Retiring TBS exec forged reality future
Cox sees genre as a compelling draw to TV
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That's the conviction of Bill Cox, who's retiring after a 16-year stint at TBS, where he rose to senior VP of programming and public affairs.
Cox's immediate legacy at TBS will take the form of the network's avowed commitment to developing young-adult-oriented reality shows to complement its daily lineup of sitcom reruns such as "Seinfeld," "Friends" and next fall's "Everybody Loves Raymond," the bulk of whose viewers are adults 18-49.
But none of the recent sitcoms has generated the kind of loyalty that made "Seinfeld" such a cultural phenomenon. "Educated young people have gotten tired of predictable sitcoms that are set up to deliver a laugh every 12 seconds," Cox said. "It's the reality shows like 'Survivor,' 'American Idol' and 'Fear Factor' that are compelling and intriguing and capture the attention of viewers."
Cox said TBS' development staffers are sifting through as many as 200 ideas for reality shows. But the network will have to use better judgment than it did with its first original primetime reality series this year, "House Rules," which has not found an audience. "Rules" wrapped Dec. 19 after following three couples over 12 weeks as they competed to win a house that they renovated with the help of Lowe's Cos. home improvement stores.
Cox joined TBS in 1988 as a programming exec and helped to transform the network, which had earned its reputation as an old-skewing repository of Stone Age reruns like "The Andy Griffith Show," "Bewitched," "Perry Mason" and "Little House on the Prairie."
Before TBS, Cox was program director of WFAA-TV in Dallas.
In retirement, Cox will continue to live in the Atlanta suburbs. "My wife and I will travel a lot, I'll see a lot of movies and I want to do some writing," he said. He's also relishing the extra time to read. "I've reached only page 191 of 'The Da Vinci Code,' " he said, "even though I started it in October."
