Risque programs put FX in a fix
Provocative new shows polarize viewers
Cabler's brand of "edgy" has turned more polarizing than provocative in its latest original gambles. "Starved" centered on friends addled with eating disorders. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" crafted its episodes around such taboos as underage drinking and abortion. Steven Bochco's military hour "Over There" depicts the ongoing war in Iraq.
So far, the ratings aftermath ain't pretty.
For the summer, FX dropped 7% among both adults 18-49 and total viewers. The comedies wrapped to subpar season averages, while "Over There" has lost around half its premiere audience.
FX made a bit of a ratings rebound with the third season of "Nip/Tuck," which returned with a vengeance Sept. 20. And prexy-general manager John Landgraf says he's happy with the performance of the Morgan Spurlock docu series "30 Days," the first reality series to bow under his watch.
But like HBO, FX made its name by tackling the outrageous and risque. Programming those categories has presented its own set of challenges in an ad-supported environment.
Viewers haven't taken to the cabler's most recent launches, all of which seem to foreground "the hook." When FX execs reshuffled the order of episodes for "Sunny," they scheduled the pilot -- a tamer plot about one character's attempt to persuade his friends he had been diagnosed with cancer -- to air as the fourth episode. In its place were episodes centered on homosexuality, racism, abortion and underage drinking.
One senior-level exec at another cable network says FX's older one-hours succeed because the risky elements are intrinsic to the show's subject matter.
"With 'The Shield' and 'Nip/Tuck,' they're dealing in areas that are organically controversial and result in compelling stories," the exec explains. "It's likely why their comedies aren't working: They feel a little forced."
Landgraf admits some disappointment in the "Over There" ratings -- the Sept. 15 episode delivered less than half its premiere aud -- but regards it as a "landmark show."
"When you take these big risks with subject material, you never really know how many viewers will respond. This show, like all our shows, is an acquired taste," he says. "That said, we're unbelievably proud of the creative."
A renewal decision, he adds, will take some careful thought over the next couple months.
Trading in adult subject matter also relegates FX originals to the 10 p.m. hour, just one hour of primetime programming a night. That means all the network's shows launch in a virtual vacuum with no established show as a lead-in. "Over There," for example, may have benefited from coming after a "Rescue Me" or "The Shield."
It's challenging, but Landgraf says it's worked so far.
"We're still young in terms of being in the original programming business, so we're still figuring things out. But we believe in the quality of what we're doing. This is a business that's growing for that reason," Landgraf says.
Moreover ad revenues for the cabler grew 17% from last year, according to Kagan World Media estimates.
"Some advertisers choose not to be in certain episodes because we notify them of the content," he says, noting some clients pulled out of an upcoming "Nip/Tuck" episode that featured underage drinking.
"But that doesn't mean they're reducing the amount of money they're investing in FX. We're doing adult programming. Of course, the Proctor & Gambles and the packaged foods categories aren't advertising on our air. The thing is, we don't need them to."
FX, after all, can still boast three successful original dramas -- more than most basic cable competitors.
"Going in, I think FX executives were incredibly smart" one network exec says. "Cable's got a dual revenue stream, and saying you're going to be 'HBO for free' was a smart way to niche themselves. Now it gets a little trickier: They've got people in the tent, but they're also stuck with this rep of being a place that might piss them off."
To that Landgraf says all it takes is one more hit. "We'll keep taking swings at bat. When we find our hit comedy, that'll make it that much easier to launch another out of it. We're willing to be patient."
