ABC’s Ax Cuts Into Cable Sibling’s Plans
NEW YORK (Variety) -- A funny thing happened to ABC Family on the way to creating a two-hour block of rerun series to run a few days after their premiere on the ABC Network: “That Was Then,” one of the planned hours, was canceled. So the block, which kicks off Oct. 26 as a weekly primetime play on Saturday, has shrunk to an hour, consisting of “Life With Bonnie” at 9 and “Less Than Perfect” at 9:30. Both shows are performing modestly in the Nielsen ratings in their first-play slots on ABC, so its Walt Disney Co. parent is hoping that the repurposed run four night later could act as cross-promotion, helping both networks. By contrast, even though their content would make them perfect candidates for repurposing on ABC Family, “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter” and “My Wife & Kids” — series that are scoring in the Nielsens on ABC — will shun the extra plays so that their future value in off-network syndication will not be damaged.
NEW YORK (Variety) -- A funny thing happened to ABC Family on the way to creating a two-hour block of rerun series to run a few days after their premiere on the ABC Network: “That Was Then,” one of the planned hours, was canceled. So the block, which kicks off Oct. 26 as a weekly primetime play on Saturday, has shrunk to an hour, consisting of “Life With Bonnie” at 9 and “Less Than Perfect” at 9:30. Both shows are performing modestly in the Nielsen ratings in their first-play slots on ABC, so its Walt Disney Co. parent is hoping that the repurposed run four night later could act as cross-promotion, helping both networks. By contrast, even though their content would make them perfect candidates for repurposing on ABC Family, “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter” and “My Wife & Kids” — series that are scoring in the Nielsens on ABC — will shun the extra plays so that their future value in off-network syndication will not be damaged.