Disney, HBO pair up to develop shows for ABC

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Disney, HBO pair up to develop shows for ABC
Monday August 5, 3:25 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (iWon.com/Reuters) -- The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and cable TV network HBO said on Monday they will jointly develop shows to air on Disney's ABC television network, which has struggled lately amid a dearth of hit series.

Under their deal, HBO, known for such critically acclaimed shows as "______ and the City" and "Six Feet Under," will provide ABC with "first look" rights for all programs developed by HBO Independent Productions.

HBO, a unit of AOL Time Warner (AOL), will be allowed to approach other networks about shows that ABC turns down.

ABC will establish a development fund for the projects, including ones it passes on, the networks said.

ABC also will provide deficit financing for pilots and series, possibly in partnership with HBO. In exchange, ABC will retain distribution rights and copyrights for all shows developed through the partnership.

"This new partnership with HBO allows us to tap into the creative relationships and sensibility that has made HBO so successful over the past several years," said Lloyd Braun, chairman of ABC Entertainment Television Group. "This deal further underscores our commitment to develop with the best producers in the business as we continue to rebuild ABC."

The agreement the latest effort in a turnaround campaign by ABC, which was No. 1 just two seasons ago on the strength of its former hit game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

With "Millionaire's" decline and no new hit shows to replace it, however, ABC has sunk in the ratings and is now No. 3 among the big three networks.

ABC's weakness, coupled with last season's sluggish ad market, has caused ABC to become a drag on Disney's earnings in recent quarters.

The network recently detailed its plans to return to health by catering to its traditional family fare, and followed with the announcement of a new fall slate of more family friendly shows.

 

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Here's another article

ABC, HBO sign prime-time deal
From wire and staff reports

August 6, 2002

ABC is hoping to buy some of HBO's magic dust. And in the process, the new partners may be changing the way business is done in the television industry.

Under a deal announced Monday, the critically acclaimed pay-TV service will produce prime-time shows for Walt Disney Co's struggling network, aiming to hit the air in fall 2003.

More importantly, perhaps, the two parties have crafted a pact that reflects a new business arrangement in the television production industry, in which all parties seek to keep down soaring costs and agree to share exposure if shows fail.

ABC, the third-place broadcast television network, has inked a two-year deal with HBO's production unit.

HBO, a unit of AOL Time Warner, has been television's top success story during the past few years, with critically acclaimed series such as The Sopranos and ______ and the City.

ABC could use the sort of creative jolt HBO could provide. The network has struggled during the past two seasons, sitting in third place in the network ratings behind NBC and CBS.

At a meeting last month in Los Angeles, ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne told TV critics that they were looking for programming "that is groundbreaking or provocative, not necessarily what a network audience is looking for when they come home after a long day."

"And what we have been focusing on at this network is how do we give people what they really want? How do we give them shows that are entertaining, that are genuinely funny, that are engrossing? We will leave groundbreaking to somebody else, except on Thursday nights at 9 o'clock, when we are just going to make lots of noise," she said.

That's a reference to the offbeat drama Push, Nevada, which allows viewers to play along for a money prize.

Under the deal announced Monday, ABC will pay upfront costs for the shows developed by HBO Independent Programming in exchange for retaining distribution rights and copyrights. ABC gets the first look at any show HBO makes, but, if the network passes, HBO can shop the show to other networks.

More importantly, if ABC passes on the show, it can opt out of financing the show further.

Disney shares continued their slide Monday, falling to a nearly eight-year low. The shares closed on the New York Stock Exchange at $14.27, down $1.04.

Sentinel television writer Hal Boedeker contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2002, Orlando Sentinel