BROADCAST NEWS - US

FOX/WB DISCUSSIONS

15.03.2001 - A brief snippet from this week's Wanda chat on Eonline, but nothing that we haven't heard before:

Have you heard anything on the Buffy battle going on between Fox and the WB?

It's still raging.  The deadline for the WB to cinch a deal with Buffy has long passed now.  It was last week - so now, the WB no longer has exclusive bargaining right, and it's looking more likely that the Buffster could end up on another net.  Still, insiders tell me the Frog is fighting tooth and nail to keep her.  Back to the top

FANS LOBBY FOR EMMY

11.03.2001 - Buffy fans are taking up a collection to lobby for an Emmy nomination for season 5 episode 16, The Body.  Fans at the ScoopMe! website are asking for donations to purchase a full-page ad in Variety urging Emmy consideration for the episode, which was written and directed by Joss Whedon.  So far, the site has raised about $1,775 for the ad.

Fans also plan to write letters to executive at The WB and Fox, which produces the show, as well as to TV Guide and other entertainment publications.  Whedon was nominated for an Emmy last year for the Buffy episode Hush.  Back to the top

BUFFY NOW OFFICIALLY HOMELESS

02.03.2001 - Buffy is now officially homeless as by yesterday's midnight deadline, the WB failed to successfully renegotiate its contract with 20th Century Fox.  As a result, Fox as now free to shop the series elsewhere - although the WB retain the right to match the first offer made.

According to Variety, Fox wants the WB to pay somewhere between $2.3-$2.5 million an episode for the hit drama, up from its current $1 million asking price.  However, the most the network seems willing to cough up is $1.6 million.  "I think it's 50/50, but I'm optimistic that it will fall our way," a WB rep says.  "We love the show, we want the show back, and we think we made a very fair offer."

Should Buffy move to another network (insiders predict 20th Century would likely keep the show in the family and sell it to Fox, although ABC and UPN also have expressed interest), the WB would lose not only its Tuesday night anchor, but its signature series.

Whatever the outcome, Buffy creator Joss Whedon doesn't expect a Hollywood ending to the drama.  "I'm not optimistic that anybody in any suit will be happy with anything," he sighs.  "I think the WB will not reach an amicable arrangement, but I believe they will reach an agreement...and I believe whatever happens, I will make the show."

Is Whedon concerned how his Buffy spin-off Angel would fare were it to be stranded alone on the WB?  "I don't think it would help Angel, but I believe Angel can stand on its own," he says.  "I'm not particularly worried - I'm never particularly worried.  I'm either going to make the show or they're going to tell me to stop.  As long as I'm trying hard to make it good, I don't notice anything else."  Back to the top

BUFFY RENEWAL TALKS REACH DEADLINE

28.02.2001 - Things are getting pretty scary in the TV battle over Buffy reports Variety.

The WB's exclusive renegotiation period for the series expires Thursday, and insiders are not optimistic about a deal getting done this week.

The network is offering to pay producer 20th Century Fox Television $1.6 million per episode to keep Buffy.  That's a big increase over the roughly $1 million per episode the WB now shells out, but nowhere close to what the studio is seeking.

Fox wants the WB to pay the full per-episode cost of production for Buffy, plus a premium - a sum insiders peg at somewhere between $2.3 million and $2.5 million.  Insiders at the studio believe the WB has a similar cost-plus-premium deal in place for Spelling Television's 7th Heaven.

WB insiders dismiss comparisons between Buffy and 7th Heaven, noting the latter series generates far higher Nielsen numbers than Buffy.

If no deal is reached by Thursday, 20th Century Fox will be able to shop Buffy to the highest bidder; the WB has a right to match the first offer Fox comes back with.

Most insiders expect Fox would simply sell Buffy to sister network Fox Broadcasting, keeping a valuable asset in the family.  However, there are indications both ABC and UPN would be interested in doing a deal for Buffy - though a deal in the mid-$2 million range would be rich for the latter network.  Back to the top

ANGEL AND BUFFY SCORE HAIR AND MAKEUP NOMINATIONS

06.02.2001 - Both Angel and Buffy have scored nominations in the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guide Awards.

The second annual ceremony will take place March 17 at LA's Century Plaza.  Sarah Michelle Gellar, Angelina Jolie and Ashley Judd are among the celebs showing up to support the women and men who make them ready for their close-ups (presumably SMG will be under instructions not to make any rash comments this time).

The relevant nominations are:

Best Contemporary Makeup, Series

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Restless - Todd A. McIntosh, Brigette Myre-Ellis, Robin Beauchesne, David DeLeon, Kate Biscoe.

Also nominated: Friends: The One That Could Have Been, Sex and the City: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Best Period Makeup, Series

Angel: Darla - Dayne Johnson, David DeLeon, Dalia Dokter

Also nominated: Star Trek Voyager: Fair Haven, Will & Grace: Lows in the Mid-Eighties

Best Special Makeup Effects, Series

Angel: Shroud of Rahmon - Dayne Johnson, David DeLeon, Steve Prouty

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Moon Rising - Todd McIntosh, Robin Beauchesne, Douglas Noe, Brigitte Myre-Ellis, Jay Wejebe

Also nominated: MADtv: MADtv Goes to the Movies.

Best Contemporary Hair Styling, Series

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Restless - Michael Moore, Lisa Marie Rosenberg, Gloria Pasqua Casny.

Also nominated: Sex and the City: Don't Ask, Don't Tell and The West Wing: Noel.

