broadcast with our Ellen, Tyra and Extra websites. Moving forward, our newest destinations are specific online experiences. They include Momlogic.com, Essence.com (a joint venture with one of the most venerable woman’s media brands), KidsWB.com and the WB.com.
Recognizing all the options that advertisers face today, there are no vehicles available with the consistently high C3 ratings, short pods and quality programming that Syndication delivers. We are confident that Syndication is poised for a winning year in the 2008/2009 television season and we look forward to working with our agency and client partners in many innovative and exciting ways.
Michael Teicher is EVP of media sales at Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.
