Starting Over Talk - Peer Coaching Support Site

 
May 15, 2006
iVillage Heads to Daytime
NBCU's Web Property Spins Out New Show

By Christopher Lisotta

It's going to take an iVillage to program daytime at the NBC Universal Television Stations this fall.

Story continues below...
The NBC Universal stations are banding together to produce a daytime series with female-skewing Web site iVillage.com, which NBC Universal acquired for $600 million in March, sources close to the production said.
The project, called "iVillage Live," will be produced by the stations, not their corporate supplier of syndicated product, NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution.
The new series is expected to replace the syndication division's reality strip "Starting Over" on the NBC stations that carry the self-help show. "Starting Over" is not expected to return for a fourth season this fall, but a spokesman for NBCU Domestic Television Distribution said, "No decision has been made on a fourth season" for the show. A spokesman for Bunim-Murray Productions, which produces "Starting Over," declined to comment.
The new series, "iVillage Live," will be shot in Orlando, Fla., at the NBC Universal-owned Universal Studios theme park. The show is expected to incorporate a number of interactive elements that can be accessed through iVillage.com, which will be used to promote the television series. It was not clear at press time whether any on-air talent has been lined up for "iVillage Live" or whether the show's episodes will be an hour or a half-hour long.
The show will be shot live for the East Coast and tape-delayed for the West Coast. It marks the first iVillage-branded television series from NBC Universal since the announcement of the acquisition, which was approved by iVillage shareholders last Friday.
A spokeswoman for the NBCU Television stations declined to comment. A spokesman for iVillage could not be reached for comment.
Without knowing more about the show's format or its host, it is difficult to assess how "iVillage Live" might work in the marketplace, said John Rash, senior VP and director of broadcast operations for ad agency Campbell Mithun. But the project sounds like a natural evolution of the relationship between NBCU and its new Web asset, he said.
"This is the inevitable iteration of the nets moving to multimedia platforms, and if successful it could become a television template for NBC [Universal] and its competition," Mr. Rash said. "Ultimately for viewers, what's most important is entertainment, and the show still needs to deliver on that basis to work."
"Starting Over" runs on many, but not all, NBCU-owned stations, such as WNBC-TV in New York and KABC-TV in Los Angeles (where it airs at noon local time), and on Tribune-owned WGN-TV in Chicago (where it airs at 2 p.m.).
The NBC Universal stations already have a pretty full daytime lineup with NBC Universal's "Martha," the upcoming Megan Mullally talk strip and Warner Bros.' "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
Developed to bring in a younger female audience, "Starting Over" incorporated reality elements that Bunim-Murray first made popular on its "Real World" franchise on cable but have not been widely used in first-run daytime syndication. "Starting Over" was on the bubble last year before it ultimately got a green light for the current season.
Season to date through April 30, "Starting Over" had a 1.1 national household rating, flat with its performance within the same period last season, according to Nielsen Media Research. Among women 18 to 34 "Starting Over" scored a 0.8 for the season, down 20 percent from last
season.
Jay Sherman contributed to this report.

Thanks Rozan for the article. It does confirm some things we were wondering about, such as why Bunim/Murray won't comment on SO.

that sounds terrible I love starting over that is like my favorite show on Tv it is the only thing worth watching. they can't do away with the show

Since "Starting Over" got two Emmy noms this year that has to count for something. I have been watching the program since it started and it is such a rewarding program! It has helped countless amounts of people.
What a loss if this is true!! This program has merit can't you see this?? What a mistake to put some pathetic program that no one really cares about in place of Starting Over!!

Kathie Sue wrote:

QUOTE:
:evil: Since "Starting Over" got two Emmy noms this year that has to count for something. I have been watching the program since it started and it is such a rewarding program! It has helped countless amounts of people.
What a loss if this is true!! This program has merit can't you see this?? What a mistake to put some pathetic program that no one really cares about in place of Starting Over!!

You said it. When I see the mindless junk that continues to be broadcast, it boggles my mind. How many small claims court shows do we really need? How many talk shows do we really need?

I love Rachel Ray and wish her show well, but, I really wish Oprah would put her clout behind SO or a version of it. There is nothing like it. I did see sort of an odd program the other night on CBS. The show was called The Tuesday NIght Book Club. It's about a group of women who are friends, who have marital or boyfriend problems and they are in counseling together. It's sorta like a reality show but not actually. I saw it as too fake and didn't care for it.

Why can Janice Dickinson have a show, but not intelligent, caring, professionals, who want to help people, such as Rhonda, Iyanla and Dr. Stan? Go figure.

You know what is now on the top of my wish list? Ten minutes of uninterupted time to speak my mind at the executive boardroom meetings of NBC and Bunim/Murray Productions. How often do fans go to the extremes that SO fans have gone to, in order to keep a show alive? I don't think many. I personally believe that the right promotional campaign would cause SO ratings to increase and thus become a money maker for the network. Oh well...... enough of my venting for the day.

Tons of shows that got Emmy nominations and even awards were still cancelled... It's been happening a lot more lately. With all the crap that is out on tv - particularly in the reality-tv genre, it still surprises me that it's axed. But, how many other reality shows are on for nine months straight? I can't think of one.

The production costs of the daytime show - wonder what its like in comparison to a daily talk show?