Best Period Hair Styling, Series

Angel: Darla - Diana Acray, Anthony Miner, Patricia Gundlach

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fool For Love - Michael Moore, Lisa Maire Rosenberg, Gloria Pasqua Casny

Also nominated: That 70s Show: Roller Disco.  Back to the top

FANS PLEA TO THE WB

Buffy slaying feared

29.01.2001 - The new TV season is at least seven months away, but veterans of past campaigns are already starting petition drives to keep their favourite WB series on the air, according to the New York Daily News.

Fans say they fear that Gilmore Girls, for example, could be sacrificed to make room for new shows.

Even fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - so popular that other networks want it if the WB can't sign a new deal with the producers - are nervous.

Earlier this week, Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar told E! Online: "I will stay on Buffy if, and only if, Buffy stay on the WB" - although she later backed down on such a stance.

According to the Daily News, fans say they won't rest until everything's signed.  The WB draws speculation about cancellations like no other television network.  Probably the most important reason is its teen-centered audience.  While not large enough to win Nielsen victories, it does have heavy clout with advertisers.

"I'm a huge fan of our fans," says Jason Katims, creator of Roswell.  Not only because they watch the show closely, he says, but because they also have helped keep it alive.

"The network is very sensitive and aware and sort of honours and listens to those kinds of writing campaigns and Internet campaigns," says Katims.  "There's something very specific and particular about the WB, and that's why it's attracted the dedicated fan base.

A petition addressed to the WB reads: "The WB: Quality TV.  Help Keep Our Fave Shows on the Air!"  The petition is written by "The WB Fan For Life," and hundreds of fans have signed.

"It's the only network that seems really plugged into teens," says Michele Shapiro, entertainment director of Seventeen Magazine.  "We do a lot of WB stars on our covers and a lot of stories inside," she says.

However, Shapiro says, it's not just teens who are somewhat obsessive.  "A couple of people on our staff will not miss an episode of Roswell," she says.  Back to the top

GAY AND LESBIAN VIEWERS GLAAD ABOUT BUFFY

18.01.2001 - CBS' Survivor and NBC's The West Wing will receive special honours from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which has announced the nominees for its 12th annual GLAAD Media Awards.

Survivor will be feted for featuring the openly gay corporate trainer Richard Hatch and The West Wing for regularly addressing issues of gay and lesbian discrimination.

The awards will be given during four ceremonies: in New York City on April 16, Los Angeles on April 28, Washington, DC on May 12 and San Francisco on June 9.

Buffy was nominated for outstanding drama series, along with Showtime's Queer as Folk, MTV's Undressed and fellow WB series Dawson's Creek and Felicity.

The GLAAD Media Awards honour individuals and projects for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community.  Nearly 1,000 projects were considered in 23 categories.  Back to the top

CRITICS PUT ON HOTSPOT

18.01.2001 - If I'm going to be used this way, shouldn't I hold out for 10 percent? asks Denver Post TV/radio critic Joanne Ostrow:

The TV networks are putting TV critics to work as intermediaries to deliver threats and demands to competing networks.

Specifically, they're using the critics' meetings here [in Pasadena] as a forum to trade shots over the license fees for Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

"If the WB is prepared to make a 'fair' proposal to 20th Century Fox Television, then there is no reason to believe that this show isn't going to continue on the WB's air for many years to come," according to Sandy Grushow, chairman of Fox Television Entertainment Group.

"I can tell you that up until this point, that has not remotely been the case," he added.

The studio is, pardon the expression, raising the stakes on our favourite blonde slayer.

For five seasons, Buffy has been a fixture on The WB - not a huge hit overall, but an important success on the fledgling WB.  The sixth season could find Buffy at a different network if The WB doesn't come up with the bucks to renew the license fees with the show's producer, 20th Century Fox Television.

"When you help build a programme, a franchise, you create a partnership with somebody," WB CEO Jamie Kellner said, "and we believe there should be some kind of equity in the relationship. ... Our position with Buffy is we would like to renew Buffy and that we'll make a proposal which we think will be fair to them and to us."

Kellner added: "There should be some element of fairness, even though you're dealing in Hollywood and people wear two hats and three hats sometimes, and their interests on one hand are not served on the other hand.  It's a small community, and there's a certain point where a bit of honour has to step in and (recognise) fair play."

Grushow, a man of several hats, oversees the programming that appears on the Fox network as well as the production that takes place at 20th Century Fox Television.

The studio provides programming to all the networks, including The Practice for ABC, Judging Amy for CBS, The X Files for Fox and Buffy for The WB.  But Hollywood for years has worried that studios will begin to sell their shows only to their corporate-cousin networks.  That is, Fox would supply shows to Fox, Disney only to ABC, Warner Bros. only to The WB, etc.

That scenario wouldn't be illegal.  But, Kellner said, it would be "the end of us all being able to do business the way we're doing business today."

Grushow told critics he'd rather not negotiate in the press.  Then he proceeded to do so.

Kellner said The WB is prepared to send a "wheelbarrow" full of money over to 20th Century Fox.  "We will take all the revenue we can generate with Buffy and we'll give it to you in a giant wheelbarrow. ... And if that's not enough, then take it to somebody else; you've demonstrated you're not the kind of partner we should be doing business with."

He said The WB won't get into deficit financing for Buffy.

Nobody's talking firm numbers on the record, but sources say The WB is paying about $1 million per episode for Buffy and 20th Century Fox TV wants to nearly double that.

