They’ve lost the fear factor

NEW YORK —  Reality shows have finally achieved the acceptance now accorded to Dennis Franz’s “NYPD Blue” bare bottom and foul mouth: Advertisers are no longer shying away from them out of fear that some audiences will be offended.

And with advertisers now willing to pay at or near top dollar to advertise in the most prestigious of unscripted shows from proven producers such as “Survivor’s” Mark Burnett and “American Idol’s” Simon Fuller, broadcast networks are embracing the genre, anchoring key nights around these shows. That will be clear this week when networks reveal next season’s programming to advertisers in New York.

The shift in perceptions -- and inching up of ad rates -- are key factors explaining why NBC will almost certainly make Burnett and Donald Trump’s job-competition show “The Apprentice” a centerpiece of its Thursday night schedule, the most lucrative, and competitive, night of the week for TV networks.

It helps too that according to NBC, this season’s first edition of “The Apprentice” tied with the network’s “The West Wing” as the most upscale show in all of television, when measured by the concentration of wealthy young adult viewers. Among broadcast networks, 12 of the top 20 shows this season among 18- to 49-year-olds were unscripted. CBS’ “Survivor,” meanwhile, is getting more than $400,000 per 30-second ad, putting it among the very top of all returning programs on TV, according to advertisers.

“Reality is the reality,” said Bill Cella, chairman of the advertising firm Magna Global.

“I think we’ve all been pleasantly surprised by the demographic, and as a result, for many of the shows, the value and price has been on par with similarly rated scripted series,” said Tim Spengler, executive vice president-director of national broadcast for Initiative, a major media buying agency.

Ad rates are based on the cost of reaching 1,000 viewers within a specific demographic target of age and income, with some highly desirable audiences commanding higher CPMs (cost per thousand) than others.

This is in contrast to just a few years ago, when, despite the high ratings and water cooler buzz unscripted shows generated, advertisers shied away from the genre. They didn’t want to be associated with the tawdry reputation of many dating, competition and alternative lifestyle shows that filled the reality programming pipeline.

As a result, networks rarely trumpeted unscripted shows in their major presentations to advertisers and instead slipped those shows in when scripted comedies and dramas faltered.

One senior ad buyer likened the changing attitudes to the shift in perceptions a decade ago over the partial nudity and strong language that marked ABC’s “NYPD Blue” in its early years. With viewer pressure groups complaining about the then-risque programming, advertisers stayed away.

But after a couple of years, as the brouhaha died down and the rear views became routine, advertisers became more accepting.

Advertisers also like predictability, and as networks have proven that unscripted shows can become franchises, starting with CBS and “Survivor,” the advertiser bias has dimmed, said Jon Nesvig, president of sales for Fox, noting that the “American Idol” judges and host Ryan Seacrest have become the equivalent of a returning cast.

CBS launched “Survivor” in summer 2000 to “a lot of skepticism,” said JoAnn Ross, president of sales for the network. “Advertisers came around when they saw the ratings performance, which is the acid test.” The network also starting working directly with products’ brand managers and not just ad agencies to sell them on the benefits of product placement in the show, she said, and “they realized we were able to do it in such a way that it was not subliminal and not in your face, so they were not embarrassed; it didn’t look cheesy.”

She said the ad lessons learned are now being applied to integrating products into scripted shows, but she declined to elaborate in advance of CBS’ fall schedule presentation.

But networks and producers have also gotten much smarter about designing the unscripted programs to appeal to advertisers as well as audiences. With some early shows such as Fox’s “Temptation Island,” “the innuendo was a problem,” Cella said. “But once the reality producers started seeing and realizing what advertisers’ needs are, the shows became more mainstream, more family-oriented.”

The word “aspirational” is often used to describe “The Apprentice” and “American Idol.”

“We set out to develop reality in our brand,” said Jeff Zucker, head of NBC Universal Television Group, defining it as “the home of quality scripted programs.” He called a “Mark Burnett-style of storytelling as smart and upscale as John Wells [‘The West Wing’] or Dick Wolf [‘Law & Order’].”

In addition to “The Apprentice,” Burnett is producing NBC’s “The Contender,” about a search for a boxing champion, for next season. NBC paid top dollar for the show, justifying it partly because it expected to get premium ad rates.

Of course, NBC is also the home of “Fear Factor,” whose contestants engage in gut-churning contests to eat the seemingly inedible and endure the unendurable, an atmosphere some advertisers still can’t stomach themselves. Business-wise, NBC can afford to get a slightly lower ad rate for that particular show because, unlike many other unscripted series, it can be repeated successfully.

But Zucker said -- and advertisers backed him up -- even “Fear Factor,” ad-wise, “is doing much better than it used to.”

“I understand that there are still a few people for whom it is not their thing,” Zucker said, but he also noted, “When a show is doing that kind of ratings, it’s hard for advertisers to ignore.”

Not every reality show is yet able to command top dollar. “Survivor,” “The Apprentice” and Fox’s “American Idol” land at the very top of the desirable list, according to various advertisers, who wouldn’t single out shows for the record, while programs such as Fox’s “The Swan” and “The Littlest Groom” are at the bottom. NBC’s “Average Joe” and ABC’s “The Bachelor” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” fall in the middle.

“People who are watching the shows in this era of almost unlimited offerings don’t have a problem with [shows such as ‘The Littlest Groom’ or ‘The Swan’], but advertisers are sometimes less than comfortable,” acknowledged Fox’s Nesvig, who is charged with selling the shows.

Spengler cautioned that his agency is evaluating them show by show. “Some of the extra salacious shows are selling at a discount because many brands don’t want to be associated with them,” even though viewers are watching, he said, adding, “Advertisers like the audience but don’t want to be associated with the content.”

However, he said, “monster hits are available in reality so we’re going to have to go one show at a time and see how interesting and compelling they are. I’m not sure anyone would have predicted that ‘The Apprentice’ would be a top five show.”