Once again, let's turn over part of today's television column to one of our readers.
Jackie Swanson of Salt Lake City asked me to pass this along to CBS or "Brooklyn Bridge" executive producer Gary David Goldberg, which I'll do after sharing it with you:I want them to know there is an audience in America for "Brooklyn Bridge." You've just to to find them!
This audience has given up on TV - too much sex, profanity and violence. You've got to advertise this warm, wonderful show by some means other than TV! (I don't know if you do advertise it on TV, however, as I watch very little TV.)
Our family is disturbed to read it ranks 93rd among 106 shows aired this past year! Doesn't that say something for the mentality of America's TV viewers?
We stumbled onto "Brooklyn Bridge" last season and soon became captivated by the family. All of us love it, from ages 19 to 59! Last week's episode almost had us in tears - "The Last Immigrant." We will never forget the show where the Jewish family and the Catholic family had dinner together at the restaurant!
We sincerely hope you can find an audience out there. (And don't put it on cable - then we won't see it.)
"Brooklyn Bridge" is a gem and America needs to discover it!
Actually, I couldn't agree more. And neither could Viewers for Quality Television, which has launched a campaign to save "Brooklyn Bridge."
(Officially, CBS says that "Bridge" is on hiatus, but reportedly the network has canceled the show.)
VQT, a nonprofit group that supports quality television programming, wants viewers to know that it "will help them fight for this quality series - by sending them sponsor lists, network and affiliate addresses, tips on effective letters. Viewers feel frustrated and powerless, and even more fed up with network television - they want their anger directed and focused."
Now, I'm not saying there's much hope of saving "Brooklyn Bridge." But it can't hurt to let CBS know how you feel. The person to write to is:
- Jeff Sagansky, President, CBS Entertainment, 7800 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036.
If you want to contact VQT, their address is:
- Viewers for Quality Television, P.O. Box 195, Fairfax Station, VA 22039.
And if you'd like to drop a line of support to Gary David Goldberg, write to him at:
- UBU Productions, 5555 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038.
MINORITY PARTNER: As reported this past Saturday, KUTV has announced that a minority interest in the station has been sold.
The Hatch family, which was the sole owner of Ch. 2, sold a percentage of the station to VS&A Communications Partners LP, an investment banking firm specializing in the communications in-dus-try.
In a formal statement, KUTV President/General Manager Jeffrey B. Hatch said, "The Hatch family is pleased with VS&A as a minority partner with us in KUTV and our rapidly growing film, video production and post-production business, TeleScene Inc. Once the Federal Communications Commission notice requirements are met, we will form a new partnership, KUTV, L.P., with the Hatch family as the managing general partner."
According to Hatch, KUTV's earnings will reach an all-time high this year, and "Telescene has grown sharply as well."
However, the station has been operating under a heavy debt load for several years and was known to be looking for financial solutions.
DICTATING RATINGS: The folks at HBO are ecstatic over the ratings that "Stalin" pulled in its premiere this past Saturday. In homes that subscribe to Home Box Office, the made-for-cable movie crushed all three networks.
Again, this is in HBO homes only, but "Stalin" pulled a 13.1 rating and a 20 share, compared to NBC's 8.7/13, ABC's 6.9/11 and CBS' 4.2/7.
This should help to explain why not much of anybody is watching the Big Three networks on Saturday nights.
FOX FIXIT: In an attempt to shore up its Sunday night lineup, Fox has announced it's canceling a pair of shows, adding two others and shifting still another.
Gone are "Woops!" which won't be missed, and "Great Scott," which will.
Joining the schedule are - believe it or not - the animated version of "Batman" that Fox is running in the afternoons, which will air at 6 p.m. (The network says that the nighttime episodes will "generally" be different from the daytime ones.)
And at 6:30 p.m., "Shakey Ground," a new sitcom starring Matt Frewer ("Max Headroom," "Doctor, Doctor") will be added. Frewer will play a "sarcastic quality-control inspector in an aerospace company" with a "wacky family" at home.
The introduction of "Shakey Ground" bumps "The Ben Still Show" back to 9:30 p.m.
The changes are set to take effect on Dec. 13.
ADDITIONAL ORDER: In a bit of surprise, NBC has ordered four additional episodes of the struggling "Here and Now," the low-rated - and exceedingly mediocre - Malcolm-Jamal Warner sitcom that airs on Saturday nights.
That brings the total of ordered episodes to 17, still five short of a full season's worth.
Could it have anything to do with the fact that the show executive producer, Bill Cosby, is rumored to be interested in buying NBC?
DON'T BET YOUR LIFE: In considerably less positive news for Cosby, his syndicated game show "You Bet Your Life" may not be around for long.
When the show debuted this fall, stations were promised it would average a 10 rating. So far, it's averaged less than half of that - a 4.6.
And several big-city stations who are running "You Bet" in high-profile time slots - the prime-time access hour that precedes prime time - are reportedly getting ready to shift the show to late night or late afternoon, where it will do them less damage.
All of this bodes ill for the future of Cosby's attempt to be the Groucho Marx of the '90s.