The irony, meanwhile, is that Warner Bros. is holding up NBC for $13 million per episode for ER, causing NBC to deficit finance that series.

Ostrow's prediction: Buffy will stay at The WB.  The show is fun, but it isn't fresh enough or powerful enough to cause Fox to invest all that money and alienate everyone in Hollywood.  Back to the top

DEPARTURE OF BUFFY WON'T AFFECT THE WB'S RATINGS

18.01.2001 - Even with the ad market softening, the WB network will be able to become profitable in 2002 as planned, CEO Jamie Kellner said Wednesday during a teleconference with the network's affiliate stations.

"What we have is unique demos, so we're not competing with the other networks for the same demographics," he said, and used the multimedia promo campaign for Popstars as an example of the great benefits the stations can reap from the AOL Time Warner merger.

Answering a question regarding renewal talks on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kellner repeated the strong position he expressed at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Pasadena this month.  "We developed the show at the network and delivered it to (20th Century) Fox, in what we thought was a friendly gesture," he said.  "Now the people at Fox are not friendly anymore."  Kellner said that the network will stay fiscally responsible in its offer to Fox and assured the affiliates that even though he would like to see Buffy on the WB schedule next season, a possible departure of the show won't affect the WB's ratings.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter.  Back to the top

TV GUIDE AWARDS NOMINATIONS

11.01.2001 - Angel and Buffy picked up nominations in five of the 21 categories in the 3rd Annual TV Guide Awards, which will be shown on Fox on 7 March.

In the Drama Series of the Year category, Buffy was nominated alongside Any Day Now, ER, Judging Amy, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, Once and Again, The Practice, The Sopranos, The West Wing, The X Files and 7th Heaven.

David Boreanaz was nominated in the Actor of the Year in a Drama Series category.  Also nominated were Andre Braugher (Gideon's Crossing), Billy Campbell (Once and Again), Anthony Edwards (ER), David James Elliott (JAG), Dennis Franz (NYPD Blue), James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek), Eriq La Salle (ER), Dylan McDermott (The Practice), Martin Sheen (The West Wing) and Sam Waterston (Law & Order).

Sarah Michelle Gellar was nominated in the Actress of the Year in a Drama Series category, along with Gillian Anderson (The X Files), Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy), Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU), Katie Holmes (Dawson's Creek), Laura Innes (ER), Allison Janney (The West Wing), Melina Kanakaredes (Providence), Keri Russell (Felicity), Lorraine Toussaint (Any Day Now) and Sela Ward (Once & Again).

Two other Buffy stars were also nominated.  In the Supporting Actor of the Year in a Drama Series category, James Marsters was nominated along with Michael Badalucco (The Practice), Dan Futterman (Judging Amy), Steve Harris (The Practice), Rob Lowe (The West Wing), Rick Schroder (NYPD Blue), Henry Simmons (NYPD Blue), John Spencer (The West Wing), Goran Visnjic (ER), Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) and Noah Wyle (ER).

In the Supporting Actress of the Year in a Drama Series category, Alyson Hannigan is up against Lara Flynn Boyle (The Practice), Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos), Stockard Channing (The West Wing), Tyne Daly (Judging Amy), Kim Delaney (NYPD Blue), Angie Harmon (Law & Order), Camryn Manheim (The Practice), Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager), Susanna Thompson (Once and Again), Maura Tierney (ER) and Kelli Williams (The Practice).

Dark Angel picked up four nominations - for New Series of the Year, Michael Weatherly for Actor of the Year in a New Series and Jessica Alba for Actress of the Year in a New Series and Breakout Star of the Year.  Back to the top

WB AND FOX LOCKED IN TUG OF WAR OVER BUFFY FUTURE

09.01.2001 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer has battled her share of demons, devils and deadly foes, but she's about to get caught between two big bullies, and the outcome might drive a stake through the heart of the series.  Buffy is up for renewal by The WB network, and there's no question WB programmers want to keep the show.  But Fox, the studio that produces Buffy, is likely to ask for significantly more compensation than The WB currently pays.  If The WB balks, Fox could simply shift the series to the Fox network.

This is a bad idea on so many counts.  With few exceptions - JAG being the most obvious - when a show moves from one network to another, the ratings usually drop.  And if Buffy were to move off The WB to Fox - or any larger network that expects higher ratings - the show might not be able to deliver.  There would also be the issue of lost synergy between Buffy and its spinoff, Angel, which remains under contract at The WB.

It's in all the best interest of all concerned that Buffy stays where it is, but already the primary players in the show's fate are posturing.  Over the weekend, both sides began by saying they want to keep the show on The WB - and then they began to dig in their heels.

On Saturday, WB CEO Jamie Kellner said his network will make a proposal to "take all the revenue we can generate with Buffy, and we'll give it to you in a giant wheelbarrow.  And if that's not enough, then take it to somebody else and you've demonstrated you're not the kind of partner we should be doing business with."

Kellner then quoted a Fox executive who believes once a studio takes a show off a network and doesn't sell it to another network but puts it on its own network, that will irreparably change the dynamics of doing business in the TV industry.

Sandy Grushow, president of Fox Television Entertainment Group, has responsibility for both the Fox network and its sister studio.  He balked at Kellner's statements.

"I was disappointed Jamie decided to start negotiating in the press," Grushow said.  "If, in fact, The WB is prepared to make a fair proposal [to Fox], there's no reason to believe [Buffy] won't continue to air on The WB for many years to come.  Up to this point that has not remotely been the case."

Grushow then used the past practices of Kellner's company against him.

