And the winner is . . . cable!
Award shows bring quick glam and easy ratings
As if there weren't enough kudofests on broadcast, cable nets have added another stack of shiny prizes to the glut.
This year around the dial there were the latest editions of awards show warhorses from MTV and ESPN. Bowing toddler shows were VH1 and BET. And new to the table are TV Land/Nick at Night, G4, Spike TV and Comedy Central.
Immediately, awards shows can mean rocket ratings for even the most below-the-radar nets.
Case in point: The "BET Awards" spec delivered more than 5 million viewers this summer. And when TV Land and Nick at Nite launched "TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV" in March, the John Ritter-hosted event notched a whopping 15 million overall viewers.
Even awards-less cablers have still found ways to pull from the pot.
Home to kudophiles, E! Entertainment owns red-carpet fixture Joan Rivers and its award-show coverage accounts for some of its biggest bread-and-butter biz all year. Meanwhile, fledgling cabler Trio has dubbed December "Awards Mania" month.
"Our working title for a long time was 'Who Needs Another Awards Show? ... Trio Does,' " Trio prexy Lauren Zalaznick says. She points out the perspective of the at-times irreverent pop culture net is "one that questions and is cynical of awards shows, but at the same time tunes in to watch."
The tone sounds about right since the newest batch seems to all want the same thing: to turn the awards show on its ear.
Looking to be the next anti-awards show much like MTV's Movie Awards, this month will see Comedy Central unveiling "The Commies" and Spike TV premiering its "Video Game Awards." (The latter, much to the chagrin of digital channel G4, which aired its gaming awards, G-Phoria, in August.)
Still, most cable execs agree whether done tongue-in-cheek or not, hosting an event is less risky than producing an original series.
"Creating an original series a roll of the dice. Creating an event is just that, an event," VP/Director of programming for Katz TV Bill Carroll says.
While an hour of a series can cost anywhere from $150,000 to $250,000 to produce, and the blowout affairs typically thrown by event vet MTV are said to cost in the low seven-figure range, hatching an original is still traditionally a taller order for emerging cablers.
"Series are expensive and you commit to six to thirteen weeks' worth of programming with most of the promotion just in the beginning because it's what you can afford," Spike exec VP of programming and development Kevin Kay says. "And then the show could tank and you're stuck with the rest of the episodes."
Says Zalaznick: "An awards show is a way of focusing an inordinate amount of attention on a night. It's a viewer magnet, an ad sales magnet and a brand definer all in one."
Comedy Central senior VP of programming and development Lauren Corrao adds that kudocasts are also sure-fire means to ad dollars. Not to mention schmoozefests for the cabler and its affiliates and advertisers.
"Buyers like to be involved with big tentpole events. Awards shows mean they can count on talent coming to the network and fantastic parties afterward," she says.
But when every cabler is passing out trophies, producers argue it waters down the watercooler anticipation for their events.
Joel Gallen, who annually mounts MTV's Movie Awards, admits he hopes the plethora of both legitimate and self-effacing awards shows fades.
Says Gallen: "All these newer shows are doing the same thing. Everyone's trying to make their show funny. I just hope it'll end soon. It takes away the thunder of some of the ones that already exist."
He adds that he's not holding his breath -- the end of the kudo parade is nowhere in sight.
"It behooves the channel and the producers not to dilute the value of the awards show, and every channel that jumps the bandwagon runs that risk," Zalaznick says. "Ultimately though, they can't be unselfish enough to let that stop them."
For all the brouhaha over kudocasts, when done correctly Carroll says they can be invaluable stepping stones for growing cable nets.
"In the end, the only way you establish yourself is through longterm original series programming. But you can get recognition and some attention by doing an awards show," Carroll says. "As long as there is a red carpet, celebrities and acceptance speeches, it can't be ignored by the consumer press."
