Cable Nets Look to Cash on Emmy Wins

ReelzChannel Hopes to Follow in AMC’s Footsteps in Leveraging Trophy Take

By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 9/26/2011 12:01:00 AM

Cable networks are hoping that their big Emmy wins this month will help propel their brand images and value among operators and advertisers.

While premium service HBO’s 19 statuettes during the Sept. 10 Creative Emmy Awards ceremonies and the Sept. 18 live Primetime Emmys was predictably tops for cable, first-time Emmy winner ReelzChannel had the second-best take for cable with four — tied with Discovery Channel, Comedy Central and History.

Reelz’s Emmys collection — all for its acquired miniseries The Kennedys, including the award for outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or movie (Barry Pepper as Robert F. Kennedy) — has helped put the moviethemed channel on the cable map, according to network CEO Stan Hubbard. The Kennedys aired on Reelz in April after History dropped it due to concerns over its content.

“What The Kennedys did for us at ReelzChannel is give us a lot of credibility with viewers, with advertisers, and the press,” Hubbard said. “I think a lot of people think of us differently.”

DIRECT RATINGS GAINS

The 10 Emmy nominations alone have helped Reelz more than double its primetime audience average since July, and Hubbard said audience increases should continue with the Emmy wins. “ReelzChannel is now an acceptable place to stop on the dial,” he said.

He said the network has also generated greater interest from advertisers, leading to more meetings and more business, although he would not reveal specifics.

Even networks like AMC that have won numerous Emmys over the years still get a brand boost from an awards win. The AMC Networks outlet hopes to curry favor with affiliates due to its three 2011 Emmys wins — including the fourth straight win for retro advertising series Mad Men in the outstanding drama category.

Ed Carroll, chief operating officer of AMC Networks, said the programmer has recently begun talking to operators about a new, 75-cent rate card for AMC, up from its current 25 cents per subscriber (per SNL Kagan). He said the awareness and critical success of Mad Men has allowed AMC to expand its original programming portfolio — the network will offer an network record five scripted series over the next 12 months including veteran series Mad Men and Breaking Bad; sophomore shows The Walking Dead and The Killing; and freshman program Hell on Wheels — creating greater value for AMC affiliates.

“We think it’s a 75-cent service,” he said. “We’re creating new value for our distributors, and we have not done that by taking things that were previously available on broadcast and moved them on cable. We’ve done that by creating shows that simply didn’t exist and would not exist on the cable platform if not for AMC’s investment into original programming.”

SUPPORT FOR ACTORS

Other big Emmy wins for cable included a duo of supporting actor drama awards for Margo Martindale of FX’s Justified and Peter Dinklage of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

In the combined movie/miniseries category — which in its previous, separate iterations had been dominated for years by HBO — it was a case of sharing. PBS’s Downton Abbey collected the category’s top honor, as well as victories by Julian Fellows for writing, Brian Percival for directing and Maggie Smith for supporting actress.

Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce picked up Emmys for their work in Mildred Pierce.

Also, famed fi lm director Martin Scorsese grabbed TV’s top honor for directing a drama series, as he helmed the pilot of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show With Jon Stewart garnered its ninth straight Emmy in the comedy/variety show category, as well as an Emmy for writing in the category.