"Jamie Kellner works for a company called AOL-Time Warner," Grushow said, "and Time Warner put a gun to the head of [NBC] and extracted a $13 million [per episode] license fee for ER and changed the business in so doing."

And they'll continue sparring until a deal is or isn't made.  Whichever way it goes, this much I know: the bluster of Hollywood executives is one evil force evil Buffy can't surmount.

Source: Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8 January 2001.  Back to the top

NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE FROG AND FOX CHILLY

08.01.2001 - The battle over Buffy escalated this weekend, with top WB and 20th Century Fox TV execs trading barbs over negotiations to renew the cult hit vampire-slayer drama.

WB CEO Jamie Kellner kicked off the latest round of sniping Saturday during the Frog net's portion of the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour, arguing that 20th shouldn't expect the netlet to lose money on any potential renewal deal on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

"In all likelihood, where we will come out is that we will say, 'We will take all the revenue we can generate with Buffy and we'll give it to you in a giant wheelbarrow,'" Kellner said.

"'And if that's not enough, then take it to somebody else, and you've demonstrated that you're not the kind of partner we should be doing business with...'  We would not go to a place where we would deficit finance negatives for somebody else."

Wheelbarrow or Mercedes?

One day later, Fox Television Entertainment Group chairman Sandy Grushow - while insisting that he didn't want to negotiate in the press - nonetheless stepped into the rhetorical ring.

"They don't have wheelbarrows at the WB, they have Mercedes," he said.  "Was (WB publicity exec VP) Brad Turell whistling God Bless America behind Jamie when he gave that speech?"

The WB pays just below $1 million per episode for Buffy, now in its fifth season.  Estimates vary on exactly how much the WB is pulling down in ad revenue on the series, though some sources indicate that with coin from repeats figured into the mix, the netlet generates about $1.5 million-$1.6 million an episode.

If the WB indeed doesn't plan on turning Buffy into a loss leader for the net, then initial negotiations will centre around those figures.

While $1.5 million-$1.6 million per episode would not be particularly high for a drama on a major network, Frog execs point out that the show's single-digit ratings wouldn't pass muster on one of the Big 4 webs, and that $1.5 million-plus would be the most the WB has ever paid for a series by far.

Solid hit, but not tops

While Buffy is a solid hit for the WB, it's not the network's highest-rating show, and by Big 4 standards, its average audience is relatively tiny.  Frog net sources also note that Buffy was first brought to the WB by exec producers Gail Berman and Joss Whedon before 20th was attached.

From Fox's standpoint, however, Buffy has helped build the WB into a force among young viewers and has brought a slew of recognition and attention to the net by way of critical notice and award nominations.

For his part, Grushow believes it's now time for the show's participants, such as creator Joss Whedon, to be rewarded - but the Frog has yet to step up.

"If, in fact, the WB is prepared to make a, quote-unquote, 'fair' proposal to 20th Century Fox Television, then there is no reason to believe that this show isn't going to continue on the WB's air for many years to come," Grushow said Sunday at Fox's stop on the press tour.  "I can tell you that up until this point, that that has not remotely been the case."

Kellner cited historical precedent to back up his argument, using the words of Grushow's boss to contend that 20th should not be threatening to move Buffy to the Fox network - a precedent, he said, that would shake the business.

"I've quoted (News Corp. topper) Peter Chernin once or twice on this because he once said to me, 'The day a studio takes a show off a network and ... puts it on another network, that is the end of all of us being able to do business the way we're doing business today,'" Kellner said.  "Those are his words, not mine, but I think he's right."

Chill felt

Grushow, meanwhile, argued that a synergy-fuelled "chilling effect" has already affected the industry - and that WB parent Time Warner is to blame.

"Jamie Kellner works for a company called AOL Time Warner.  Time Warner put a gun to the head of a little company called (NBC owner) General Electric and extracted a $13 million per episode licence fee for (the Warner Bros. Television-produced drama) ER, and changed the business in so doing," Grushow said.  "Ever since that deal went down, relationships have changed."

Kellner said he still believes a deal will be made with 20th based on what the WB is now offering.  "I think it would be hard to not agree to a deal like that," he said.  "There should be some kind of element of fairness. ... It's a small community, and there's a certain point where a bit of honour has to step in."

Grushow, meanwhile, said he "values" the studio's relationship with the WB, which also airs the 20th drama Angel and Roswell, both of which could be affected should Buffy swap networks.

Grushow said he "had no intention of discussing the issue today, but I was responding to Jamie, who decided to make it a public debate."

Kellner, however, noted that in fact Grushow had spoken up on Buffy at a press tour panel two years ago (Daily Variety, Jan. 14, 1999).

"It's a little late for Sandy to try to push the genie back in the bottle," Kellner said.  "He should have declined comment two years ago when he started the public debate on Buffy's future.  That comment has pressurized the situation for everyone."

Ratings bounce

On other matters, Kellner and WB Entertainment prexy Susanne Daniels touted the Frog's 2000-01 ratings comeback.  Daniels said she felt the netlet was "on the right track to build off of existing hits even as we continue to target the 24- to 30-year-old audience."

Source: Variety.  Back to the top

EONLINE POLL

04.01.2001 - Buffy and Angel got a couple of mentions in Eonline's end of year poll.

In the Most Addictive Prime-Time TV Series category, Buffy finished third (or possibly fourth as the % listed for The West Wing was higher than Buffy's despite it being shown as coming fifth).  Ahead of Buffy were Sex and the City and The Simpsons.

