WSJ ran an interesting story last week about the cable network USA, and in passing commented on the ongoing integration of NBC into the Comcast organization. The key thread in the story had to do with the USA Network's "brand filter" of developing shows that are upbeat and character-driven, such as Burn Notice, White Collar, and so on. Excerpt:
USA greenlights only shows that go through what network executives call a "brand filter." That means nothing gets the go-ahead unless it is "aspirational, blue skies, upbeat, optimistic and character-driven," says Bonnie Hammer, chairman of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment and Cable Studios.
USA is so specific about the look and feel of its shows that it tells producers to make sure there is a "fruit bowl" in each potentially drab scene. This is metaphor: It could literally mean a bowl of fruit or, more often, a splash of color, as in a scene in "White Collar" with a red office chair in an otherwise monotone room or a bold-colored billboard outside a window, against an always-blue sky. In the USA playbook, shaky hand-held-camera shots, a favorite of grittier shows like TNT's "Southland," are verboten.
The sunshine strategy isn't yielding the critical paeans of "Mad Men" and its ilk, but it's working. USA has had a string of hits like "White Collar," "Royal Pains," about a doctor in the Hamptons, and "Covert Affairs," which follows a young CIA agent (The hook: "Single woman, double life.") Its newest series, "Fairly Legal" about a young mediator, averages 4.5 million viewers a week, according to Nielsen Co. "Burn Notice," with seven million, is one of the biggest hits on cable.
What made the story relevant for us, though, were the contextual references to the Comcast's integration of NBC. (USA is part of NBC). The subtext appears to be that Comcast may be a more natural parent to NBC that GE could ever be. Excerpt:
The sentiment among USA brass is that Comcast understands them better than did GE, which still has a 49% stake. On a visit to Hollywood, a senior GE executive once listened to Mr. Wachtel and other executives explain what they did and then, perplexed, said, "Now I get it, you're like jet engineers," Mr. Wachtel says.
Comcast, on the other hand, although primarily a cable operator which strung wire and collected bills, already controlled cable networks like E! Entertainment Television, the Style Network, Golf Channel and others, now folded into NBC Universal's cable operation, which includes USA, Syfy, Bravo and news outlets CNBC and MSNBC. Combined, these cable networks make up 80% of NBC Universal's $2.3 billion in operating profit.
