Been There, Seen That?

Just like barbecues and beach parties, TV reruns have become one of the traditional signposts that summer has arrived.

With summer ratings wilting, however, some broadcasters are trumpeting the need for more original first-run offerings, while others--citing the economic imperative to air reruns--seek ways to get more mileage out of their repeats by using the seemingly oxymoronic concept of “new reruns.”

For years, the major television networks fired off their last concentrated volley of original programming during the May rating sweeps, then went into partial hibernation until Labor Day signaled the imminent arrival of school and new-series premieres.

More recently, depressed viewing levels have alarmed some officials, prompting Fox to increase its percentage of fresh summer fare in an effort to stem (or at least slow) the tide of viewers flowing elsewhere.

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No network, however, can afford to provide 52 weeks a year of original programming. Broadcasters are granted two runs per episode when they buy a series and seldom turn a profit until that second telecast, making reruns an economic necessity.

Yet the major networks also have come to realize they can no longer blithely throw on repeats and expect viewers to tune in, given all the alternatives available--including, in most homes, at least 45 channels, a VCR and a personal computer.

To address this dilemma, top-rated NBC has devised a marketing campaign built around the slogan that if people haven’t seen a repeat, “It’s New to You”--reminding viewers that they probably missed episodes of their favorite series.

UPN, the least-watched broadcast network, adopted a similar strategy. In essence acknowledging that many of its programs went unseen on the first pass, current UPN ads extend this invitation to viewers: “While the other networks are in reruns, see what we run.”

The truth is, even if viewers did watch every episode, networks would still need to repeat popular shows to recoup their investments, with the fees paid for such programs as “ER,” “Seinfeld” and “Home Improvement” ballooning to unprecedented levels.

“The use and reuse of programming in a way that is appealing to the viewer is the reasonable answer to the situation that we’re in now,” said NBC West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer.

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While network ratings have diminished throughout the year, the sharp decline in summer viewing appears especially jarring. Despite big numbers for the National Basketball Assn. playoffs in June, overall results for NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox sank to record-low levels almost as soon as the buzzer sounded.

The four major networks totaled slightly more than 32 million viewers in prime time for the ratings week ending June 28, compared to the aggregate audience of nearly 52 million that those same outlets reached on average from September through May.

Fox has sought to rectify the problem with more original summer fare, an approach being emulated by ABC. The general emphasis remains on less-expensive genres, including so-called “reality shows,” such as an upcoming Fox series based on the Guinness Book of Records, and ABC’s new version of the improvisational comedy show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” hosted by Drew Carey.

Still, some TV executives say more original programming isn’t the answer. For starters, the rewards are limited because viewing levels drop in the summer, as daylight saving time, vacation travel and outdoor activities distract potential viewers more apt to stay indoors during the winter and fall.

Moreover, the real demand is for more episodes of hit shows, which are already hard-pressed to meet existing orders. While many popular comedies turn out as many as 26 installments per season, most dramatic series struggle to complete 22 new episodes in 10 months, working under an eight-day shooting schedule on each episode.

Taking all these factors into account, reruns become an essential component of any network’s financial equation--which does nothing, of course, to help networks in getting people to watch them.

Ohlmeyer acknowledges that some viewers don’t like seeing repeats on the network, but aadded, “If you’re going to pay what we pay for programming, you can’t [schedule] original programming for those people all the time.”

Research compiled by NBC demonstrates some support for its “New to You” premise. Audience-measurement service Nielsen Media Research has found that even self-described fans of most shows see fewer than half the episodes on the first go-round, and newly released data demonstrates that millions of people view episodes they missed during the summer.

According to NBC, which broke down Nielsen data on a person-by-person basis, 8 million people watched “Friends” on June 11 who hadn’t seen that particular episode before.

Similarly, 7 in 10 of those who tuned into “Just Shoot Me” saw that half-hour for the first time, and more than 80% of the audience for that week’s installment of “3rd Rock From the Sun” missed its previous telecast in November.

Networks also try to use summer exposure to benefit shows people might not see otherwise. NBC has been especially aggressive about using out-of-time-period runs to try to introduce viewers to programs.

A current beneficiary of that strategy is “Just Shoot Me,” which the network is showcasing Thursdays after “Seinfeld” in advance of its move to Tuesdays in the fall. NBC is also temporarily airing “The Pretender” on Wednesdays, realizing many people are out when the show regularly plays Saturday nights.

Even well-established series like “Frasier” and “Law & Order” are receiving additional telecasts Sundays--a night when overall viewing levels tend to be higher.

Networks also keep experimenting with ways to milk revenue from reruns by using them to fill additional hours or secondary channels. ABC is testing a full-time soap opera channel using its popular daytime serials as fodder, while NBC plans to repeat its soaps in the wee-morning hours and has run “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” on CNBC, one of its cable networks.

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Although viewers often gripe about too many reruns, there’s some irony that one of the drains on network viewing has been cable channels that inventively package classic movies or TV programs, from “I Love Lucy” on Nick at Nite to “Bonanza” on the Family Channel.

“If you say [viewers] are going to cable, a lot of the time they’re going to see older reruns,” Ohlmeyer said. “They’re not going to see something new. They’re going to see something different.”

The public, in fact, can’t seem to get enough of the shows they like.

Several network hits--including “Home Improvement,” “Seinfeld” and “The Simpsons”--are also perched near the top of the syndication standings, each airing at least five times a week on local TV stations in addition to their network showings.

“People have seen some of those ‘Cheers’ episodes 10 times,” Ohlmeyer noted, “and they still like them.”