And David Boreanaz finished a distant fifth in the Favourite Angel category behind all three stars of the Charlie's Angels movie and Dark Angel's Jessica Alba.  Back to the top

CREATOR OF BUFFY ISN'T WORRIED

But Whedon says it's possible show may move to Fox [contains spoilers for Restless at the end of the article]

23.12.2000 - All the talk about how Buffy the Vampire Slayer might be switching networks next season hasn't rattled the show's creator and executive producer one bit.  It hasn't even affected how Joss Whedon and his team do their jobs.

"Not so far," he said.  "Sometimes we can't get any money, but we never really had very much money, so we're used to that."

Whedon sees the posturing between Fox (which produces the show and wants a big increase in its license fee) and the WB (which doesn't want to pay too much for it) as "a lot of saber-rattling and stuff."

"But my experience is limited to the fact that Fox cares about producing a good show and the WB wants to put on a good show.  So they treat me great," he said.  "It's like my parents are fighting but they take me in a room and say, 'We still love you, honey.  We just can't live together.'"

But, while he expects the show to stay on the WB, he doesn't discount reports that it might end up on Fox - reports lent some great credence when Gail Berman, one of the executive producers of Buffy, was named president of Fox Entertainment earlier this year.

"It is within the realm of possibilty," Whedon said.  "It's where we thought it would originally.  Fox turned it down.

"It doesn't really make a difference to me, especially with Gail at Fox.  I don't think it will, but if it were to happen, Gail has no interest in changing the show.  I really don't worry.  To me, it's just one big family even if they aren't getting along."

The Cheese Man: Sometimes Whedon creates his own problems - like the widespread speculation among fans about what the guy with the cheese who appeared in the dream sequences of last spring's Buffy season finale was all about.

"He will never convince anyone it was just something funny," said supervising producer David Fury.  "People have found so many meanings in it.  He's tried to discourage them."

And Whedon himself sound sort of sick of the whole thing.

"The cheese man means nothing," he insisted.  "Nobody will believe me.  But I put him in very specifically because I believe there should be something in the dream that means nothing.  But only one thing.  It's the only thing in the dream that doesn't have a meaning."

Source - The Deseret News.  Back to the top

IS BATTLE WITH NBC FRASIER'S REVENGE?

13.12.2000 Maybe the folks at NBC are wishing they'd treated Frasier just a little bit better this year, writs Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News.

As you may recall, the stars and producers of Frasier were furious when NBC programmers moved their show from a choice Thursday timeslot to Tuesdays and surrounded it with weak or unproven shows.  And, as yours truly noted at the time, it looked just a little bit suspicious that the network put Will & Grace - a show in which it has an ownership interest - on Thursdays and, basically, shafted Frasier, which is owned entirely by Paramount.

Well, to everyone's surprise, Frasier has not only survived but it has thrived on Tuesdays.  And now Paramount is demanding big bucks from NBC if the show is to remain on the network after this season.

Reportedly, NBC is currently paying $5 million per episode and wants to pay less next season.  Paramount, on the other hands, is demanding $8 million.  If they can't reach an agreement, Paramount could sell Frasier to another network.

The most likely candidate, of course, is CBS - which, like Paramount, is owned by Viacom.  And there are also reports that ABC is interested.

Back when NBC went through a similar situation with Warner Bros. over ER, you could make an argument that the studio was holding the network hostage - that the network played no small part in making that show a huge hit.  (Of course, NBC also agreed to pay $13 million per episode for the medical drama.)

But NBC, which has until the end of March to strike a Frasier deal without other networks getting involved, would have a harder time portraying itself as a victim here.  It's hard to cry foul when you committed the first foul yourself.

Still, deals like this and an impending struggle over the fate of Buffy the Vampire Slayer could, potentially, change the way business is done in Hollywood.  Fox-owned Twentieth Television produces Buffy, which airs on the WB network - and the contract between the two expires at the end of the current television season.

Fox has made it clear that it believes the WB has to step up and pay the price to keep Buffy - and it holds out the threat that, if the WB doesn't step up, the show could move to the Fox network.

"We expect them to give us the fair market value for a show that has been one of the keys to their success," said Sandy Grushow, the man in charge of both Fox's television production and its network.

Reportedly, the WB pays somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million per episode for Buffy.  Grushow wouldn't specify how big an increase he was expecting, but indicated that doubling that fee would not be out of the question.

Meanwhile, WB CEO Jamie Kellner is having none of that.

"I love the show," Kellner said.  "But from an economic standpoint, it doesn't have the same kind of place in our business that ER had for NBC."

There's one big difference between what happened with ER and what's going on with Frasier and Buffy.  Warner Bros. never threatened to move ER to the WB network.

And the possibility of Fox or Paramount pulling a show off another network and putting it on its own could do major damage to the relationship of the various networks and the studios they share ownership with.

Disney owns ABC; Viacom (which owns Paramount) owns CBS and UPN; Warner Bros. is a part-owner of the WB; and Fox's production studios and its network are working more closely than ever.  Even NBC, the only network not owned by a major studio, has its own in-house production units.

And all of the studios/networks sell shows to the other networks.  It's obviously advantageous for a network to own the shows it airs, but studios make money from shows no matter where they air.

"Peter Chernin (the CEO of News Corp., Fox's parent company) once said... 'All of this vertical stuff is going to work great and we're all going to be able to produce for each others networks and things like that - until a studio takes a programme off another network and puts it on its own network.'  And I think he was right," Kellner said.

