Winning!

Why Network-Branded Awards Shows Are Hot

By R. THOMAS UMSTEAD -- Multichannel News, 4/18/2011 12:01:00 AM

A few weeks ago, some of TV’s most famous celebrities, such as Bill Cosby, John Travolta, Michael J. Fox, Stevie Wonder and Liza Minnelli, appeared on a stage to receive awards, give performances or honor their peers.

But it wasn’t at the Emmy Awards, the Golden Globes or even the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The scene played out live on cable’s TV Land as part of the classic TV-themed channel’s annual TV Land Awards show — one of several cable-branded, awards-based specials that are vying with traditional awards shows across several genres these days.


GALA AFFAIRS

The shows themselves are bona fide Hollywood-inspired events: glitzy, celebrity-filled and with plenty of red carpet. Networks typically show off their hottest stars and performers from a myriad of genres, hoping to build viewer engagement through both viewing and viewer voting in various categories.

Several shows, such as the MTV Video Music Awards, Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards and ESPN’s The ESPYs have been winners for years, drawing a strong following. And more new entrants, such as Comedy Central’s Comedy Awards and Cartoon Network’s Hall of Game Awards, are following these stalwarts down the red carpet.

Because the shows typically draw strong ratings, they provide a marketing platform to promote new and existing shows. And advertisers are drawn into the mix by a vehicle that reaches a very targeted audience.

While reality series and scripted shows generate the lion’s share of publicity and notoriety for basic cable networks, it’s often the awards shows that win the Nielsen day.

MTV’s top-rated series Jersey Shore, featuring reality stars Snooki and Jwoww, set a network record by drawing 8.9 million viewers for its Jan. 20 episode as part of its benchmark-setting second season. But those numbers pale next to the 11.4 million viewers who watched last year’s VMAs, with its lineup of music divas such as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Rihanna — and the show was only the third-most-watched event in the franchise’s 27-year history.

“[The VMAs] are a great marketing tool for MTV the brand and everything we do,” Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music and Logo Group, said. “We put combustible elements in a room and let them go … it’s really the zeitgeist of music, musicians and artists all in one room for one evening.”

The shows have an ability to stick in the national consciousness. Consider the interest in the pop-culture confrontation between country music star Taylor Swift and rap star Kanye West, televised live on MTV during the 2009 VMAs.

In January, BET’s new series The Game set a cable record for a scripted comedy series premiere, with 7.7 million viewers. But the series about players on a fictional football team fell short of the goal line when compared to the network record 10.7 million viewers who tuned in for the 2009 BET Awards.

Stephen Hill, president of entertainment and music programming for BET, said the 11-year franchise is critical to the network’s brand image and awareness. That’s because it allows the African-American-targeted network to celebrate the musical performers, stars and celebrities that its viewers watch throughout the year.

“The BET Awards is absolutely crucial to the brand,” Hill said. “It’s about celebrating our own and highlighting, elevating and educating our audience through and around entertainment.”

LOOKING FOR MORE EDGE

While traditional awards shows such as the Grammys, Emmys and Academy Awards are still popular with viewers, network executives say viewers continue to gravitate to cable-branded award shows because they’re different — and often more edgy — than the staid and predictable industry-run affairs.

The 11-year-old CMT Awards has built a huge following among young country-music fans by showcasing more up-and-coming talent than the more-established Academy of Country Music Awards or Country Music Association Awards, according to Brian Phillips, CMT president.

CMT’s ceremony, which drew a record 3 million viewers last June, provided the first mainstream exposure and awards recognition for such artists as Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler and Dierks Bentley, Phillips said.

“There’s no politics involved; it’s just people turning out in mass to vote for the people they love the most, and their instincts as a coalition of voters and fans tend to predict what will come true in the next year or so on the other award shows,” Phillips said.

Other awards shows, like Spike’s Video Game Awards and Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards, look to zero in on narrowly defined niches like men 18-34 or kids 6-11, respectively — demos that aren’t being served by traditional mainstream awards shows.

Cartoon Network’s inaugural Hall of Game Awards this past February sought to reach 6-to-11-year-old boys by giving awards to sports stars, from traditional pursuits such as basketball to non-traditional athletics like roller skating or action sports. All of the categories, and the eventual winners, were voted on by the network’s core viewers and the show was hosted by skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.

The Hall of Game Awards eventually drew 1.1 million viewers but more importantly posted a 29% year-to-year increase in the core boys 6-11 demo, according to Cartoon Network president and chief operating officer Stu Snyder.

Other networks are also looking to further engage viewers by allowing them to vote on some or all of their awards-show categories online. Such interactive opportunities have only made the awards show even more valuable in the eyes of its audience.

“It’s another opportunity to find a way to reach out to our viewers and have an evening of celebration,” ESPN Enterprises senior vice president Keith Clinkscales said. Category voting for the 2010 ESPYs, now in their 17th year, drew a record 8 million online votes.

Earlier this month, Nick’s Kids’ Choice Awards drew 200 million online votes for such categories as “favorite buttkicker,” according to Cyma Zarghami, Nickelodeon and MTV Networks Kids and Family Group president.

But it’s not only viewers who are attracted to the awards. A number of celebrities relish the opportunity to appear at events that resonate with their fans.

Cable-based awards shows in 2011 has already drawn such talent as Academy Award winners Johnny Depp (Nick Kids’ Choice Awards) and Jamie Foxx (BET Honors); Emmy Award winners Bill Cosby and Michael J. Fox (TV Land Awards); and entertainment icons Eddie Murphy (Comedy Awards) and John Travolta (TV Land Awards).

Cartoon’s Snyder said that cable awards shows give celebrities an opportunity to connect with their fans who more often than not voted for them to win awards. It also provides both artists and network executives to discuss possible projects beyond the shows.

AUDIENCE DIALOGUE

“It opens up a dialogue with those celebrities and athletes who have ideas of either a show or something they want to promote or get involved in,” Snyder said, adding that he is in talks with several sports figures about undisclosed network projects based on discussions during the Hall of Game event.

TV Land president Larry Jones said the network’s relationship over the years with Betty White — she appeared in two TV Land Awards telecasts — paved the way for her role in the top-rated series Hot in Cleveland. The nine-year-old TV Land Awards celebrates classic television shows and the iconic actors and actresses who’ve appeared in them.

“As we do more and more original programming we’re trying to tap into this well of talent either on a guest star or lead actor basis that look familiar to us, and the awards show helps us with those relationships,” Jones said.

Networks are also using the awards shows as vehicles to introduce new or existing shows to viewers. MTV reality series World of Jenks premiered to a network-record 4.8 million viewers last September, with the VMAs as its lead-in. This June, MTV will launch its muchballyhooed series Teen Wolf after its MTV Music Awards to maximize audience.

Last year’s Movie Awards telecast helped freshman scripted series The Hard Times of R.J. Berger launch with nearly 3 million viewers, a record for an MTV scripted series.

“Even at 11 p.m. after the shows end, it’s such a great lead-in because it is the highest-rated night of the year, so it makes sense to launch a new series behind it,” said Toffler, who also oversees award shows for VH1 (Hip Hop Honors, Rock Honors), Logo (NewNowNext Awards) and MTV’s new online- based O Awards.

AWARD FATIGUE?

Despite more than 20 cable-televised awards shows slated for 2011, executives expressed few concerns about audience fatigue. The shows themselves, they said, should be considered entertainment. As BET’s Hill said: “ I have confi dence that the BET Awards show has put a stake in the ground, not so much as a competition show, but more of a family gathering for our viewers.”