the FAMILY in ABC Family

[rwodonnell]

Originally posted by Tekneek
A show about unmarried people moving in together is not outlandish. It's pretty realistic. That happens everyday, even by (gasp) good people.

An earlier post seemed to indicate the show was about strangers, not simply an unmarried couple. I have no idea what the show was or what it was about. Can someone elaborate?

Clearly everyone's morals are different - I am hoping my children will not move in with someone of the opposite sex until marriage. Guess I'm old-fashioned.

 

[SoonerKate]

two basic cable networks: ESPN and ABC Family - again all advertising revenue

Don't forget that ESPN is actually a family of networks including not just ESPN, but ESPN 2, ESPN Classic, and ESPNNews as well.

As far as I can tell, the dating show being mentioned is a dating show where two families conspire to set up a single son or daughter -- but instead of just going on a date, the two people move into one apartment for a week.

 

[d-r]

Disney Channel East and West are premium.

ESPN 1-4, and toon disney, soap opera, abc family, and parts of A & E, Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, and a little piece of the Encore premium networks I believe. Then there are the ESPN (/ABC) pay per view packages of college football and basketball.

I remember right before they bought fox family was when they were having a hard time with negotiating with the cable companys. The cable companies were dropping some channels. Like in NYC the cable companies didn't have ABC or something like that - I don't remember exactly. I just think they could have used 5 billion dollars to get more leverage than they got with fox family. Heck, take 1/5 of that and buy the rights to the olympics and put in on the four espn channels, move the superbowl over to ESPN from ABC that year, heck, put the world series on espn that year, too,heck, throw in the BCS title game, and tell the cable companies it is a package deal for the whole lineup, take it or leave it, if you decide you'd rather not pay what we are asking you can explain to your customers why they can't get the super bowl, the world series, the BCS, or the olympics and we'll help promote systems for direct tv. You have our number. That sort of thing. It would have brought in more from the cable companies than fox family.

 

[PamOKW]

Crusader -- Looks like others have answered most of your questions. I don't think we've even hit all the cable networks Disney owns outright or in part but you get the general idea.

A cable operator can also charge you for a channels that they don't necessarily pay a fee to get. Like Comcast in your area, my Cablevision continues to charge a fee for the Disney Channel even though it is classified as "basic". The same is true for several other channels.

When the Robertsons sold The Family Channel to Fox they included some conditions as to what type of programming would run in the sale, including continuing to run the 700 Club. I imagine those terms have expired and/or were voided when Fox sold the channel to Disney/ABC. I am not commenting on the politics of the man, just the genre of programming that he had on what was called "Family" Channel.

I haven't watched the show, but from the commercials I do not think the people know each other when they move in. (A lot different than a couple choosing to live together.) I'm guessing (hoping) that the arrangement isn't really sexual. While the programming is no worse than what's on the broadcast networks, it just seems odd to be on "ABC Family" which seems to imply the programming would be friendly for the entire family.

 

[PamOKW]

Here's a run down on the cable channels Disney owns in whole or in part in the U.S. (They own additional outlets around the world).

ESPN
ESPN2
ESPN Classic
ESPNews
ESPN International
Disney Channel
ABC Family
Toon Disney
A&E
Lifetime
History Channel
E! Entertainment
A&E International
Lifetime Movie Channel
SOAP Net
Styles
Biography
History Channel International

 

[wdw4us2]

ABC Family Channel - another oxymoron along the lines of military intelligence.

The smartest thing Disney/ABC could do with this channel is to change it to something more people would watch - and not be afraid to watch - with their families.

A perfect theme, which I have seen mentioned before, would be a "Vault Disney" channel similar to TV Land. This way, we could see all the shows that are no longer broadcast on the Disney Channel, and we wouldn't have to be embarrassed while watching the programs with our kids under age 18.

As far as what they're now broadcasting, it's mostly garbage, IMHO.

 

[crusader]

Thanks to all who have joined this little discussion. I may be the only interested party right now but actually this is a significant issue relative to this company.

I briefly came across some past comcast/disney dealings which I will have to read up on before determining the relevance.

Here's a run down on the cable channels Disney owns in whole or in part in the U.S. (They own additional outlets around the world).

That's a very impressive portfolio of interests.

So when I hear all the bantering about Disney's failed television segment is this exclusively the broadcasting network? Which lets face it can only place 1 out of 4.

If you are last, which ABC has been, I'm guessing the prime time advertising spots are selling much cheaper. They all still have the same spots available so why would the last place network fail to support itself particularly given the fact that a hit series such as Friends which aids a networks popularity, will cost an unspeakable amount of money to produce.