And Fox, Paramount and other studios run a considerable risk if they do so.  Back to the top

BUFFY THE CARTOON SLAYER?

Shades of the Star Trek animated series from scifi.ign.com:

The Scooby Gang gears up for possible animated adventures

Let's hear it for our favourite animated superheroes!  Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup and... Buffy?

Ok, so she may not be joining those crime-fighting kindergartners of Townsville, but the WB's quippy Vampire Slayer is gearing up to take on 'toon form.  "We're in the early stages of a Buffy animated series," Slayer scribe David Fury tells us.  "We're just trying to get all the people lined up and get the studio behind it.  It's coming together, but it's a hard process to get any project together.  We're just waiting for people to say, 'OK, go.'"

The inimitable Fury, supervising producer on the live action show (he penned such stellar episodes as Helpless, Fear, Itself and this season's Real Me), briefly mentioned the possibility of an animated series in a Fandom online chat a few months ago.

While chattin' it up... via phone today, he elaborated on the actual concept for the show.  "The animated series would take place in the early years of Buffy - back to high school," he says.  "The premise is, it's all the episodes you didn't see that took place back when Oz was around, and Angel and Cordelia [were] there.  So it could easily co-exist with the [live action] show, where the show [has evolved to] now.  It would just be those episodes you never saw.  We get to revisit that whole world."

And rest assured, Buffy buffs, that should the show become a reality, the 'toon Scoobies will be as quick with the one-liners as their live action counterparts.  "The writers of Buffy hope to be writing many of the animated scripts," Fury says.  "And we will be available to do so, should the [Hollywood writers] strike happen in May."  He adds that it's a "very likely thing" that the show's actors will lend their voices to the 'toon version.

The animated Buffy would have at least one advantage over the real deal: no pesky budgetary restrictions.  "The sky's the limit for effects or creatures or anything else we want to do, because it's animation!" says Fury, gleefully.  In other words: monsters everywhere!

And, because he just can't resist throwing in a little suspicious-sounding Fury-centric tidbit (after all, this is the man who's known for stopping by the Buffy posting board bearing shady spoilers), Mr. Fury adds one last thing.  "By the way, I'll be doing some of the voices on [the cartoon]... or all the voices!  I'll be doing the voice of Buffy."

Uh, yes... that's exactly what the fans are crying out for.  "Well, I certainly hope so," he laughs.  "Or just crying."

Thanks to Aaron Pawson for posting this to the AngelBuffyUK mailing list.  Back to the top

SLAY RIDE

13.11.2000 - From Entertainment Weekly [contains a spoiler about Dawn]:

Why Buffy could flee the WB for ABC - The latest on the battle brewing behind the scenes for the vampire slayer by Liane Bonin.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Tuesday, 8pm) could take a big bite out of the WB this winter.  Though the $1 million per episode action drama series has been a top performer on the WB since 1996, the show is produced by Twentieth Century Fox, owner of a rival network.  This January, when the two companies sit down to hammer out a new Buffy contract, Fox's producers are expected to ask the WB for a hefty raise, to $2 million per episode.  If the WB balks over the price hike, Buffy could drive a stake through the netlet's Tuesday night lineup by moving to a new home.  ABC is rumoured to be interested in the show.  "To be honest, there has always been a suspicion that the WB didn't quite get it," Buffy star Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) tells EW.com.  "I don't know what the hell will happen."

If penny pinching causes Buffy to dump the WB like day old vampire ashes, both the network and the show could suffer.  Though Buffy would probably score higher ratings overall on ABC (the WB has 111 affiliates, while ABC has 225), it may not bring in the youth market that many advertisers hope to reach.  "The nice thing about the WB is that they deliver young audiences pretty well," says Chris Geraci, director of national broadcast advertising at OMD/BBDO.  "The show may not trend as well if it goes elsewhere."  Furthermore, what counts as a hit for the WB (Buffy frequently ranks 65th in the ratings) could be a miss on ABC, where advertisers pay more for commercial space and expect higher numbers.

Though some of the WB's former red hot hits are stumbling badly this season (close to cancellation Felicity, Dawson's Creek), Buffy is kicking impressive ratings butt in its fifth season, when most series start to sag.  Usually ranking just below 7th Heaven on the network's roster, the show is drawing in a broader audience than just teenage girls.  The season premiere scored record high ratings with men 18 to 34.  Buffy executive producer Marti Noxon says the series is drawing fresh blood with the arrival of the heroine's "sister" Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) and by Buffy's quest to understand her inner slayer.  "This is a while world, and you can explore a lot of different corners of it," she tells EW.com.  "Now we're covering the experience of being a young adult, which dictates you go deeper."

If Buffy does hop to ABC, the move could come at the expense of its spinoff, Angel.  Without a complementary lead in show, the angst filled vampire - already suffering in the ratings because of competition from Fox's Dark Angel - might be lost amid the network's more conventional teen fare.  Initially at least, Buffy isn't likely to find such compatible companion shows on ABC, which broadcasts The Wonderful World of Disney and sitcoms like The Drew Carey Show.  But that could change.  ABC has reportedly been trying to woo Buffy creator Joss Whedon into creating a new show.  "Buffy has a big enough name that whoever picked it up might want to try to program something else along those lines and build an evening around the show," says Geraci.