DESPERATE ACTIONS: Just how desperate are the producers of "You Bet Your Life?" Desperate enough to try and rig the ratings race in New York City.
On Nov. 6, the producers ran an ad in the New York Daily News that said, "Nielsen families! Meter Check Tonight!! Watch Bill Cosby Tonight on You Bet Your Life 7 p.m. Ch. 2."
Not only were the show's competitors outraged, but so was the A.C. Nielsen Co., which voided the ratings for that half hour on that day.
The only thing more pathetic than this effort is the fact that, apparently, it didn't work. Although no numbers are available for that day, "You Bet" showed no improvement in New York in the days after the ad ran.
QUOTABLE: Jay Leno, on "The Tonight Show" - "How many of you watched the Jackson miniseries last night? . . . It was fun. It was sure nice to go back and see Michael Jackson in the days when he looked like his brothers instead of his sisters, wasn't it?"
*****
(Additional information)
ABC wins the November sweeps, but nobody else concedes defeat
NEW YORK (AP)\ - ABC has declared itself the winner of the November ratings sweeps. So have the other three networks - sort of.
Spokesmen from CBS, NBC and Fox each predictably put on a happy face to discuss this important Nielsen ratings period, which ended Wednesday. The results are used by the networks to set advertising rates.
Preliminary figures gave ABC a 13.3 rating and 21 share, to CBS' 12.8 rating and 20 share. (One ratings point equals 911,000 of the 93.1 million-household Nielsen "universe." A share point is the percentage of homes tuned in to a network in the surveyed time period.)
But second-place CBS gave itself high honors for staying the course.
"Ninety percent (of the sweeps results) reflected our regular schedule," said David Poltrack, senior vice president for planning and research. His figures indicated ABC and NBC pumped up their scores with a higher percentage of pre-emptions and specials, a common sweeps technique.
Although Saturday night is a CBS problem area, Poltrack said that otherwise "we are comfortable with the performance of our lineup.
"CBS has historically performed better in the second half of the season," he added, and underlined CBS' commitment to reaching a broad-based rather than youth-oriented audience.
Although third-place overall with an 11.8 rating and 19 share, NBC insisted its strategy to target 18-to-49-year-old viewers was working, and cited "a strong second-place finish" in this audience segment.
Yet NBC's own figures reflected an 8 percent loss in that category from the November '91 sweeps.
John Damiano, NBC vice president for media and audience research, noted the loss of the hit show "Cosby" since last season but said the network saw better results as the fall season progressed.
"We feel we're moving in the right direction," Damiano said. "We see improvement where maybe somebody else doesn't."
Fox, which came in fourth overall with a 8.2 rating and 13 share, toasted its status as the No. 1 network among teens, and second to ABC with adults 18-to-34.
"In spite of the stated intentions by our competitors to go after our core audience, we've been able to hold a solid grip on young adults and teens," said B.J. Arnold, senior vice president for research and marketing.
Here are the top 20 regular series during the November sweeps, their networks and ratings:
1. 60 Minutes, CBS, 22.8; 2. Roseanne, ABC, 21.9; 3. Coach, ABC, 18.8; 4. Murder, She Wrote, CBS, 18.0; 5. Cheers, NBC, 17.8; 6. Murphy Brown, CBS, 17.7; 7. Home Improvement, ABC, 17.6; 8. ABC Sunday Movie, 17.1; 9. Monday Night Football, ABC, 16.8.
10. Full House, ABC, 16.4;11. CBS Tuesday Movie, 16.3;12. Northern Exposure, CBS, 15.6;13. (tie) Wings, NBC; CBS Sunday Movie; 20/20, ABC, all 15.3; 16. NBC Monday Movie, 15.1; 17. (tie) Fresh Prince, NBC; Unsolved Mysteries, NBC; Evening Shade, CBS; Rescue 911, CBS; Primetime Live, ABC, all 14.9.
In the regular weekly Nielsen ratings, ABC was first, with a 14.1 rating and 23 share; CBS, 12.8 and 21; NBC, 11.4 and 18; and Fox, 8.6 and 14.
The Top 10 shows and their ratings: 1. The Jacksons: An American Dream, Part 2 (ABC), 23.9; 2. 60 Minutes (CBS) 23.7; 3. Roseanne (ABC) 22.4; 4. Murder, She Wrote (CBS), 19.4; 5. Coach (ABC) 19.3; 6. Murphy Brown (CBS) 18.2; 7. Monday Night Football (ABC), 17.5; 8. Home Improvement (ABC) 17.4; 9. Full House (ABC) 16.7; 10. (tie)Primetime Live (ABC) and Cheers (NBC), 16.6.
12. NBC Sunday Movie: Deadly Matrimony (Part 1), 16.1; 13. Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, ABC, 15.5; 14. (tie) CBS Tuesday Movie: Overkill; and NBC Monday Movie: A Child Lost Forever, both 15.4; 16. Rescue: 911, CBS, 15.2; 17. Northern Exposure, CBS, 15.1; 18. Evening Shade, CBS, 14.7; 19. (tie) Simpsons, Fox; and Fresh Prince of Bel Air, NBC, both 14.6.