The other question is: was the 5 bil. used solely to buy the family channel and has Disney gotten a return on this investment?

 

[meowthew2]

ABC Family is really a problem for Disney right now. They tried the "family" angle for a while, and it failed, now they're aiming for "middle-of-the-road teens" (their exact words) who aren't in to MTV, and it's doing marginally better, but ratings are still generally flat.

ABC Cable Networks seems to be trying the same formula for ABC Family that they've successfully used with Disney Channel -- they're rolling out new original movies each month, and they're producing two original sitcoms for ABC Family right now.

Disney Channel is now the second highest-rated network on cable, but will the same formula help ABC Family? I guess time will tell.

One thing I would definitely expect to see soon, if ABC Family continues targeting teens, is a full network name change, especially since they're intentionally moving away from the previous "repurposing ABC shows" strategy. XYZ would be an obvious choice.

As a Disney fan, I'd love it if ABC Family became a Vault Disney channel or something, but that isn't going to happen, since Hallmark has the TV rights to most of the old Disney films until 2010, and TV Land's ratings continue to plummet.

The bottom line is: Disney paid a hefty price for ABC Family, and you can bet they're gonna do whatever it takes to make the purchase worth it.

 

[EUROPA]

Originally posted by meowthew2
Disney Channel is now the second highest-rated network on cable, but will the same formula help ABC Family? I guess time will tell.

Really? They don't have one show in the Top ten of Cable but somehow they are second overall? Do you have a link to this news?

The bottom line is: Disney paid a hefty price for ABC Family, and you can bet they're gonna do whatever it takes to make the purchase worth it.

Yes we know...we've seen the effects it has on the parks. We are very scared of that "whatever it takes".

 

[cristen]

I don't know if this fits in to everything, but my husband works for Comcast. A while ago he told me that ESPN charges them the most out of all the channels they have. Comcast has to pay Disney $1.00 for every subscriber that has ESPN per month. I am not sure how many subscribers has ESPN, but that seems like a lot of money Disney is getting every month. I will see if I can get more info from him when he gets home tonight.

 

[Tekneek]

Originally posted by rwodonnell
Clearly everyone's morals are different - I am hoping my children will not move in with someone of the opposite sex until marriage. Guess I'm old-fashioned.

And some people think any woman showing any portion of her skin in public is immoral. Some people think dancing is immoral. Where do you draw the line on what can be on TV?

 

[Tekneek]

I suppose we should not be surprised that The Disney Channel is doing well in the ratings once it dropped its Disney programming.

MTV ("Music Television") and VH-1 ("Video Hits One", "VH-1 Music First"), say their ratings were never better than when they decided to move away from music.

Clearly the masses enjoy mediocre television, and especially channels that have spurned their core audiences.

I almost never watch ABC Family. In fact, I rarely watch most of the channels we have.

If two adults are consenting to live in an apartment together for a week, does it really matter? If nobody watches that show, it will go away quietly.

 

[d-r]

Really? They don't have one show in the Top ten of Cable but somehow they are second overall? Do you have a link to this news?

I think that if you look at that top 10 you won't see the Sapranos, Sex and the City, or 6 feet under, either; I'm not sure what list you are looking at, so I can't say for sure, but I'll bet that is the case if you don't see any Disney Channel shows - that is because I am betting that the list you are looking at is geared towards ratings of commercially sponsored programs and channels, and don't bother including those that are not commerically sponsored - why would they if there isn't going to be any commercial need to look at the ratings -but again I don't know what list you are looking at, so I am just taking my guess that you are looking at that list.
DR

 

[crusader]

Here's a link for a ratings source which is not annual but weekly.

I cannot attest to the reliability but the read makes sense.

http://www.top5s.com/tvcable.htm

 

[EUROPA]

http://www.nielsenmedia.com/ratings/cable_programs.html


Top Ten Cable TV Programs (Total Day)
For week of 7/21/03-7/27/03

 

[d-r]

Yeah, that is what I figured - that list is only the ad-supported "basic cable" channels, it doesn't include the premium cable channels like HBO or Disney Channel - the link that Crusader included has the top 5 premium (three of the top 5 are boxing after dark on HBO; I don't know how they handle shows that broadcast multiple times on HBO, etc. an on multiple HBO channels. The 7/27 showing of Sex and the City would have beaten anything on basic cable, and that same episode probably showed 5 times during the week between the various hbo channels - but the note their suggests that they count the viewers of every multi channel while the show broadcasts on the primary channel, which seems weird).