Even if ABC doesn't bite, the WB shouldn't dally at the negotiating table, or Buffy might find another home.  "[Fox] would be the logical choice," says Mediaweek analyst Marc Berman, noting that only a few of the network's hits (Malcolm in the Middle, Dark Angel) are recent shows, which is causing some programming gaps.  Though $2 million per episode may sounds like a lot, it pales in comparison to what other networks shell out for their top shows.  (NBC pays Kelsey Grammer alone $1 million per episode of Frasier).  "We're extremely fortunate, but on the scale of things our cast doesn't get much," admits Head.  "And there have been times when I've felt a little more money in the kitty would help the show, such as when we had the mayor turn into a serpent.  You look at those special effects and go, eh."

At least one insider suspects that talk about Buffy's future home is much ado about nothing.  "There's a lot of blustering going on," says Noxon.  "What gets said in the press is not a reflection of the way the WB has treated us at all.  I believe all of this is posturing because of the negotiations."  But what if the WB really doesn't want to pay twice the price?  In that case, Noxon seems ready to pack her bags.  "If they really do feel that way, there are other people who want us," she says.  Fangs for the memories.

Thanks to Andy for posting this to Buffy_UK.  Back to the top

IS BUFFY MOVING?

05.11.2000 - From the New York Post, 26 October 2000:

The vulture are circling around Buffy the Vampire Slayer, writes the NY Post's Don Kaplan.

The five-year deal for Buffy - The WB's red-hot series about a teenage girl who slays ghouls in her space time - expires at the end of this season and the buzz is that more than one network, including ABC, is interested in stealing the show.

Negotiations between WB officials and the show's producers at 20th Century Fox Television - a division of News Corp. which also owns The Post - begin this January.

The network is reportedly paying nearly $1 million for each episode of Buffy - $22 million per season.

But Fox will reportedly double the price of the show to about $2 million an episode.

If The WB can't - or won't - pay that much, the studio is talking to other networks about taking Buffy next year, according to the published reports.

The $2-million asking price is by no means a record.

NBC is reportedly paying up to $13 million an episode for the top-rated drama ER and between $3-4 million an episode for the comedy Friends.

While the hipness factor for Buffy is high, it is not a great ratings-getter.

Despite all the largely positive publicity Buffy has gotten over the past few years, it is not even the top-rated show on The WB (that would be the family-friendly 7th Heaven).

Its average weekly audience is a modest 3.7 million TV homes.

But Buffy gets the kind of positive publicity - everything from national magazine covers to reports that pop-star Britney Spears is angling for a walk-on role - that shows with three times its audiences do not.

Some in the industry believe ABC's reported interest is merely part of the bargaining between the show's producers and The WB.

"It doesn't make sense that ABC would try to take Buffy," a studio source said.  "They're not interested.  It's just posturing on the part of the sellers."

But the rumours that ABC wants to buy the show gained speed recently when Entertainment Weekly reported an unidentified source as saying: "Since day one [ABC Entertainment co-chairman] Stu Bloomberg has been a fan of the show.  He's been trying to get [Buffy creator] Joss Whedon to create a show for them."

ABC officials declined to comment yesterday and a Fox studio spokesman declined to comment pending the upcoming negotiations.

The Fox spokesman did however reiterate the studio's previously reported desire to keep the show on The WB.

Sources said Fox tried to renegotiate the Buffy deal with The WB two years ago, but was rebuffed when the studio opened the talks asking for as much as $5 million an episode.

"They told [WB officials] that 'this is the ER of your network," a source close to the talks said.

The WB says it is convinced Buffy isn't going anywhere.

"We are committed to making a very fair offer for the series to continue on The WB," a network spokesman said.  "We're optimistic that in the end, when all the dust has settled, that Buffy will remain on The WB for many years."  Back to the top

IS BUFFY KISSING OFF THE FROG FOR ABC?

15.10.2000 - Probably not, but this is what E! Online has to say:

ABC denies that, having lost the Teenage Witch, the network is now out to snare the Vampire Slayer.

But are Sarah Michelle Gellar and the denizens of Hellmouth worth $2 million an episode?

Rumours are circulating that the Alphabet Network might be willing to spend big bucks to snatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer away from the WB, where Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, once a staple of their TGIF line-up, now practices her magic.

A spokesman for ABC says the rumours, reported by Entertainment Weekly, are absolutely not true.  The WB and the series' production company, Twentieth Century Fox, had no official comment.  All parties involved noted that these sort of speculations always surround re-negotiation deals and should not be given credence.

Entertainment Weekly is quoting an unnamed "source close to the drama" saying, "Since day one Stu Bloomberg has been a fan of the show."  ABC's co-chair reportedly has been trying for some time to get Buffy creator, Joss Whedon, to devise a new show for his network, but with contract negotiations due in January, he might now get the chance to capture the series, which is already alive and kicking.

Buffy, now in its fifth season, is produced by Mutant Enemy, Inc. and Kuzui/Sandollar in association with Twentieth Century Fox.  Entertainment Weekly writes that industry insiders are predicting that Fox may try to re-negotiate with the WB for close to double the $1 million price per episode now in effect.  If the Frong won't bite, then ABC might be waiting in the wings.

At the moment, this appears to be just the usual name-dropping that surrounds the bargaining process.  Back when Fox's Party of Five was in renewal talks, the WB consistently denied any interest, but rumours persisted.  Such gossip may or may not have helped raise the sellers' price.  Eventually, Fox did pay the production company, Columbia Tri Star TV, around $2 million per episode for that teen appeal show, which then was cancelled after just one more season.

It can be noted, however, that Buffy's negotiating power may well have been strengthened by recent magic ratings, which suggests that the show has more than just gothic teen appeal.  It's hotter than ever with young women, the WB's prime audience, but it's also improved in the more widely coveted 18-34 demographic.

