Fox Family Rocks

Mike Reynolds

Looking to help advertisers "travel at the speed of kids," Fox Family Worldwide threw its cybersales efforts against children's programming into over drive last week.

Fox Family's initiatives are part of the rapidly escalating competition for the pre-teen market. At its upfront presentation last week, Fox Family announced it's formed an Internet sales and marketing group that will represent kid and tween-targeted owned-and-operated properties foxkids .com, foxfamilychannel .com, gchannel.com (Girlz Channel) and bchannel.com (Boyz Channel). The Fox Family group will also sell a slew of non-affiliated sites.

Zeeks.com, FunBrain.com, ALFY.com and Headbone.com are already being repped by Fox Family. These sites deliver more than 100 million monthly impressions, according to Rick Sirvaitis, president, advertising sales for Fox Family Worldwide, noting that Fox Family would consider repping up to four more kids-oriented sites.

Fox Family Channel also introduced six new series and has OK'd production of 300 new episodes of a dozen returning shows. In all, Fox Family will deliver over 400 new episodes to kids and tweens during the 2000-2001 season.

Fox's traveling at the speed of kids theme was underlined theatrics - some successful. Maureen Smith, Fox Kids Network's GM, made her entrance by bravely hanging onto a pully chord from the balcony above. Although Smith survived her padded crash landing, her microphone didn't and the audio went in out during her speech. Sirvaitis made his way to the stage to discuss Fox Kids Web Net via motorized scooter, which he accomplished without incident.

In addition to the Web efforts, Fox offers advertisers a variety of advertising packages across Fox Family, Fox Kids Network on broadcast, Fox Kids magazine, nationally syndicated radio show Fox Family Countdown, and positions on attendant Web sites.

The intensifying competition for kids' attention across a variety of platforms and age was underscored by Walt Disney Co.'s recent move to unify its broadcast, cable and syndication kids' sales groups under the moniker of Disney Kids Network. That group represents among other properties: ABC's One Saturday Morning Kids block, a Buena Vista weekday strip that currently airs on UPN affiliates, Radio Disney and beginning this fall, Toon Disney.

The kids upfront market generated between $750 million-$800 million last year. However, it's expected to be sluggish this year in the face a surplus of inventory held by a bevy of network suppliers, not to mention financial and management problems plaguing leading toy marketers Mattel and Hasbro.

Shelly Hirsch, chairman of Summit Media, foresees a late-breaking kids' upfront.

"No doubt, it's a buyers' market," he said.

There are only so many dollars out there and a lot of inventory. And with the networks concentrating more on the Internet and ancillary businesses, even more spots may be available, said Hirsch, who has advised his toy and video clients to wait until Easter to gauge hard orders before placing schedules.

Fox Family will offer three new animated series: Da Mob, tracking the exploits of three untalented, would-be hip-hoppers; Just Kidding, following the footsteps of practical joker/ class clown Andy; and Detective Conan, which tracks exploits of Japanese super-sleuth Shinichi Kudo, who must overcome a "little" problem.

The network will also introduce three live-action series: Real Scary Stories.com, a reality-based series about encounters with the supernatural witnessed by kids across the country. This series, which will launch during the network's annual "13 Days of Halloween" stunt, "tested through the roof," according to Rich Cronin president-CEO Fox Family Channels and Fox Kids Network.

The Zack Files, about a teen who attracts and documents paranormal events, also debuts this fall. House of Pop, a half-hour music and dancing show launching in June, is expected to play well to tween audience Fox Family has been attracting.

Cronin pointed to gains made by returning series Angela Anaconda, Kids From Room 402, I Was A Sixth Grade Alien, Big Wolf on Campus and S Club 7 in Miami, which was up 84% over first-quarter numbers with tweens in the Saturday 11 a.m. time slot. Favorable Nielsen trends include a 33% advance for Fox Family among kids 2-11 during weekday afternoons in February. Those increases came as Nickelodeon fell 5%, Disney Channel lost 22% and Cartoon Network grew 4%.

Hirsch praised Fox Family Channel's presentation, development pipeline, and positioning, particularly its strategy to pursue tweens.

"They've talked about it in the past, but they really are now actively going after the 9-13-year-olds, especially girls," he said.

Hirsch wasn't as kind to Fox Kids, labeling the programming as "me-too." He pointed to Los Luchadores and Xarandor: The Wizard's Academy as playing off the crazes surrounding wrestling and the Harry Potter book series.

All told, Fox Kids will add eight new series that include 280 new episodes during its weekday and Saturday morning time slots. Five series - Digimon: Digital Monsters, NASCAR Racers, Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, Beast Machines and Scholastic's The Magic School Bus - are returning.

The Ripping Friends, a new animated skein from Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi, generated the most buzz at the Manhattan event last week. And advertising executives said Fox Kids Cup 2000, a special on international soccer competition for youngsters, might have the potential to develop into a broader franchise.

Things might be looking up for Fox Family in the afternoon. But its prime time ratings are not up to snuff. Since converting from Family Channel in August 1998, Fox Family has lost audience, albeit much of from an older demographic. During fourth quarter 1999, Fox Family posted a 0.87 average in prime time, down 17% from the 1.05 recorded in the fourth quarter of 1997, which was the old Family Channel format developed by International Family Entertainment.

Yet Cronin defended the new programming saying the channel is making strides with younger adults. Adults over 50 comprise only 25% of the network's audience today vs. 60% in the old Family Channel days.

Fox Family Channel is building some momentum in prime time, Cronin said, pointing to the performance of recent films, Ice Angels and Saint Patrick: The Irish Legend. Upcoming shows including the stripping of CBS Saturday night staple Early Edition starting in May; the debut of Courage, starring Danny Glover in June; and the Liquid Soap, starring Jason Alexander, in July, should also goose ratings, he said.

So despite some progress on the kids' side of the table, Fox Family continues to look for that one show that'll put it over the top with viewers and advertisers, industry observers said last week. Whether that happens this season remains to be seen.