TV Convention Draws Record Crowd : Sales: Stations seem optimistic and 'in a buying mood' at annual syndication showcase.

TV Convention Draws Record Crowd : Sales: Stations seem optimistic and ‘in a buying mood’ at annual syndication showcase.

By GREG BRAXTON

Jan. 28, 1993 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SAN FRANCISCO — At the end of business on the first day of the National Assn. of Television Program Executives convention here, Michael King, president of King World Productions, makers of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Wheel of Fortune,” among others, flopped down, exhausted, on a couch in the company’s massive display area.

“I’m getting too old for this,” he sighed, rubbing his feet and legs as he wound down from making deals and talking with an onslaught of TV-station executives interested in renewals of King World’s highly successful shows and seeking more information on its new talk show and reality magazine program.

But despite the fatigue, King was smiling Tuesday. “There’s a lot of heat this year,” he said.

Indeed, the mood on the floor of the Moscone Center seemed upbeat during the annual showcase of syndicated programming. Although buyers and sellers disagreed about just how many deals were actually being made, they seemed optimistic.

“Generally, stations seem to be in a buying mood, and a lot more happy than last year,” Rich Frank, president of Walt Disney Studios, said as he surveyed the throng gathered in the Buena Vista Television area, decked out with ornate, Disneyland-like displays touting its productions “Dinosaurs,” “Home Improvement” and the upcoming “Aladdin” animated series.

Convention officials reported record attendance--9,212 buyers and sellers, compared with 8,700 at the 1992 gathering, which was clouded by a negative economic environment and characterized by a flat syndication market. The exhibition was also said to be at record levels, with 290 companies selling their wares on the floor this year as opposed to 274 last year.

“Outside of L.A., the national economy is improving,” said Greg Meidel, president of Twentieth Television. “There are lots of shows, old and new, that are doing very well here.”

Whether all that optimism translated into many of the offerings being sold this week was another story. As one prominent show business executive said, “If it isn’t a ‘go’ when it gets here, it isn’t going to be a ‘go,’ ” adding that the convention was much more valuable as a networking gathering.

Much of the buzz centered around three new talk shows--King World’s “The Les Brown Show,” Twentieth’s “The Bertice Berry Show” and Columbia Pictures Television Distribution’s “Ricki,” with actress Ricki Lake. Although producers said that all of them were selling well and would definitely go on the air this fall, there were more than a few station representatives who indicated they felt there were already too many talk shows glutting the airwaves.

For those who thought there was too much talk, there was plenty of action--with many syndicators pushing one-hour action series in attempts to emulate the success of Paramount’s “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” Cannell Productions was trumpeting “Viper” as All American, which resurrected “Baywatch,” was pushing another beach-and-bikini venture, “Acapulco H.E.A.T.”

Buyers and sellers indicated that weekly hours may be the wave of the future, with affiliates possibly opting to book those instead of struggling network series, such as NBC’s “I’ll Fly Away.”

Most notably, however, there were no shows resembling the big hit of last year’s convention, “You Bet Your Life,” the revival of the 1950s game show starring Bill Cosby that failed to win a big following among viewers last fall.

Meidel said the lesson syndicators learned from the “You Bet Your Life” episode was: “Format first, star second.”

“You can have a proven big star, but you really have to have a proven format,” he said. “It was a great personality in the wrong vehicle.”

The tried and true still seemed to be a big attraction for conventioneers, who lined up to press the flesh with talk-show host Rush Limbaugh at the Multimedia Entertainment area. Jerry Seinfeld and other “Seinfeld” cast members signed autographs in the Columbia Pictures Television Distribution area. “Wheel of Fortune’s” Vanna White flashed a never-ending smile in the King World area as buyers clicked away with cameras. Lines to greet cast members from “Northern Exposure” and “Evening Shade” were as long as lines for the lavish buffets set out by most of the major syndicators.

David M. Tinsch, director of programming for WTVH-TV, a CBS affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y., smiled as he looked up at the flashy displays and rows of video screens.

“This is the only time that our business truly becomes show business,” he said. “It’s all hype and glitz and glory but you can’t let this convention force you to close a deal. You have to keep a clear head and not get caught up in all of it.”