Previously... WB hopes to renew at a "fair price".  Back to the top

NO CREATIVE ART EMMYS FOR ANGEL AND BUFFY

28.08.2000 - Neither Angel nor Buffy picked up an Emmy in the Creative Arts categories.

The Outstanding Cinematography category in which Hush was nominated was won by The West Wing, Saturday Night Live won the hairdressing category (Buffy's nomination was Beer Bad) and the Angel episode The Ring lost out to The X Files in the make-up category.  Back to the top

WB NAMES NEW SEASON START DATES

23.08.2000 - The WB network has decided to take on NBC's Olympic juggernaut.  As part of a 17-day fall rollout plan, the WB plans to launch two nights of programming, Tuesday and Friday, opposite NBC's broadcast of the Olympics, and before the season officially starts 2 October.

The WB will leap into the fray on 22 September with the premiere of its new Friday lineup of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (8pm), Gross Pointe (8.30pm) and Popular (9pm).

In another Olympics counter-programming move, the WB's not-so 'New Tuesday' will return on 26 September with original episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

The WB will roll out the rest of its lineup during the official premiere week (2-8 October), with Roswell on Monday 2nd and Charmed on Thursday 5th (opposite a likely presidential debate).  Back to the top

AWARDS FOR BUFFY/GELLAR

10.08.2000 - In addition to its Emmy nominations, Buffy has won the Viewers for Quality Television's Founder's award in the VQT's 16th annual annual awards.  Everybody Loves Raymond and The West Wing won seven of the ten categories.

Sarah Michelle Gellar's work on Buffy won her the 'Choice Actress in a TV Show' award for the second year running in the Teen Choice Awards.  Back to the top

JOSS ON EMMY NOMINATIONS

Joss comments to Variety:

21.07.2000 - Buffy The Vampire Slayer earned three nominations, including one for executive producer Joss Whedon for writing the episode 'Hush', which featured villains that stole people's voices, so there was dialogue in just 30% of the show.

"It doesn't suck," Whedon said.  "I was expecting nothing.  I've had a steady diet of nothing.  So I didn't expect a change."

The lack of dialogue in the episode made it one of the hardest to do, Whedon said.

"Part of it was I wanted everybody desperately to shut up.  Really, I wanted to make things harder on myself.  It's easy to fall back on funny jokes and witty lines.  And it would be more of a challenge as a director.

"It definitely felt like a high water mark.  I was terrified when I wrote it that I couldn't pull it off.  You don't get that many opportunities to be terrified making TV."

Thanks to Rebecca Kidman for sending this into the BuffyUK list.  Back to the top

BUFFY SCORES EMMY NOMINATIONS

20.07.2000 - For the first time ever, Buffy has picked up nominations for the actual award night.  In fact, two awards, plus another for hairstyling.  Angel also managed to pick up a nomination for the make-up for The Ring, but sadly there's nothing for Charmed and Roswell.

Buffy's biggest nominations come in the cinematography and writing categories, where the likes of The Sopranos and The West Wing are likely to triumph.

Those nominations in full:

Outstanding cinematography for a single-camera series

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Hush [WB] - Mutant Enemy, Inc. in association with 20th Century Fox.  Michael Gershman, Director of Photography.

Other nominees: JAG: Boomerang (Part 2) [CBS], Law & Order: Entitled (Part 2) [NBC], The Sopranos: D-Girl [HBO], The West Wing: Pilot [NBC].

Outstanding writing for a drama series

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Hush [WB] - Mutant Enemy, Inc. in association with 20th Century Fox.  Joss Whedon, writer.

Other nominees: The Sopranos: Funhouse [HBO], The Sopranos: The Knight in White Satin Armor [HBO], The West Wing: In Excelsis Deo [NBC], The West Wing: Pilot [NBC].

Outstanding hairstyling for a series

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Beer Bad [WB].  Mutant Enemy, Inc. in association with 20th Century Fox.  Michael Moore, Key Hairstylist; Lisa Marie Rosenberg, Gloria Pasqua Casny, Loretta Jody Miller, Hairstylists.

Other nominees: MADtv: Movie Show [Fox], Saturday Night Live: host - Alan Cumming [NBC], The Sopranos: Full Leather Jacket [HBO], Star Trek: Voyager: Dragon's Teeth [UPN], That 70s Show: Vanstock [Fox].

Outstanding make-up for a series

Angel: The Ring [WB], a Mutant Enemy Production in association with 20th Century Fox.  Dayne Johnson, Makeup Department Head; David DeLeon, Louis Lazzara, Steve LaPorte, Rick Stratton, Jill Rockow, Toby Lamm, Jeremy Swan, Stephen Prouty, Earl Ellis, Dalia Dokter, Robert Maverick, Makeup Artists.

Other nominees: MADtv: Movie Show [Fox], Star Trek: Voyager: Ashes To Ashes [UPN], That 70s Show: Vanstock [Fox], The X Files: Thief [Fox].

Thanks to Richard Morgan.  Back to the top

BUFFY NOMINATED FOR CRITICS' AWARD

19.06.2000 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer was nominated for both the Program of the Year and Best Drama awards in the 16th annual Television Critics' Association Awards.

The awards will be announced on July 15 at an awards ceremony in Pasadena, California.

Presumably they watched a different season to the one I did then...

Thanks to Jess for posting this to the BuffyUK list.  Back to the top