Post by George WK Newman on Jun 1, 2010 23:55:01 GMT -5
Liberty Television, a division of PLS Media unveiled it's Fall lineup at its first upfront, May 20th in New York City.
The event was kicked off with a live performance of "Awakening" by Switchfoot, and then was turned over to the hosts; Liberty President George Newman, and Dolly Parton.
There was very little suprise in the unveiling of the schedule, as Liberty did its best to provide counter programming, trying to keep its comedy blocks away from the big CBS sit-com blocks.
[Stay tuned at the end of the upfront for the unveiling of two major news items from PLS Media]
Sunday nights;
8:00pm Cries of Liberty (news tabloid)
9:00pm Guitar Heroes (reality competition)
10:00pm Morbier Hall (drama)
Sunday night is a bit of a pot pourri offering. The signature "Cries of Liberty" news tabloid will dig deeper into the nation's news, as well as provide an international perspective. It is hoping to catch some viewers turning their channels after "60 minutes". Then at 9:00pm a totally different audience is sought with "Guitar Heroes" which has the potential to be a breakout hit. 10:00pm goes from reality to scripted drama with "Morbier Hall", but hopes to retain the younger demographic of Guitar Heroes.
Monday Nights;
8:00pm Mindfall (Drama)
9:00pm Croatoan (Drama)
The most competitive night on television is attacked by Liberty with the enigmatic and quirky drama "Mindfall", followed by the mysterious, historical drama "Croatoan". The network is hoping both shows find a loyal following, which even if small by big network standards will hold steady for the fledging new network.
Tuesday Nights;
8:00pm Twang! (Sit-Com)
8:30pm Just Mike (Sit-Com)
9:00pm E.K. (Drama)
"Tuesday Night Lites" by Liberty TV see's the Dolly Parton backed Twang! followed by Norm MacDonald's family based sit-com Just Mike. Then 9:00pm brings the full 80's retro power of E.K. in a coming of age drama set refreshingly in a middle class neighborhood.
Wednesday Nights;
8:00pm Schill (drama)
9:00pm Control (dramedy)
This could be called the "burning bridges" night as Liberty TV takes pot shots at both the political parties and environmentalists in Schill, and then take very thinly veiled shots at Hollywood and TvLand in "Control".
At this point in the presentation Judd Nelson came out and gave a short comedic routine to introduce his main character Peter Schiller, the title character in "Schill".
Thursday nights;
8:00pm Shutterbugs (sit-com)
8:30pm Baggers (sit-com)
9:00pm Fortune's Son (drama)
The familiar sit-com block followed by a drama is the offering of Liberty TV on Thursday nights. Two younger schewing shows set in college and a grocery store are followed by a drama based in the financial world, which will likely need to find a loyal niche viewership to be a success.
Friday nights;
8:00pm WWE Smackdown! (sports entertainment)
The number one brand of sports entertainment finds a home on Liberty TV starting in the fall, and brings with it a rabidly loyal group of viewers. It will provide a great opportunity for the network to advertise its other shows to a younger schewing audience.
Saturday nights;
8:00pm Liberty Television Movie of the Week
10:00pm Rebel Blades (action/drama)
Liberty brings a full slate of movies from its corporate partner Rogue pictures, as well as more original movies then any other network this year. It follows the movie with a fast paced action show in the gritty world of pro hockey, "Rebel Blades".
Overall there are some shows which should bring in the younger audience (Guitar Heroes, Shutterbugs, Baggers) mixed in with the desire for a more affluent and discriminating audience for shows such as (Croatoan, Schill, and Control). It should be interesting to see if both focuses can co-exist and feed each other, or if one will emerge the clear cut winner heading into year 2.
As promised at the top of the presentation, PLS Media had two more big announcements to make for the advertisers and media in attendence.
Firstly, PLS Media will begin operation of a new general purpose cable network to be called "eVoLution", and branded as well as just "Evo". While it looks for a broad audience it will be offering shows you might associate with cable networks such as "Spike" and "History". It is hoping to bring in the much coveted males aged 25-49 demographic. Many of the Liberty TV shows will have a deal to show on eVo as well.
Secondly, PLS Media / Liberty TV / and eVolution has started production on a huge mini-series project which will not air until the fall or winter of 2011. The mini-series is entitled "1942" based on Robert Conroy's alternative history novel of the same name. It envisions a more aggressive follow up by the Japanese after Pearl Harbor, an invasion of the Hawaiian Islands. This was very close to becoming a reality as Admiral Yamamoto decided last minute to call off an invasion. The mini-series finds its teeth by focusing not only on the big battles, generals, and politicians of both sides, but also on a small group of heroic men and women who resist the invaders at peril of torture and death. The production costs of the mini-series will be a bigger gamble then anything Liberty TV has undertaken so far.