 

[EUROPA]

I can't find overall ratings for Cable ( Prem vs. Basic) anywhere. Or ratings that show overall ratings for either group. I guess they don't want that information floating out there.

 

[meowthew2]

The link below has all the info on Disney Channel's recent ratings, although you'll probably have to sign up for a free trial to view the page.

http://www.multichannel.com/index.a...date=08/04/2003&stt=001&display=searchResults

As the article reports, Disney in July was the #2 cable network all around.

It was #2 in primetime with a 1.8 household rating and 2.1 million viewers (up 29% from last year). TNT was first with a 2.0 rating and 2.2 million viewers (up 11%).

Disney was also #2 in total-day viewing with a 1.3 rating (up 63% from last year). Nickelodeon, as usual, was #1 in total-day, with a 1.5 rating (down 12%).

And it's true that Disney Channel's ratings are often omitted from published ratings lists because it isn't an ad-supported network, although it's not really considered a premium channel either.

Other numbers to throw out: the week of July 14-20, Disney Channel was the most-watched network on cable in primetime -- I believe for the first time ever -- and was watched by more kids age 6 to 11 -- the network's target audience -- than at any time since ratings for the network began.

Ratings for Disney have never been higher, and I'm sure they'll continue to rise in the next few months. "Cheetah Girls" this month should be monstrously huge, "JoJo's Circus" in September looks very promising for Playhouse Disney, and "Lilo & Stitch: The Series" in October will certainly be a hit.

Right now Disney Channel is one of the company's greatest successes, although no one seems to realize it. If it was ad-supported, it would be a major source of revenue for the Networks division.

 

[Corryn]

One afternoon when the kids got home from school and I got home from work and they were done with their homework, I laid on the couch to watch Nickelodeon with them. After the show was over at the top of the hour, (3:00 Mind You!) a commercial comes on to advertise a new (at the time, but now it's off the air) show aimed at - get this - Teens. Well, there was a teenage girl and a teenage boy sitting in front of a cozy fire, then they start making out. Then the boy lays down and the girl slowly lifts his shirt. Then she starts kissing down his body starting at his chest, while she is unbuttoning his pants!!!!!
I flew off the couch I was so pissed. I called my cable company, then I called Nickelodeon main office and was yelling at everyone I was put through to. Nick blames the cable company, cable company blames Nick.

After that and the Nickelodeon Kids (notice the word, Kids? Has nothing to do with kids) Choice Awards where Britany Spears was dancing in front of a live audience with a white Half Shirt on with NO BRA!!!! I make sure to know what my kids are watching, doing, talking about, etc.
I was born and raised in The Bronx and I am NO PRUDE,
BUT MY GOD, LET MY KIDS BE KIDS AND STOP MAKING THEM GROW UP TOO FAST!!!!! That shoutout goes to Madison Avenue Advertising Firms and all who bow down to them.

The funny thing is, I see most parents also bowing down to whatever is considered "Popular" Letting their 6 year olds go to Britany Spears concerts. That's crazy. If I want my kids to watch soft porn, I'd let them stay up late and watch Red Shoe Diaries.
If your kids are going to concerts, wearing makeup, short skirts and heels when their 8, can I ask you what will they be doing when they are 16? By then they've had their fill of "kid stuff" and will be bored. That's when they feel they're adult enough to try adult things. And They're Still Kids!!!!

Your parents tried to let you be kids, so be fair to your off-spring and Let Kids Be Kids - Not Adults!!

I wasn't lucky enough to have responsible parents. I was raised by my grandfather. I swore to God when he blessed me with children that I would treat them like children until they were grown enough to handle other things as the time goes on; that I wouldn't let them live a life like I had. I can go on and on and on.

My only advice is: Let the world turn as it may, just keep a handle on your own family and hopefully, in the long run, things will turn out fine.

 

[Tekneek]

Originally posted by meowthew2
Right now Disney Channel is one of the company's greatest successes, although no one seems to realize it. If it was ad-supported, it would be a major source of revenue for the Networks division.

I have read speculation that Disney cannot run real advertisements on there until all of their legacy contract deals expire with all carriers. A lot of systems signed on when there were no breaks during the shows, and paid a premium for it. Disney will have to explain to them why they should keep paying the same and/or higher carriage fees for a channel that is just going to run commercials like any other network would.

They will once again drive their channel further away from those who loved it during its first decade or so of operation when they take this step. Toon Disney is overran with commercials, and one of the reasons I can barely tolerate it.