Tribune Co. (NYSE: TRB) announced Wednesday that it has acquired the rights to Sex and the City reruns, a move designed to boost viewership and advertising revenues across its television properties.
The popularity of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte navigating (in stiletto heels, no less) Manhattan's singles scene is impossible to deny. Sex and the City is a runaway hit, dressed up in Emmys and Golden Globes.
The potential market is the big lure. True, male viewers are a bit shut out of the program's phenomenon -- I've talked to several who say they've tried it, but they just don't quite get it. However, the single female demographic, age 20 to 40, is a powerful one; it's a niche with money and the willingness to spend it.
Further, many modern women have put careers first, only to find themselves still playing the field well into their 30s and 40s. So, the show rings true to its target audience, as it brings the travails of dating to light, with hilarity, heartbreak, and, well, sex. Otherwise, the show would be called Home Alone on a Friday Night and the City.
Tribune, a media company that owns both newspapers as well as television stations, had good things to say about the advertising environment in its second-quarter earnings release in July. In fact, it said that television ad revenues increased 6% and it achieved 17% growth in the attractive 18-34 demographic with such syndicated shows as Will and Grace.Sex and the City arguably could win over more of that market.
However, this will be an experiment in balancing popular appeal with the sensitivities of viewers and advertisers. The graphic nature of the show lent itself well to HBO, where anything goes -- language, nudity, and adult situations. But network TV? Not a chance.
To alleviate this problem, Tribune will air sanitized versions of Sex and the City, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Whether the toned-down version will still deliver the same kicks, especially late into weeknight hours, seems a big "if" given its naturally risqué nature.
And what about viewer commitment phobia? Six nights a week may prove a little much, with too little of what made the show successful to begin with.
Only time will tell if this move pays off for Tribune. It doesn't plan to start airing the show till 2005.
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