The event was kicked off with a live performance of "Awakening" by Switchfoot, and then was turned over to the hosts; Liberty President George Newman, and Dolly Parton.
There was very little suprise in the unveiling of the schedule, as Liberty did its best to provide counter programming, trying to keep its comedy blocks away from the big CBS sit-com blocks.
[Stay tuned at the end of the upfront for the unveiling of two major news items from PLS Media]
Sunday nights;
8:00pm Cries of Liberty (news tabloid)
9:00pm Guitar Heroes (reality competition)
10:00pm Morbier Hall (drama)
Sunday night is a bit of a pot pourri offering. The signature "Cries of Liberty" news tabloid will dig deeper into the nation's news, as well as provide an international perspective. It is hoping to catch some viewers turning their channels after "60 minutes". Then at 9:00pm a totally different audience is sought with "Guitar Heroes" which has the potential to be a breakout hit. 10:00pm goes from reality to scripted drama with "Morbier Hall", but hopes to retain the younger demographic of Guitar Heroes.
Monday Nights;
8:00pm Mindfall (Drama)
9:00pm Croatoan (Drama)
The most competitive night on television is attacked by Liberty with the enigmatic and quirky drama "Mindfall", followed by the mysterious, historical drama "Croatoan". The network is hoping both shows find a loyal following, which even if small by big network standards will hold steady for the fledging new network.
Tuesday Nights;
8:00pm Twang! (Sit-Com)
8:30pm Just Mike (Sit-Com)
9:00pm E.K. (Drama)
"Tuesday Night Lites" by Liberty TV see's the Dolly Parton backed Twang! followed by Norm MacDonald's family based sit-com Just Mike. Then 9:00pm brings the full 80's retro power of E.K. in a coming of age drama set refreshingly in a middle class neighborhood.
Wednesday Nights;
8:00pm Schill (drama)
9:00pm Control (dramedy)
This could be called the "burning bridges" night as Liberty TV takes pot shots at both the political parties and environmentalists in Schill, and then take very thinly veiled shots at Hollywood and TvLand in "Control".
At this point in the presentation Judd Nelson came out and gave a short comedic routine to introduce his main character Peter Schiller, the title character in "Schill".
Thursday nights;
8:00pm Shutterbugs (sit-com)
8:30pm Baggers (sit-com)
9:00pm Fortune's Son (drama)
The familiar sit-com block followed by a drama is the offering of Liberty TV on Thursday nights. Two younger schewing shows set in college and a grocery store are followed by a drama based in the financial world, which will likely need to find a loyal niche viewership to be a success.
Friday nights;
8:00pm WWE Smackdown! (sports entertainment)
The number one brand of sports entertainment finds a home on Liberty TV starting in the fall, and brings with it a rabidly loyal group of viewers. It will provide a great opportunity for the network to advertise its other shows to a younger schewing audience.
Saturday nights;
8:00pm Liberty Television Movie of the Week
10:00pm Rebel Blades (action/drama)
Liberty brings a full slate of movies from its corporate partner Rogue pictures, as well as more original movies then any other network this year. It follows the movie with a fast paced action show in the gritty world of pro hockey, "Rebel Blades".
Overall there are some shows which should bring in the younger audience (Guitar Heroes, Shutterbugs, Baggers) mixed in with the desire for a more affluent and discriminating audience for shows such as (Croatoan, Schill, and Control). It should be interesting to see if both focuses can co-exist and feed each other, or if one will emerge the clear cut winner heading into year 2.
As promised at the top of the presentation, PLS Media had two more big announcements to make for the advertisers and media in attendence.
Firstly, PLS Media will begin operation of a new general purpose cable network to be called "eVoLution", and branded as well as just "Evo". While it looks for a broad audience it will be offering shows you might associate with cable networks such as "Spike" and "History". It is hoping to bring in the much coveted males aged 25-49 demographic. Many of the Liberty TV shows will have a deal to show on eVo as well.
Secondly, PLS Media / Liberty TV / and eVolution has started production on a huge mini-series project which will not air until the fall or winter of 2011. The mini-series is entitled "1942" based on Robert Conroy's alternative history novel of the same name. It envisions a more aggressive follow up by the Japanese after Pearl Harbor, an invasion of the Hawaiian Islands. This was very close to becoming a reality as Admiral Yamamoto decided last minute to call off an invasion. The mini-series finds its teeth by focusing not only on the big battles, generals, and politicians of both sides, but also on a small group of heroic men and women who resist the invaders at peril of torture and death. The production costs of the mini-series will be a bigger gamble then anything Liberty TV has undertaken so far.