NEW YORK -- Joe Abruzzese, president of advertising sales for Discovery Networks, U.S., predicted that as much as $1 billion, or 10% of TV advertising revenues, could shift from broadcast to cable in the 2004-05 upfront selling season.
Speaking at a press briefing Tuesday after the formal presentation of programming plans for 13 Discovery-owned cable networks, Abruzzese said the advertising market for the broadcast networks has turned up sluggish in the first quarter, robbing them of momentum going into next month's upfront wheeling and dealing in advance of the new season beginning in September.
Abruzzese chalked up the broadcasters' problems to overall Nielsen declines, particularly steep among men 18 to 34, and a shortage of runaway hits among the rookie crop of shows in 2003-04.
Discovery is engineering more cross-platform deals for some or all of its various cable networks, signing such clients as MasterCard, Home Depot and Circuit City, he said. But Discovery is still hesitant about shoehorning too much product placement into the content of the programming, despite fevered requests by many advertisers tormented by the zapping of their commercials by devices like TiVo.
Discovery's reluctance, Abruzzese said, comes from its fear that viewers might be turned off by intrusive plugola.
Billy Campbell, president of Discovery Networks, U.S., who joined Abruzzese at the briefing, said the one new series that could become a breakout hit is "No Opportunity Wasted," which helps people achieve a dream that seemed impossible. The dreams include playing goalie on a minor-league hockey team for one game, auditioning for a Broadway show and "eating a five-star dinner at the edge of a threatening volcano." Discovery Channel has commissioned 13 episodes, featuring Phil Keoghan ("The Amazing Race") as host.
Even though "Opportunity" is still months away from its premiere, Abruzzese said advertisers have already bought 75% of all the spots.
The high-visibility specials lined up for the 2004-05 season on Discovery include "Alien Planet," which uses computer animation to illustrate what life might look like on other worlds; "The Last Days of Pompeii," a BBC co-production that uses dramatic re-enactments to show the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.; and "Genghis Khan: Rise of the Conqueror," twinned with "Kubla Khan: Fall of the Mongol Hordes."
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